We included this page about stock photography to help you navigate the world of buying stock imagery. We hope it helps!

Stock Photography

Stock photography, according to Wikipedia is “…the supply of photographs, which are often licensed for specific uses.” True, but it is a bit more complicated than that. Stock photos are pictures that are taken (or created) on spec. That is, the photographer has no guarantee that anyone will ever license them and many images never do sell and others sell hundreds of times. It is a crapshoot and you never know which photo will do well.

License Types

Currently there are different categories of stock photography relating to how those images can be licensed and how they are priced. Those categories include: Rights Managed, Royalty Free (very poorly named), and subscription in which, for a monthly, or other specified time period, a fee is charged for a maximum number of photo downloads (this model is generally good for the stock agencies and very bad for professional photographers).

Rights Managed

Rights managed, or RM photos, are licensed according to the use and take into consideration such aspects as the duration of use, the category of use, the distribution, the size of reproduction, the industry of use, and so forth. Rights Managed can offer the end user varying degrees of exclusivity. Some may feel it is cumbersome and restrictive but in certain circumstances, it is necessary, for example…most of our animal imagery is RM because we have greeting card contracts that need to be honored. Unfortunately, as a result of the commoditization of photography, in general, RM is fading in popularity in favor of Royalty Free photography.

Royalty Free

“Royalty Free” imagery is not free but rather is licensed and priced via image size. There are usually some restrictions (i.e. not for use on on-demand products), and once an image is licensed it can be used forever. Gaining popularity is the use of “market freeze” in which a limited amount of exclusivity is offered. In that case, for a fee, the image is pulled from distribution for a given time period. Also gaining in popularity are “Extended Licenses” which allow for the uses that are generally excluded from normal RF licensing. So the trend is to make RF a little more like RM.

Animal Antics

Virtually all of our Animal Antics images are Rights Managed, as we have exclusive contracts with greeting card companies…though the images are generally available for licensing for all other uses, from puzzles, calendars and coffee mugs to advertising and editorial uses.

How To Buy Our Stock Imagery

You can buy (or more accurately license) our stock photography in several ways. The majority of our images are available at Getty Images, however, most of our Animal Antics images are available only directly through us. Our motion (video) is available through Dissolve and Getty Images.

Free Stock Photos

ALL OF OUR IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHTED and must be licensed before they can be used. Beware…there are sites on the internet promoting free images but many of those images are being offered without the photographer’s permission and if you are caught using them, it won’t matter that the site claimed that they are free to use. You can still be liable for substantial damages if those images have registered copyright protection.

Concept, Business And Travel Photography

In addition to our funny, anthropomorphic Animal Antics stock photos we have a deep collection of concept and business concept stock photos and we have travel images from Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, China, Turkey, Peru, Cambodia, Laos, Jordan, India, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Socotra and the Galapagos Islands.