Are Royalty Free Images for Commercial Use Enough for your Creative Project?

Many royalty free images are offered at various stock photo websites, but do they really get the work done?

Function-wise, royalty free images are great tools to power your creative process. They are used by creative professionals to enhance their projects, capture their target audience’s attention, and convey their brand message. They come with two types of licenses: standard and extended.

  • Standard royalty free images are perfect for most creative needs. They can be used in multiple projects, including items for resale and free distribution. Depending on the license agreement of each website, you can create a certain number of copies or impressions.
  • Extended royalty free images are required for larger advertising campaigns. They can also be used in multiple projects for as long as you want. The main differences are on the number of printed copies allowed and use on products for resale. With this type of license, you get unlimited opportunities to use the images in your design.

If your creative project only requires less printed copies, you can do well with a Standard license. It is cheaper than its counterpart and also allows you to use the images for commercial purposes. However, you will have to pay more for an Extended License if you wish to reproduce unlimited number of printed copies and use the photos to create your own merchandise for sale.

What is the best source for buying images for commercial use?
For both standard and extended license, Stock Photo Secrets is the top place to purchase stock photos for commercial use. They have over 5 million premium royalty-free images in the library, with 100,000 more added every month. By subscribing to any of monthly and annual plans of the stock site, you are entitled to:

  • Access their collection of photos, vectors and fonts
  • Create and share your own lightboxes
  • Follow your favorite artists
  • Download any image in super high resolution
  • Acquire professional royalty free license
  • Keep everything you download forever
  • Get 50% discount on Extended License packs

Yes, SPS added Extended License to their offering. You can now buy images for commercial use with extended usage rights for very affordable prices.

How can you use the Extended License from Stock Photo Secrets?

With an extended license, you can use images in designs that can be reproduced on 300,000+ printed copies of the following:

  • Advertising, marketing and promotional materials
  • Books, magazines and newspapers
  • Product packaging

You can also use the images to create your own products for resale, such as:

  • T-shirts, mugs, calendars, postcards and other apparel
  • Website templates, brochure design templates and other electronic templates
  • E-greeting cards

A single image with Extended License from SPS originally costs $80. But, members can buy them half the price. With prices between $22 and 80 (depending on the size of the pack and membership), SPS becomes the stock photo website to offer the lowest deals on stock photos for commercial use in the market. Furthermore, the images for commercial use can be downloaded and used anytime as they don’t have an expiration date.

 

 

Where to Find the Best Icon Packs

There are a dime and a dozen icon packs in the market. It can be a little challenging to find the best icon packs for your creative projects. While there are free icons scattered all over the web, you’re still better off with the ones from a reliable icon site. Licensed icons allow you to use them in multiple projects for as long as you like without worrying about copyright issues along the road. But, where can you get these awesome icon packs?

There are many icon sites that offer high quality icon packs. For the best icon packs, you can check out this website:

IconTail has over 2050 vector icons in its collection. All files are ready for iOS, Android, applications and websites. They come in 7 different sizes and 11 format file types, so you can choose whichever suits your creative needs. A friendly license is also included with your registration, allowing you to use the icons as many time you want for as long as you like.”

IconTail has the biggest iOS and Android icon packs in the market. All vector icons are categorized into 50 categories designed by Pixel Perfect. Whatever theme or style you need, you will find it there – including:

  • Business and Finance
  • Animals
  • Social Media
  • Interface
  • Emails
  • Design
  • Arrows
  • Text
  • Desktop Apps
  • Shopping and E-commerce

These are only ten of the best icon packs on the website. Visit www.icontail.com to check out other categories.

Once you find the best icon packs for your project, you can purchase them via Standard and All File Types plans. The former gives you access to all line and fill icons and allows you to download them in AI and EPS format. The latter, on the other hand, lets you download all icons in 11 file formats. Both comes with one simple license that allows you to use the icon packs for both commercial and personal purposes.

