The Best Summer Stock Image Sources are Here. Check Them Out.

As a website designer or developer, you soon learn to appreciate how important it is to have a ready source to fill your needs for stock photography. For most large projects where images or illustrations are required, the use of stock photographs can be the only practical option.

There are numerous providers of these types of images, most of whom have a large selection from which to choose. Prices may vary but there is usually a large selection available in any given price range. Many images are quite affordable and some are free. You can hire a professional photographer or create your own images but you will usually save both time and expense by taking the stock image approach.

Perhaps you are already familiar with one or more stock photography merchants. There might be a particular merchant that you turn to time and again. I have my own favorites, each one capable of providing high quality images.

iStock

In terms of popularity and longevity, iStock leads the pack of stock photography providers. iStock is in fact the oldest merchant of its type. You not only have a huge selection on royalty-free images to choose among but there is very large selection of sound effect, videos, music and vectors to choose from as well and the selections you purchase come with the appropriate legal guarantees.

There are usually a few special offers available. Currently, if you are a new client placing an order and type in the code SUMMER20 you will receive a 20 percent discount. The discount may be applied to any item in iStock's product line. To receive the discount you must make a purchase using a minimum of 30 credits. Credits may be purchased ahead of time. Even if you are not yet considering making a purchase, it would serve you well to sign up anyway so you can take advantage of their huge inventory at some time in the future.

Alamy

Alamy is my second-favorite merchant due in large part to its truly massive collection of quality stock photos, images and more. You can choose among a mind-numbing 18 million items. The chances of your finding exactly what you need are therefore very good although you may at times face a number of equally attractive products you will want to choose from.

Working with such a large inventory will not pose a problem however since one of the attractive features of the Alamy website is its user-friendly search engine. As a new customer you could find the home page a little difficult to navigate, but once you click on the "For Buyers" button, you're off and running.

Stockfresh

When you're searching through a vast amount of data, having a friendly user interface to work with is important. This is the case with Stockfresh, where you will spend a minimal amount of time finding what you are looking for. While the number of options this merchant has is somewhat smaller than what others offer, each offering is of the very highest quality.

You don't have to register to make purchases and the ease with which you can shop makes doing business with this merchant a pleasure. If there is a mediocre product to be found, you'll have to look very hard for it, likely without success.

PhotoSpin, Inc.

PhotoSpin, Inc. has not been in business as long as some other merchants such as iStock but this merchant is still one of the pioneers in the online stock photography business. PhotoSpin was the first of its kind to introduce an image subscription program. This program has changed over the year, usually improving somewhat with each change. As a subscriber,  you can access up to 50 downloads at a time and up to 1,000 downloads every month. Such a subscription is a handy thing to have if you normally work with a large number of images.

PhotoSpin has an affiliate program and they will provide you with banners and contextual links to place on your website or blog. You can then refer visitors to PhotoSpin and receive a 15 percent commission on any purchases they may make. This is a higher commission than most stock image providers offer and is in fact higher than those given by most affiliate programs in almost any marketing sector.

Media Bakery

During its decade of doing business, Media Bakery has managed to build up a large and impressive collection of stock items, including photos, music files, videos and vectors. The total number of items in their collection currently exceeds 10 million.

Approximately 20 percent of these items have made their way into what Media Bakery calls their Microstock Image Collection, a collection that contains a large number of highly affordable items. This merchant's sophisticated search feature makes browsing through this large collection a relatively easy task. Most of the items sell for under $50. Many sell for around $1. Media Bakery is one of my top five favorites, largely because of the ease with which I am able to navigate through their collection and the fact that shopping has proven to be a painless experience. 

Photofolio

One of the truly fine features of this merchant is the way it treats its providers. The company's business model is such that the photographers, artists and designers that supply the products you will find in the Photofolio inventory are treated fairly and given commissions commensurate with the quality of the products they provide. 

These commissions are often as high as 60 percent of the eventual sales price. Commissions of this magnitude are somewhat of a rarity in this highly competitive field. When a merchant places such a high value on the providers of the product it sells it should not come as a surprise that a high value is placed on customer satisfaction as well. I have found that in my dealings with Photofolio this respect for the customer is apparent and I am sure you will find that to be the case as well.

Mostphotos

With Mostphotos as your source, you'll feel as if you've found nirvana, or have at least reached cloud nine on the way. This merchant has assembled a collection of over 7 million images, and with new material being added every day, that number is constantly growing. 

Not only are the offerings royalty free, but they are crisp and professional looking in every detail. If you don't see exactly what you want and can do so, wait a day or two as there will likely have been several thousand new additions to the collection in that time. Mostphotos is an ideal source for the graphic designer, blog or website developer, or the art director.

Snapwire

Snapwire's approach to the stock photography business is different than most business models in this area. When you're looking for a special photo or illustration, especially the latter, Snapwire will forward your request to one or more freelance artists who will then create your custom image. 

What this means is that you are able to get exactly what you want, rather than settle for 'close enough'. What is happening is that you are hiring a professional through a second party, and at far less expense that would usually be the case.

Corbis Images

Shopping at Corbis Images can be a real revelation. Here, you'll find one top-notch photographic image after another. All of these images are available royalty free and can be used in both commercial and editorial projects. Many of the illustrations offered are truly fantastic. The Corbis collection is arranged in a number of specialty categories that serve to make finding what you are after a less challenging task.

Shutterstock

Its collection of available stock photography and images will speak for itself, but what is truly impressive about Shutterstock, and why it appears on this list, is its global presence. This stock photography provider is based in New York and has offices in 150 locations around the globe. You'll get a good sense of this merchant's global reach if you visit the website that functions in 20 different languages. Many professional artists and designers have a decided preference for Shutterstock as a source because of the company's impressive business model.

In Conclusion

These are, at the moment, my ten favorite places to visit when looking for high-quality stock photos in an affordable price range. Each of these merchants subscribes to a more or less unique business model, but each one has its fair share of satisfied customers as well as satisfied suppliers. Perhaps one or more of these is a favorite of yours as well. If you do business with a stock photo merchant you feel should be included on this list, please let me know.

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