Resources - Newsletter Tips
Intro to Stock Photography
While most desktop publishing software comes with its own library of images—called clip art—you may notice they tend to be poorly designed and are never really exactly what you are looking for anyway. Enter the world of stock photography. Searchable through online databases, stock photography is where everyone from newsletter editors to international magazine designers turn when they need a wide selection of high-quality images for a decent price.
Once you get the hang of it, buying and using stock photography is simple. Here are few tips to get you started:
- Most sites are free to search and free to join. Creating an account generally takes no more than a couple of minutes.
- Some sites offer both pay-as-you-go and subscription plans. For the purposes of a monthly newsletter, the pay-as-you-go option may be the most cost-effective. Subscription plans are really meant for companies who use large amounts of stock photography. Choose the plan that works best for your needs.
- Most images come in several sizes/resolutions. You may only need to purchase a small or x-small photo at low resolution, or 72 dots per inch (dpi), for a Web site, while medium to large photos (at high resolution or 300 dpi) would work better for a printed newsletter.
- Purchased images can only be used for the current project and not for different projects in the future. You can't use an image in your newsletter this month, then turn around and use it in a brochure about something else next year without purchasing the rights again.
- Once an image is purchased, it cannot be resold or redistributed. This is against the law!
Two sites you may find helpful are www.istockphoto.com and www.shutterstock.com. Both sites have millions of photos that are easy to search and typically carry low fees. If you have other questions about the purchase and use of stock photography, please feel free to visit the Contact Us page and send us an e-mail. We're happy to help you!
