BudgetStockPhoto.com

Traditional Stock Agencies

Traditional stock agencies sell Rights Managed (RM) or more often Royalty Free (RF) Images. Getty anounced they are phasing out Rights Managed. Since the term microstock was coined you might also come across these agencies being called macrostock, and in some cases those offering lower cost images (~$50 per image) are described a 'midstock' (although this term tends to describe microstock sites that offer premium images).

We have listed a few of the bigger agencies here, despite the inroads that microstock has made the vast majority of images available today are licensed by the full price agencies, if you can afford the price this is where you will find, with enough research, an image of ANYTHING; including flowers growing on the Moon!

There are two giants of the traditional stock photography world, Getty images and Corbis, combined they dominate a large part of the industry. You'll find a large number once independent agencies owned by these two companies

Getty Images		Individual Image	$525
		RM & RF	70 Million
One of the worlds largest stock agencies, featuring a vast array of brands and licensing options.

Alamy.com		Individual Image	$190
		RM & RF	70 Million
Independent: Alamy was a pioneer of internet photography, they were one of the first to accept and resell digital images from any photographer whose work was good enough to meet their guidelines.

inmagine.com		Individual	$349
		RF+RM	3.5 Million*
Source of rights managed and royalty free from 100 top selling image collections

masterfile.com		Individual	$apply
		RF+RM	?
nice looking collection, and good site functionality allowing easy search of both RM and RF collections and filtering between the two.

Robert Harding		Individual	$236
		RF+RM	5 Million
Leading independent travel image specialist

agefotostock.com		Individual+CD	$apply
		RF+RM	?
Combining both RM and RF with low budget rf (micro) offering from easyFotostock

firstlight.com		Individual	$355 (varies)
		RF+RM	?
Representing Canadian stock photographers and major worldwide collections

fotosearch.com		Individual	$99+
		RF+RM	5.6 Million
searching 5.6 million images from more than 100 images collections and well as a range of image CDs

imagesource.com		Individual	$199+ (varies)
		RF	5.6 Million
London based premium royalty free

acclaimimages.com		Individual	$252.95 (varies)
		RF+RM	225,000
acclaim Images offers over 200,000 images by hundreds of professional photographers covering all major topics.

AGPix		Individual	$On Application)
			230,000
AGPix.com is home to an online community of 350+ image providers, who are mostly freelance photographers

PlainPicture		Individual	$539
		RF+RM	?
Unconventional Portfolio, including “Rauschen”, a special collection of narrative, emotional and atmospheric photographs, specifically dedicated to book jacket designers.

SuperStock		Individual	$479
		RF+RM	?
A selection of images from the Corbis brands line Fancy and Zefa and a Midstock priced collection

Notes:

All prices are approximate, in US Dollars and subject to change, see each agency for full details and license details.
What is RM & RF? - See our glossary of terms.

All our single image prices are based on a typical RF license for an image of at least 1000x1000 pixels, in some cases cheaper licenses can be obtained for web/online use, lower resolutions or by subscription program.

Shocked by the price? Remember the price gets you quality, wider choice and a level of exclusivity not found with microstock images, but of many people microstock offers a better value solution.