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Deposit Photos is a Royalty Free image site that allows buyers to obtain photos via subscription sale or via purchasing credits directly from the site (e.g., 1 credit = $1.00, 50 credits = $50.00, etc.). They have grown extraordinarily rapidly since the beginning of their business over two years ago, and now house over five million images in over 35 categories. Image authors may submit photographs in the forms of JPEG files, vectors, and illustrations. A buyer can choose between a standard license or extended license for the images, and he or she may download the image repeatedly over the course of one year (prior to incurring more fees). Each photograph is reviewed for content and quality, and those who have high-volume and high-quality consistently are rewarded for it.

What’s Different about Deposit Photos?
Upon first glance, there is not much that is different about Deposit Photos than any other Royalty Free image site. They have a smart search feature that allows image tags, and categories that are easy to browse (36 categories, which can be further subdivided for ease of perusal). The layout is familiar, highly similar to other stock photo websites – which is appealing for buyers who don’t want to take time figuring out how to navigate the site, and easy for image authors, as they will be able to more easily sort through categorizing and setting limits for their images (this can be handy with licensing agreements and legally binding information). Additionally, the ability to bulk upload images is similar to other stock image sites.

The main differences that make Deposit Photos stand out are unique payment options, a free trial subscription for buyers (that does not punish image authors), a straightforward pricing strategy, the option to purchase only one image rather than having to purchase packages, and a lack of exclusivity licensing. Interestingly enough, there is no push on the part of deposit photos to retain image exclusivity (this could be both a pro and a con to image authors – more on this below).

•Unique payment options: In addition to standard payment options, there is a payment via SMS option that allows the buyer to purchase photos via cell phone, and they can download the image, once purchased, at their own convenience, for up to one year without incurring further charges.

•Free trial subscription: While a free trial is nice for buyers, who won’t have to pay for image downloads during a certain period of time, this often makes sellers nervous, because typically that means they won’t be paid for downloads during the buyer’s free trial. However, this is not the case for Deposit Photos. The seller is compensated just the same during a buyer’s free trial.

•Straightforward pricing strategy: The pricing tiers of one credit equaling one dollar, ten credits equaling ten dollars, and so forth is highly convenient for buyers, and any purchases of 100 credits or more are subject to discount. Of course, this is good news for sellers – when buyers have more spending power, buyers benefit.

•Single image purchases: The option to purchase a single image, via credits or SMS payment options allows for buyer diversity, which is good for sellers as they can increase revenue off of individual sales.

•Exclusivity agreements: The company is not pushing sellers to have an exclusivity agreement with them, giving image authors more freedom to sell their items or use them for other projects.
It would seem that Deposit Photos, at first glance, is just another stock image site – however, they have implemented the successful strategies and copied the other stock image sites for their best features, and have added a few of their own to make it even more appealing for both buyers and sellers.

Fees to Join & Sign Up Information
While there are associated fees for buyers, in the forms of subscriptions and credit purchases, there are no fees for sellers to join or to upload their images. This is enticing for image authors, and a sign of the sites trustworthiness. After all, an image author should be making money from selling their art, not giving money to a site in order to advertise it. By being commission based, Deposit Photos makes their money by acting, in a way, as an agent for sellers and buyers of images.

Signing up as an image author is simple – the process asks for the seller to register for an account, then go through an application process, in which the seller provides identifying information (such as a scanned passport copy, driver’s license, or ID card to prove he or she is a real person), and to submit five samples of work for evaluation. Upon approval, the seller will be able to upload photos, vectors, and illustrations at his or her convenience.

Every image that an author uploads must be reviewed by the site’s inspectors. They inspect it to make sure that the image is within the guidelines. Upon approval, it will appear on the site and will be searchable and available for purchase. Uploading is simple via FTP – and the image author can include all legal paperwork within the transfer, including scanned copies of signed model releases, copyright information, etc.

That’s about as far as the application process goes – interestingly enough, a seller does not have to apply for any of the higher level programs (with the exception of PPP – more on that below). There is a five-tier scale for image authors, which places a certain amount of earnings (commissions) for each level.