 

Payment Methods You can Use to Purchase Cheap Stock Photos

pay via online for cheap stock photos

Cheap stock photos can be purchased in various ways. You can use cash, your credit cards or PayPal account to purchase images on-demand or subscribe to a plan. Of course, the purchase method you choose determines that payment method you will use. For instance, on-demand images can be purchased through cash or credits while subscriptions can be acquired through credit cards.

Here are two of the most common payment methods you can use to purchase cheap stock images:

  • Electronic Payment Methods. Cheap stock photo sites make it easier for its users to purchase stock photos cheap through electronic payment methods. You can buy credits or subscribe to a monthly or daily plan through credit cards, PayPal or other providers. All payment methods accepted by reliable stock agencies are safe. You do not have to worry about credit card theft.

On the other hand, some cheap stock photo sites also understand that some people do not have access to electronic payment methods. Thus, they provide the option to order their services via wire transfer.

  • Wire Transfer. Alternatively, you can purchase credits or subscribe to monthly, daily or yearly plan through a wire transfer. Make sure that you request an invoice. Every stock image agency has a minimum amount of purchase for a wire transfer. You need to make sure that you reach the amount to be able to purchase cheap stock images through a wire transfer.

Once your order and credit are approved, you can download cheap stock photos in your account. You will also receive confirmation that links your invoice with your banking information. Your account will be activated from the date of payment. Then, you will be able to download cheap photos on demand, or with a monthly, daily or yearly subscription plan.

paypal-logo-for-cheap-stock-photo-payment

What payment method are you currently using? If you do not have a credit card or PayPal, you can always use wire transfer from your bank accounts to purchase images on demand or subscribe to plan. Whatever method you us, just make sure that you are comfortable with it. After all, you do not have to worry making business transactions with reputable stock photo agencies, like Shutterstock and iStock.

These cheap stock photo sites are secure, which makes it safer for you to transact business with them. You do not have to worry about giving up your banking information or your credit card details to make a purchase. By choosing a payment method that works for you, you will be able to get the cheap stock images you need to complete your projects. Furthermore, you will be able to acquire them through a payment method you are most comfortable with.

Sizes and Licenses of Cheap Stock Photos

The size and licenses also play a big part in purchasing cheap stock photos. While relevance is most important, these two are difficult to ignore as well. Size makes sure that the stock photo cheap fits your required dimensions and the licenses give you the right to use the images any way and anywhere you like, provided that you adhere to the license agreement. Here are more information about sizes and licenses.

Licenses

stock photo licenseCheap stock photos are licensed with Standard and Extended/Enhanced. You may choose which license to acquire depending on your needs. The Standard license is commonly offered in most cheap stock images. It does not involve expiry dates or geographical restrictions. It can be used for web/electronic uses and printed material. However, if you require more print runs, you may need to get an Extended/Enhanced license for an additional cost.

An Extended/Enhanced license can be used in various projects and in multiple print runs and resales. It gives all the rights that the Standard license provides, plus 500,000 times more print runs. It also allows you to use them to create your own business and create your own products and services for distribution or resale. It does not have any deadline, usage limits and geographical restrictions.

Sizes

stock-photo-sizes

Sizes are also important when it comes to purchasing stock photos cheap. Depending on your needs, you can choose among different sizes. The extra small size has 400 x 300 pixels and is suitable for small web or phone uses. The small size has 800 x 600 pixels, which is great for web and tablet. If you need cheap stock images for web and small print, you can go well with medium-sized image.

If you require bigger cheap stock photos, many cheap stock photo sites also offer them. You can get a large photo, which is perfect for print full page. An extra-large image is best suited for big prints. Moreover, a double extra-large photo is suitable for editing, HD and poster. Depending on the sizes, an image can cost between 1 to 12 credits. Of course, it still depends on the stock agency.

If you want to get the most of your money, you should subscribe to a subscription plan. It enables you to purchase images for the lowest possible price.

Restrictions

Regardless of the size and license, the use of cheap stock images have restrictions, read more about it from this link. You cannot use them in pornography, escort services, adult entertainment events, political endorsements, service marks, logos and trademarks. The use of images in social media sites are also limited. It is only possible to use an image in social media if the size is less than 1000 x 1000 pixels and if the copyright information is on the stock photo cheap itself.