How to Buy Stock Photography

By eHow Hobbies, Games & Toys Editor

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Stock photos are unlicensed photographs available for general use. This means that if you are looking for a professional photo for an art project, for wall decor or for any other purpose, you can find it in stock photo archives. These archives can be accessed online and photos can be easily purchased.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Find a stock photo website through a search engine.

Step2

Scan the archive for the type of image you want to purchase.

Step3

Join the website. In order to purchase photos, many websites require you to register or become a member of the website. Some sites are free and others require a paid, monthly subscription.

Step4

Choose the photos that you want to buy and follow the instructions for how to do so.

Step5

Go to a stock photo shop. If you don't like buying things online, there are stock photo stores in most major cities.

Tips & Warnings

Some websites offer free stock photos. These websites generally have a smaller inventory, but the photos are still high quality. Also, many of the sites encourage exchanges. So if you enjoy photography, you can post your own photos online as well.

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Comments

aes55 said

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on 5/19/2008 Your opening statement of "Stock photos are unlicensed photographs available for general use" is not correct. All images marketed and vended by a stock agency, even a free agency, have licensing language regarding terms of use. You are misleading people with this incorrect statement. Althogh Royalty Free stock is very different from Rights managed stock with regards to terms of use, there are yes, still indeed terms of use in a royalty free licensing agreement.