• Green Level: Every image author starts out at Green. They will remain at Green level until they sell 500 images.
• Bronze Level: At the 500 mark, the image author is automatically moved to Bronze.
• Silver Level: Once the image author hits 5000 sales, he or she is ranked at Silver.
• Gold Level: Once 25,000 images have been sold, the author is moved to Gold level.
• Platinum Level: Platinum is reserved for sellers of 150,000 images and beyond.
This scale is an automatic process – one does not have to prove that he or she has sold a certain amount of images – it is tracked and advanced automatically.
A VIP Program – Deposit Photos “PPP”
“PPP” stands for “Photographer Promotion Program.” This is a unique opportunity for photographers to be featured and paid simply for uploading photos onto the Deposit Photos site. This is done during the standard application process. Those image authors with top-quality work who also will be submitting at high volumes will be invited to participate in the PPP. After that, all the image author has to do is select the “activate” button on their upload site. The author will then be paid ten cents for each approved image uploaded, to a limit of 500 photos. This is on top of the commissions that are earned with each sale. Image authors can be paid just for uploading images, basically.

Payment for Photos
The payments are divided into commissions for the different payment options.
• Credit purchases: When a photo or photos are purchased with credits, the image author will earn a commission of 44 – 52%. The higher the price, the larger the commission.

• Subscription purchases: Sellers to those who are on a subscription plan will earn a commission of 30 – 35 cents per sale.

• SMS purchases: Sellers earn 24 – 28 cents commission for each image sale conducted via SMS.

Pros & Cons to Joining
The pros to joining are numerous:
• Higher commissions: Sellers tend to earn more through this website than with other stock image sites.

•Exclusivity flexibility: Image authors can reuse their work elsewhere (however, this could be a potential problem, more on that below).

•The PPP incentive: Sellers who have high volumes of work can benefit from the PPP incentive, being paid simply to “beef up” Deposit Photo’s library of images.

•Rapidly growing site: The site is already over five million images. This makes it attractive to buyers as they will doubtfully run out of fresh, original images that they can use for their own purposes.
There aren’t many cons to joining this stock image site, as there are no fees for image sellers to join, and the commissions are generous. One thing that some sellers are wary of is the exclusivity issue. Although it is unlike any other stock image site, the other sites will have exclusivity clauses, making it harder to sell the same image in multiple areas anyway.

Another is that sellers cannot set their own prices. Prices are set by Deposit Photos only.

Deposit Photos Overall
Deposit Photos is a stock image site that is worth checking out for many sellers, who are looking to display their work in a rapidly growing, increasingly popular site. The pros to joining outweigh the cons, and the site seems driven toward helping sellers earn their commissions. With no fees to join for sellers, and generous commissions, the site is well-worth a second look.

Fotolia uses a ranking system for their contributors, and offers exclusivity and non-exclusivity for image authors. They are well-known for their acceptance of new image authors, and are ideal for those who are starting out in the industry. Fotolia has transparent processes, and communicates directly and openly with contributors.

Fees to Join
At present, there are no fees to join Fotolia for contributors. There are no hidden upload fees, portfolio management fees, or foreign service fees. The contributor will make commission with every piece sold, and Fotolia will retain a portion of the sales for their service. The process is completely transparent with this company, as is any of their other processes.

How to Join
Joining Fotolia is simple, and two-stepped. A contributor can simply create an account with no application process, and then submit photographs, illustrations, vectors, and videos for approval. The process takes approximately 48 hours for review. Once the images are approved, the contributor is notified by email, and the images are posted within the index for sale. The entire process typically takes 48 hours, not 48 hours for approval and an additional 48 hours for posting to the index (some contributors have been confused by that wording in the past).

What makes Fotolia different?
• There is no application process – all a contributor has to do is register for an account with automatic confirmation. Of course, the photos have to be reviewed and subsequently posted by the editors, which is a process that takes a total of 48 hours, typically.

