Stock Images are images taken by professional photographers for use by individuals or companies. The usage rights can be purchased or may be free and there might be certain restrictions to using these images. They come in both Rights Managed (subscription per month, some other restrictions) and Royalty Free (one time buy and unlimited use). These are usually used by companies who do not wish to hire professional photographers and want stereotypical photographs such as those of a dog, a corporate woman and so on. A list of stock image websites with search engines follows.

Everystockphoto:

This is one of the most trusted free photo search engines on the internet. Currently the site claims to index 4,977,466 free photos. Membership is free and allows for the rating and commenting on photographs. The design is very slick and it is hard to believe that the site is free!

Big Stock Photo:

This is another large stock photo search engine that indexes royalty-free stock images starting from as low as $1. After everystockphoto’s website, Big Stock Photo’s web design is not very compelling. But with a stock of 4,060,000 royalty-free photographs, it is worth a look!

iStockPhoto:

Not an Apple driven site, this is a great website to not only search for royalty-free images, but also includes vector illustrations, stock video footage, audio tracks and Flash® files. It also allows you to sell stock pictures by creating a free account. Nifty if you are a budding photographer!

Stock.XCHNG:

A free, community-driven stock photography website, this allows for the free exchange of thought and stock between photographers and amateurs. Recommended for budding photographers!

Shuttershock:

This is the “largest subscription-based stock photo agency in the world”. It offers royalty-free images on flexible subscriptions and indeed these are of the highest quality. Have a look if you need stock images for your company – you will not be disappointed.

Fotosearch:

The search engine claims to index 5.8 million stock photographs, illustrations, audio and footage. There are both royalty-free and rights-managed stocks available. There are offers on some purchases, and thus it is a thriving market.

Crestock:

The shortened form of “Creative” and “Stock”, Crestock is a competitor to iStockPhoto by allowing both the buying and selling of stock photographs and footage. The commission on every image sold can go up to 30%!