What’s this? A frugal blogger who pays for the stock photos that she uses on her blog when there are free photos available. Yep, that’s me!
Here are 5 reasons that I think purchasing stock images is the best way to go.
Clear Terms of Use-The number one reason that I purchase stock photos is because the legal ways in which I can use them are clearly spelled out. And you know that the terms have been agreed upon, as well, by the photographers because they are being paid a commission for use of their images.
Also, you receive the option to purchase different levels of usage rights for the images depending on the nature of what you are creating and the number of times that you will be using them (Ex..Blog Post vs. Physical Product for Extensive Resale).
Huge Selection of Photos to Chose From-I have noticed that with free stock photos you do not always have a great selection to chose from. You may be forced to use a photo that does not really fit your topic because that is the closest relevant image you can find. Paid stock services not only offer a large selection of images to chose from (in the thousands), but they also provide a keyword search feature that will save you tons of time.
Uniform Quality of Images-Not only do you get a large selection of photos with stock services, but you will also find generally only high quality images for purchase. Photos are screened and must meet specific standards before they can be added to a service’s collection.
This is great for you as a blogger, because the work that you produce will have a uniform, higher end look. This look works especially well for social media outlets such as Pinterest and Facebook.
Avoid Chance of Downloading Virus to Your Computer Along with Images
Websites that offer free downloads, whether it be images, fonts, etc.., may also bring along with them downloads that you don’t want. Computer viruses could potentially hitch a ride with the great free photos that you find.
Extra Goodies With Your Images
The stock photo company that I use most often is Canva. I not only love their images, but the extras that come with them.
On Canva’s website you will find super easy-to-use templates for business cards, email headers, Facebook posts, infographics, invatations, Pinterest graphics, and much more. These basic templates will give you the optimal dimensions for all these different types of creations. Also, some free ready made templates are available.
Canva also offers free Design School tutorials and a gallery where you can look at other people’s creations for inspiration.
Another paid stock photography company that I have used and can recommend is iStock. On the site, in addition to photos, you can purchase audio and video clips and illustrations. The images tend to be pricier than Canva, but in return you do have a larger selection. The company does offer monthly plans where you can roll over unused image credits month to month up to a pretty high limit. iStock by Getty Images has been around since 2000 and has more than 160,000 people around the world producing a images for its collections.
Be sure and check Canva and iStock out, and leave a comment with any other paid stock photo sites that you think are worth exploring.
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I like Canva and use it a lot to create my graphics. I will have to check out the other resource too. I hope you will consider joining us at Literacy Musing Mondays this week. We love posts about reading, blogging, writing, learning, and literacy as well as creative writing and photography. Here is this week’s link: http://maryanderingcreatively.com/scripture-stories/
You make good arguments here. I didn’t think of some of these things. I’m so frugal too but I know these things can be great investments too.
Yes, I saw an immediate jump in my traffic when I started using images that I paid for.
I absolutely do the same thing with my blog, if I don’t have a good image I took myself the corresponds to my post. Canva is such a great resource for this, and even for creating images in multiple sizes to share throughout your social media. I just recently signed up for Canva for Work (they offer a free 30 day trial) because it automatically resizes your image so all you have to do is work on perfecting the outcome and not starting from scratch, and it saved me so much time! This is a great post! #MMBH
Yes, did not realize Canva for work resized automatically. That is great!
As a graphic designer, I want to thank you for this 🙂 I love seeing bloggers understand the quality behind good imagery!
Thanks I’ve heard of Canva but haven’t tried it.
Canvas has beautiful images and templates.
I agree 110% with every reason you’ve given. I used to be so against Stock Photos because I would see them recycled through too many sites and blogs but I’ve learned if you are a bit more selective in the images you choose you can lessen the likelihood that you will see your chosen image somewhere else. The benefits of stock images far outweigh the cons! I love how clean and crisp they are and once you find a good source you can trust you will always have what you need for any topic…
Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Turn It Up Tuesday…
They really pop out in the Pinterest feeds too.
Oops, not sure how I copied that link in the comment above. Sorry.
I’ve had fun using Canva! Thanks for sharing at the #LMMLinkup.
I used free sites for a long time but now that I use a pay site, I could never go back! Great post for people that are on the fence! Thanks so much for sharing at Share The Wealth Sunday!
xoxo
Lisa
Stock photos make such a difference don’t they.
I didnt know that canva has stock images but i didnt play with it too much, going to check it now. Saw this post on pinterest. Thanks for the tips.