• Videos can be uploaded – though this is similar to Corbis Images, their video process is much more transparent. The acceptable formats are ASF, AVI, FLV, H264, MOV, MPEG, MPEGTS, MPEGVIDEO. It is important to note that while ambient sound is allowed, no music is allowed (due to potential copyright issues).

• Commissions are generous and transparent – more so than other stock image sites. Royalty payouts are based upon exclusivity levels and ranking. More specific information on payment is outlined below.

• Fotolia ranking works differently than other sites. There are eight levels of ranking, and the movement from one rank to another is automatic (much like Deposit Photos, but with more ranking slots, it is easier to earn greater commissions more rapidly).

• License information is different than other sites – while contributors will find that there are the standard Total Exclusivity, Partial Exclusivity, and Non-Exclusivity licenses (which they can choose once they are at Silver Rank), they will also discover that there are so-called “licenses” based on image resolution. There are six, in fact – XS, S, M, L, XL, and XXL. Pricing is based upon the price set for the XS, which can be dictated by the contributor (more on that below). These “licenses” do not affect exclusivity.

• Credit scaling for purchasing images is straightforward, and different than most stock sites (except for, perhaps, Deposit Photos). For photographs, videos and vectors, one credit is equal to $1.00 USD. The more credits each buyer purchases, the larger a discount they will receive. This does not affect commissions, however. Commissions are calculated by ranking and license information as explained above. All Fotolia images are sold with a royalty free license – but there is also the size and image quality “licenses” that are described above that affect payment to the contributor.

Payment for Images
The range on commissions for single-image downloads is 20 – 63%. 63% is among the highest commission available for stock sites. For subscription downloads, the commissions range from 0.25 credits to 0.40 credits. Payments are made from the company via PayPal, and MoneyBookers. If the contributor lives in a country that does not allow either of these services, then he or she can set up a wire transfer to obtain payment. The wire transfers do have associated fees, which are deducted from the contributor’s commission, and the cash out threshold is much higher than the 50 credits associated with PayPal and MoneyBookers – the wire transfer threshold is 500 credits.

Payments are affected by how much a contributor sells. The automatic ranking dictates what a contributor will make from any image or video. Then, the pay scale is divided by Exclusivity versus Non-Exclusivity. Furthermore, the payment scales vary by vector, video, photographs and illustrations, and are even further subdivided among credit system and subscription plans. Even the subscription plans divide commission between daily/monthly limit subscriptions, and annual limit subscriptions. It can get quite confusing for some contributors. That is why it’s important to understand the ranking system in regards to payments.

In general, the ranking system works like this:
• White: From 1-99 downloads, this rank earns the smallest amount of commission on sales and downloads.
• Bronze: From 100-999 downloads.
• Silver: From 1,000-9,999 downloads. The contributor can choose exclusivity levels at this point. Exclusivity will always pay the highest commission.
• Gold: From 10,000-24,999 downloads.
• Emerald: From 25,000-99,999 downloads.
• Sapphire: From 100,000-249,999 downloads.
• Rubis [sic]: From 250,000-999,999 downloads.
• Diamond: From 1,000,000 downloads and over, this is the highest amount of commission a contributor can earn from sales and downloads.

Payment scales are also set by the image author upon setting up the account with Fotolia. While they cannot dictate exactly how much each resolution scale will cost, they can set a price at the XS resolution, and the price scales will be dictated from that point forward. For example, say a contributor sets their XS price at 3 credits (the default is 1 credit per XS image). The payment scale will look like this:
• XS = 3 credits to purchase (as set by image author)
• S = 3 x XS = 9 credits to purchase
• M = 5 x XS = 15 credits to purchase
• L = 7 x XS = 21 credits to purchase
• XL = 8 x XS = 24 credits to purchase
• XXL = 10 x XS = 30 credits to purchase

If that initial price is too high, however, and the image goes for six months without being sold, the image will automatically set back to the default of one credit. Then, if the file sells more than five times, the contributor can change it back to their desired price, provided it is within the guidelines of Fotolia’s terms of service.

