I've started using some of the new royalty-free member supported stockphoto clients that have popped up. Several years ago, when the more expensive services started, I was elated. I have used many Getty photos for professional projects, less costly than before - but still a bit spendy.
I was a bit skeptical about the new systems, but have been very pleased with the quality of photos available and the price, which is so low as to be sickening.
I have also started to participate in the various stockphoto sites. I will blog the results of that as they mature. Hopefully I will become extremely wealthy.
The micropayments and the social aspects of the sites are interesting. I'm not sure of the long term business model here, however. The level of infrastructure required to support $1 transactions seems a bit dicey.
Dion didn't include these in his Web 2.0 list mentioned yesterday. So I'll list them here:
Fotolia - the newcomer
Very clean interface and some very nice pictures of stop lights - which is what I needed today. All photos here seem to be $1. When you join and want to contribute pictures, they make you take a little exam - similar in complexity to a skill testing question in Canada when you win some fries. I have uploaded a few photos here, as I really did like their Interface. I will likely buy some photos from the site in the next week or so.
I give Fotolia 4/5 flashbulbs.
istockphoto.com - probably my favorite thus far
istockphoto has a very large database of well formed stock photos that lend themselves well to professional use. Some of them show an amateur behind the lens - but very few. More often the descriptions show the amateur rather than the photos themselves. The search functions are well thought out and powerful. Nice UI. Photos cost $1, $2, or $3 - depending on size. Excellent stuff here for web work.
I give istockphoto.com 4.5/5 flashbulbs.
Image After has very interesting texture and background images. High quality, high resolution and free. No directed pictures of people eating or having a meeting. These are all stylistic images. Very nice, very directed, very free.
By definition, these pictures are not as all-purpose as the other stock photo sites. So, I give this a 4/5 flashbulbs with the understanding that you aren't going to get a kid on a bike here.
Fairly good selection. Keyword "Traffic" returned over 430 photos. "Woman" returned 500. The sign up process is a little long. Pictures are of reasonably good quality. UI is nice and fast.
Another 4 / 5 flashbulbs
Fully free site with royalty-free photos. "Traffic" grabbed 10 images. "Woman" returned 2 images. So, have to think this isn't well stocked. While I don't deny StockVault the need to get some revenue ... wow is the UI loaded with ugly ads. The site nearly looks like a splog.
I give this a 2 / 5 fiashbulbs.
It's all aerial photos! The UI is utterly nonintuitive, but the pictures are unlike anywhere else. There are no thumbnails - on purpose. To increase speed they've just given you descriptions and you have to click through to see each one. Ouch, clunky despite the rationale. Still, this site is a labor of love by Aerphoto Schiphol in the Netherlands. They're doing it to get good aerials out in the public domain, and you have to love them for that.
I give the site 3.5 / 5 for the UI but a 5 / 5 for the love.
Also entirely royalty and cost free. A fair selection of photos. "Traffic" brought up 250 or so pictures. "Woman" garnered 829. Pretty good quality. The interface has a lot of information about each photo in the preview screen - too much in my opinion. It detracts from the images and makes it hard to scan due to the clutter.
I give this 3.5 / 5 flashbulbs...
Freephoto.com provides all free stock photos. They are a UK based company with a great supply of material. Not nearly the supply you'll find at istockphoto, but these are totally free - which has a certain appeal.
Again 4 / 5 ranking, if it seems I'm bad a differentiating - all of these ranked thus far are quite similar in design and content.
Amazing selection of pictures. This site operates as a monthly fee. A bit spendy for this crowd though - about $140 a month. You can download all the pictures you can eat though. So maybe taking the whole database would be cost effective. Keyword "traffic" brought up over 2,000 images. "Woman" brought up about 40,000. Excellent quality and selection. Loses out on the price, however.
Due to price 3.5 / 5 flashbulbs.
Free stock photos, but a very light supply. For example, the keyword "woman" brought up two photos. Nice integration with Creative Commons licensing - but very much in need of content.
2.5 / 5 flashbulbs here.
I know there's more out there. If you find some let me know and I'll append this post.
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