Pros & Cons of Joining Fotolia
One of the cons to joining Fotolia is that contacting a buyer directly is expressly forbidden by the company – they will terminate an account immediately for those who violate this rule. The major con to that is that a contributor will never be able to know how their work is being used. However, many contributors are just happy to sell their work, and this small drawback means very little to them. For those more protective over their work, it would be best to work toward exclusivity.

Another con to joining Fotolia could be that smaller portfolios won’t be able to make as much in commissions as those with large portfolios would. However, this can be said for most any stock image site. The simple fact that there are over 12 million images, illustrations, vectors, and videos to choose from gives a contributor a chance to really sell to a niche market.

It would seem that the pros for Fotolia far outweigh the cons, however. The payments are extremely competitive when compared to the compensation offered on other stock photo websites, and the transparency of the company, straightforward explanations available on their site, and ease of navigation make Fotolia a clear winner for any image author – whether they are new to the scene, or if they are seasoned professionals. Contributors to the site maintain that uploading, tagging, and categorizing images and videos is simple, and they are approved in a timely manner, meaning sales can begin in just 48 hours from the time of upload.

Fotolia Overall
Fotolia is a good site for any image author – but it is especially good for those who are just starting to build their portfolios and wish to make money in the stock image field. The ease of use, transparency, and clear instructions make it easy for those just starting out in the industry. It is not difficult to join, get good images approved, and start making commissions on their work.

For experienced professionals, and newbies, Fotolia is a clear, hands-down winner.

In 1989, Bill Gates started Corbis Images (Corbis means “wicker basket” in Latin, and symbolizes the receptacle of visual media it has become). The site features over 100 million photographs, vector images, illustrations, and professional motion pictures. The site offers Royalty Free (aka Broad Rights) and Rights Managed (aka Limited Rights) content, and has divisions of commercial, editorial, news, sports, and entertainment content. Corbis Images offers its contributors the option of signing on for both exclusive and non-exclusive images. Corbis is well known internationally and is able to reach hundreds of thousands of clients in a diverse amount of industries. They serve every kind of business – mega advertising agencies, graphic designers, media companies, and small businesses.

Corbis has an internationally famous reputation and is over 20 years old. They are known for their reliability and prompt, efficient payment to their contributors.

How to Join
The process in joining Corbis Images almost seems like a secret fraternity – there is no “join us” or “submit here” button on the front page – not everyone who joins will be invited to do so. One must go to the contributor gateway, and follow the link at the upper right corner that states, “apply now,” and follow the application process. The application is in PDF form, and it can be filled out directly online, and then submitted via email as an attachment.

The global editing team for the company will have a representative review the application and contact the potential contributor if the content the applicant submits meets their quality and content requirements. Once that has been done, and the application is approved, the contributor can begin uploading images according to their submission guidelines and the online agreement. The photos are reviewed by an editor for content, quality, and proper legal documentation (such as model release forms, copyright information, etc.), and then are posted in searchable categories.

What’s different about Corbis Images?
The first thing that stands out about Corbis Images is how long they have been around – since 1989 – over 20 years ago. This gives them an outstandingly strong reputation that attracts buyers from all over the world.

Secondly, they don’t just deal with stock photographs, vectors, and illustrations as other stock image companies do – they also specialize in stock videos, clips, and like media. Having this added feature gives them an edge over the competition.

Thirdly, Corbis Images gives their contributors a chance to choose between exclusive, co-exclusive, and non-exclusive image rights. This gives the contributor an edge in determining not only how his or her images and work will be used, but how much they will receive in royalty rates. Naturally, exclusivity brings about the highest royalty rates, and non-exclusive would bring the lowest. However, going non-exclusive gives the contributor more control over usage rights, as well as designated third-parties.

Fourth, Corbis Images allows licensing for buyers for up to two years, which will determine, in part, the sale price of the stock image. Most other stock image sites only allow for a one-year license from time of purchase.

Lastly, Corbis Images supports some extraordinarily large contributors, such as film makers – and features celebrity photographs throughout the site. This sets them apart from other stock image sites because of the sheer attraction that celebrities lend to a site.

Fees to Join
It would seem that, elusive as the process to join is, there are no fees associated with joining Corbis Images. At one point, there was a “foreign office fee” that was charged for images that were sold outside of the contributor’s home country. But, as of October 2010, that fee has gone away, meaning better commissions for contributors no matter where the images are being sold.

Currently, there seems to be no cost to join, as images that are approved will be offered for sale, and Corbis Images will take a percentage of the sale price, leaving a commission for the contributor.

Payment for Content
There is no listed payment for images, nor is there information available on whether contributors are paid per unit or if they are paid for image sets only. However, those whose images are made available to the Costco image gallery for prints will be paid per unit.

However, despite a detailed, exact statement of royalties paid to their contributors, they are known to be competitive with their payments, among the lines of doing better than even Getty Images insofar as payments to their contributors (which is, essentially, another “cream of the crop” stock site).
Of course, when the foreign office fee was in effect, this was taking a rather large chunk of money out of contributors’ royalties – now, however, with this fee eliminated; contributors are able to make more money with each sale, no matter where in the world the sale occurs.

Payments appear to be prompt and consistent – with monthly payments, royalty statements, and clear tax forms.

Pros & Cons of Joining Corbis Images
One of the major cons to joining Corbis Images is the difficulty in getting in to become a contributor. The process is quite lengthy and highly selective. Furthermore, after one applies to become a contributor, there is no room for “status inquiries” – in other words, all the applicant can do is submit his or her work, and then wait. A “don’t call us, we’ll call you” attitude prevails. Corbis Images knows how large they are on the stock image market, and has little difficulty flexing their muscles. Newbies to the stock image industry may wish to avoid Corbis all together, until they have at least 500 images that they can offer the company. Even at that point, getting in can be difficult.

Another potential drawback to joining is that the contributor does not know exactly how much he or she will be paid for their submissions – therefore, it may or may not be worth joining, depending on his or her individual needs. However, considering that this is one of the most coveted sites for image authors, it is highly doubtful that it would not be worth applying, and going through the approval process.

By their own word, the royalty calculation process is simple, and contributors are paid a uniform percentage for their submissions as they are sold. Of course, the royalties will differ depending on license – exclusive, non-exclusive, and co-exclusive licenses will incur different royalty payment rates. This is a definite pro for image authors. They will be able to control not only how their work is used, but will have the flexibility in choosing their level of compensation for their works.

Another pro is that the sheer size of Corbis Images attracts a highly lucrative clientele. A contributor may find the application process worth it once large corporations begin using their images on a regular basis.
Additional pros include having an editor to work with for image approval, a plethora of video tutorials to review, and customer service and support that is extremely helpful. They offer live chat during regular business hours (Pacific Time), and have email support for their off hours.

Finally, a major pro is the ability to use a simple IPTC upload protocol for all images and image information. This makes it a lot easier for contributors to get their work in en masse. While other sites also have this feature, it is still a pro that gives the website a boost.

It would seem that contributors are content to work with Corbis Images for what they make in royalties, and they are eager to continually submit their work – considering how many pictures, vectors, illustrations, and videos the site hosts, it must be worth the wait to be called.

Corbis Images – Overall
This large company with over 20 years of experience providing quality images is appealing to buyers internationally. Also, working for Corbis Images on contract is an attractive option for image authors, and the competition to get “in” with the company is quite fierce. With international exposure, a diverse client portfolio, and is considered one of the top stock image sites to work for – it is certainly one of the most coveted among photographers. A wide selection of searchable images, vectors, illustrations, and stock videos that are backed by a solid corporation and easy to navigate site make it appealing for buyers, and therefore, best for contributors. Remember, there is no simple “submit here” button, and the application process, though simple, takes time for a response, but it is potentially worth it for those who have top-quality material to submit.

Fotosearch started out of a necessity to fill a niche for people who were looking for specialized content and tools for publishing and graphic design. The company started putting together an immense catalog of stock photography that was able to be reviewed and purchased with the help of graphic design software.
The site was fully launched in 1998 and was an accumulation of an extensive library for royalty free and rights managed photography. The site provided an easy to use, searchable site that members could use to browse and buy stock photos and videos using innovative features and providing extraordinary customer service that has made them a leader in the industry.

Over the years, Fotosearch has accumulated a vast array of high quality images and videos that are second to none. They continue to grow their library and add more photos every day, giving their members even more choices to choose from when deciding on the perfect advertising or marketing strategy to take in order to impress their own clients. Fotosearch has many advantages and benefits to offer its members, and they show no sign of slowing down when it comes to leading the trend in stock photo images.

Fotosearch Is The Leader In Stock Photo Websites

Fotosearch is one of the largest stock image and photo providers in the world. All together, they represent over one hundred agencies that are royalty free, over ten million photographs, and more than two hundred thousand stock image clips. Add that to the more than seven million images that can be transformed into prints and posters, and Fotosearch can provide a seemingly unlimited number of options to its clients which includes publishing companies, magazines from all over the world, and a wide array of advertising firms around the globe.

Finding the perfect stock photography at Fotosearch is fast and easy. Users can access the database to find any of the clipart, audio clips, video footage, and other illustrations with the click of a button. They can also search in over a dozen languages for pictures and pay in their own local currency for each site. Fotosearch also offers around the clock customer support over the phone, and almost every language is available with this feature.

Images that have been distributed from Fotosearch have been featured in a number of publications including the New York Times, People magazine, and Newsweek, as well as being featured in many motion pictures and television shows.

For over 20 years now, Fotosearch has been providing only the best in high quality images to its clients and other creative professionals that have been used in presentations and designs, bringing together tens of thousands of illustrators, photographers, videographers, and more to one of the largest collections of images and clips available online.

Some of the other features that the stock photo website offers include:
•    Instant downloads
•    A vast collection of stock video
•    Prices to fit into any budget for design or other use
•    A money back guarantee
•    Professional customer service by phone
•    Prints of stock photos and other illustrations
•    Subscriptions to download stock photos
•    Monthly promotions featuring photos and other images

All of the products on Fotosearch can be easily downloaded when licensed for use in materials, advertisements, websites, and more. All of this and so much more is readily available for users who join the site, making Fotosearch the easiest and most efficient way to browse and purchase stock photo images.

Fotosearch For Photographers And Other Creative Professionals

The stock images that Fotosearch has readily available to its users is immense and impressive. They not only have the largest selection of images, but also the most impressive in terms of the finest quality. They are constantly expanding their collection every month with new stock photos and images that can be searched with a lightning fast search engine to allow users to quickly find the image that they need for any project.

Any professional photographer will enjoy the many benefits that Fotosearch has to offer. Payment for top notch, high quality images and videos can bring in a nice supplemental income if enough contributions are made, and payment will vary according to size, duration, and other aspects of the captured images. They will then be placed into the Fotosearch library and be made available to site users for purchase or licensing, and then distributed for various advertising and marketing campaigns.

When users sell their images to Fotosearch, they can have the peace of mind in knowing that their images will be treated with as much care and respect that the person who took them would have. Fotosearch takes great pride in the photos and images that are submitted to them and they will always keep the best interest of their members in mind when buying or selling submitted stock photos.
Every image and video that is bought or sold on Fotosearch will always come with the guarantee that it is of the highest quality for use in the marketplace and for advertising and marketing campaigns.

Site Features And Helpful Hints For Fotosearch Users

Photographers can not only buy images, but they can also sell their own professional prints. Fotosearch has plenty of packages for each individual user that can meet any budget, and packages can start out as low as $15 for images and prints.
Disc packages can be purchased for those who are looking a multiple amount of images. With special royalty free stock photography bundles starting at around $58, users can package all their specific needs into a disc at a savings of up to 40% less than the total cost of buying discs individually.

Lightboxes are another unique feature that Fotosearch has available to its users. A lightbox is a site area that users can save their images for later review or purchase. This feature is only available to registered users who are logged into the site, and can be an invaluable tool when it comes to having images approved for clients before they are purchased. With lightbox you can also add and change images that you become interested in at a later time and save them into a chosen lightbox that can be easily accessed for ease of use.

There are royalty free images that can be used time and time again for almost any usage. These images are priced not on usage amount, but size only. This means that there will never be any additional fees for re-using the image as many times as the site user would like. Royalty free images can also be bundled with other images onto discs for an even greater value.

Rights Managed images are another feature that Fotosearch users will find unique. These are images that are licensed for a specific use and the fees for these images are decided by several determining factors including placement, size, geographic location, and duration of use for the images. When users license Rights Managed images, they will be provided with a more distinct and unique image than is offered with royalty free images, but they cannot be used for any other purpose other than what the image is specified for.

Releases that are signed by any people shown in an image is called a Model Release. This signature allows the likeness of the person or people in the photo to be used for commercial purposes when they are in advertisements, promotions, or publications. When model releases exist, the image is held at the location of the photo publisher. When users purchase the release, it will give them evidence in writing that that have the permission of pictured models to use their likeness.

Property Leases, similar to model releases, are essentially the same except that the owners of a property must sign off on their content of the property shown in an image and it is then able to be used in the same manner as a model release.

File Compression is the result of images being delivered to users in a compressed format after being purchased. While at first, the downloaded file will be only about ten percent of the normal size, it will be expanded to the listed size once it is saved in an uncompressed format.

What is a “Photo Object”?
Photo Objects are images that are made specifically to be used without a background. These images include a clipping path with the image or they are shot on a white background to simplify the process of making a clipping path.

Fotosearch Is The Way To Go For High Quality Stock Photo Images

Creative professionals and photographers will enjoy the many uses that Fotosearch has become known for when it comes to all of their stock image and photo needs. Almost every major credit card is accepted and even checks and e-checks are welcome when paying for services. Fotosearch is the leader in stock photo imagery and will continue to provide high quality photos and videos for their members going forward.

Bigstock has become one of the larger stock image photography sites available on the web. They are a professional provider of images and video clips for buyers and sellers and pride themselves on being a company that offers very reasonable returns to their members. Their website is a great place to find great tools and resources, as well as specialized content for publishers and graphic designers.

Over the years, they have put together quite an impressive collection of images including royalty free images for use with various marketing and advertising campaigns. Bigstock provides it users with an easy to navigate website featuring many innovative designs and artwork that are easily searchable and useable. While they continue to expand their massive library every day, members who join can enjoy even more choices to select from when deciding on the best advertising or marketing strategy for their business. The many benefits and advantages that comes with membership is unparalleled to any other site and they are quickly rising to the top of the stock photo image ladder.

Even with new sites emerging and offering competition, Bigstock is staying ahead of the trend with their reliability and professionalism. They offer a simple way to buy or sell high quality grade photos and images and members can get started for as little as $0.90 in credit purchases. Specially priced packages like this help to keep Bigstock on top of their game in the stock photo market, when other sites can charge up to three times more for their packages. And with their royalty free images, users can purchase an image and use it for anything from web design, templates, publishing, and other business needs in order to promote their business.

A Massive Redesign For Bigstock Helps To Improve The Site Even More

WIth the redesign of their branding, navigational system, tools, search engines, and even a new logo, Bigstock has made a major visual and aesthetic improvement to its site that is sure to impress new and old members alike.

The very first thing visitors to the site will notice is the visual aspect of the redesign. An updated and more professional look will welcome visitors and members instantly providing a noticable change. The logo has been updated to a more modern design and the functionality of the site has increased dramatically, making it one of the most versatile websites on the internet.

A greatly improved buyer interface allows for search results to fill the full browser width, provide image detail pages, and a more advanced search process with the addition of popups to help keep buyers from losing their position while still refining their search. Also, an enhanced submission process offers a more logical flow within the use of the batch editing tools and other shift-click actions.

Other notable redesign processes include buyer functions which will increase sales opportunities beyond the Bigstock website itself, new blogs separated between buyers and sellers, and an enhanced SEO that uses methods that are standard with microstock agencies.

With all of the redesign work that has been done to date, Bigstock is still continuing to make improvements to its site. They are planning to update and improve the details of display for earnings, which would save users the time of having to navigate through numerous pages to see their results.
The management of model release will show improvement with photos that are attached to a release showing total earnings for each individual model. And even more design structures will be added with an updated affiliate program, data reporting, and stronger customer support, making Bigstock a clear frontrunner in the stock photo image industry.

Redesign Strategy Played A Big Role With Added Acquisition

One of the biggest strategies behind the redesign process was the acquisition of the company by Shutterstock. As a result of the merger, the team was able to combine the work ethic, intelligence, and strategies from both companies in order to provide one of the best solutions for their members.

The most emphasis placed on the website during the redesign was on the photos themselves. By eliminating elaborate designs and other unnecessary site links, they were able to make it an easy and clear site to use, with the primary highlight being the great photography that is showcased. By including an API and an enhanced SEO, the technology that was used during the redesign process was paramount to the success of the Bigstock. All of this, along with an all new advertising campaign showing very noticable increases in performance and sales, can only mean that more improvements for the site will only help to boost an already rising force.

The search engine restructuring made it much more sophisticated, and now supports stronger algorithmic varieties. It was important for Bigstock to deliver a faster and more workable search engine for its users, knowing that it is a huge factor when it comes to customer retention. Overall, the balance of relevant search results, balance, and quality of the search engine gives a sort of freshness to the site that it was looking for.

Bigstock put a tremendous amount of thought into the redesign structure and it shows, putting them closer to their competition when it comes to website branding and experience. All of this should mean a higher volume of sales and a great boost in promotional and marketing aspects.

Moving Into The Future With Bigstock

With all of their royalty free images, stock photo imagery, clips, videos, and other tools, Bigstock is poised to have a very successful run moving forward. They have a seemingly endless amount of perks and benefits for their users, and many magazines, publishing companies, and advertising firms use the services of Bigstock every day to promote their own products and services to clients all over the world. Their 24/7 customer support is there to help members in any way that they can to make their visit to the site not only an enjoyable one, but a memorable one as well.

No matter what photo or image users will look for, they will find it fast and easy to do so. The large database of video, illustrations, clipart, and other images can be found with the click of a button, making Bigstock one of the most user friendly stock image sites to use.

Bigstock has an unparalleled amount of features available to their users including instant downloads, large collections of video, prints of stock photos, low pricing packages for members that come with a full money back guarantee, and many other promotions and subscriptions that members can enjoy.

All of this and so much more is available for users who join the site, making Bigstock one of the easiest and most efficient ways to browse and purchase stock photo images and other illustrations. Images that have been sold and purchased from Bigstock have been featured in a many publications around the world including magazines as well as being featured in movies and television shows.

Bigstock has been providing the very best in high quality images to its clients and creative professionals and those images have been used in various presentations and designs, bringing together lots of illustrators, photographers, videographers, and more to one of the largest collections of images and clips available online.

Bigstock has made the necessary adjustments to keep them among the upper echelon of stock photo websites, and they have much more planned for their members in the coming months. Whenever there is a need for a stock image, Bigstock has what clients need and they can rest assured in knowing that they are getting the very best pictures and video that money can buy.

There is something for everyone at Bigstock. No matter what the event or advertisement is representing, the thousands of images available are sure to impress any client or prospective customer, making Bigstock the one stop shopping place for artist and other creative professionals.

To enter the contest, users simply upload their photos onto their Google+ page and then use the link of their photo to complete the entry form, available on the contest’s home page. Winners will be chosen by Zagat’s team of editors.