Can I Resell My Bought Stock Photos?

We see stock photos everywhere we go online. From the big supermarket chains online platforms to academic teaching courses, they are everywhere.

Can I Resell My Bought Stock Photos

And they give back-end developers of a website a nice eye-catching little way to keep people from getting bored with websites. 

Bored of the internet? I hear you cry: one of the most important technologies in the modern day?

My friends, although technology has advanced to an unprecedented level in the last 2 decades.

There are still some people who remember the 90s and children (who are now in their late 20s) who remember what the internet and computers used to be like. 

Let me tell you, they were essential and useful, but fun? Not exactly. Most of them were just green text with a black background that gave unending screens of text.

There are many reasons that people flock to the internet nowadays for leisure, when before that was considered insanity, and one of them is improved imagery.

Stock photos form a large part of this imagery, but for those buying them, they may hit a snag. 

Can you resell your stock photos? Most people only need them for one or two projects, so what can you do with them afterwards? In this article, we seek to answer this question in full. 

What Are Stock Photos?

Stock photography is a type of photojournalism where professional photographers capture images for use on corporate websites, magazines, books, newspapers, television shows, film, and other media outlets.

The photographer captures the image of the subject as it would appear if photographed by a real camera.

These images are then edited and retouched to make sure that the final product looks more appealing than the original.

They can then provide these images to clients at no cost, or charge a small fee for their services. 

The process of creating great stock photographs is quite difficult, as the photographer must have skills such as lighting, composition, exposure, and color correction.

It takes years to develop these techniques, which is why many people prefer to outsource this work to professionals.

However, due to the length of time that stock photography has been around and the rise of the internet in the 90s.

There are millions of stock photos available to those who are not photographers to choose from. 

How Much Do Stock Photos Cost?

How much does it cost to buy stock photos? This is really up to you. You could pay $0.50 per photo, $5 per photo, or even $100 per photo – the choice is yours!

Unfortunately, for most stock photos, you won’t find any good photography for less than $10 per photo.

If you want to take advantage of free stock photography, you will need to search high and low for decent photos.

There are plenty of resources available, so it is not impossible to find the one you want, but it will take time if you don’t have the cash. 

There are also companies that offer free stock photos, however, they tend to be limited in terms of quantity if you don’t have the cash.

Some of these sites include FreeImages, Pixabay, DepositPhotos and Shutterstock. However, once again, don’t expect too much quality of the free photos offered by sites like this. 

You can also try searching Google Images for “free stock photos.” The results vary depending on the time of day. Sometimes you’ll find a few decent pictures, while other times you’ll find nothing.

As long as you know what kind of images you want to purchase, you shouldn’t struggle too much finding something. 

Where To Start?

If you have never purchased stock photos before, here are some places to begin.

iStock Photo

This is probably the best place to start looking for stock photos. They have over 40 million images to choose from. Prices range from $15 all the way up to $500.

There are also many types of categories ranging from food, animals, nature, technology, sports, etc. 

Pixabay

This site offers free stock images. Their collection has over 1.6 million images, most of which are under Creative Commons licenses. 

Depositphotos

This company has been around since 2005 and specializes in royalty-free stock photos. You can browse through thousands of high quality images.

Many of the images come from the same photographers who shoot for iStockPhoto, meaning that you can often find similar content on both sites. 

Shutterstock

This website provides premium stock images. They are one of the largest providers of stock photos with over 20 million images available. Pricing ranges from $7 to $100+ per image. 

Fotolia

This site has over 10 million free images that are licensed under Creative Commons. All the images are provided without watermarks, so you can edit them as much as you like. 

Photodune

This website sells premium stock images. They have over 3.4 million images available for licensing. Most of the images are free, but pricing starts at $10. 

Can I Resell My Own Photos?

Can I Resell My Own Photos

Yes, you can definitely resell your own photos. In fact, most stock agencies allow you to do just that if they are entirely your own or your own work.

Just make sure that you are getting paid fairly for your work when you attempt to sell. 

What About Copyright Issues?

You always need to ask permission before using another person’s photograph. It is against the law to use someone else’s image without their express permission.

You may think that you aren’t infringing anyone’s rights by purchasing stock photos, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Even if you obtain a license to use someone else’s image, you still need to give credit where credit is due.

The photographer may not care if you use his/her picture, but others will appreciate knowing that you gave them proper recognition. 

What Is The Difference Between Buying And Selling Stock Photos?

Buying stock photos is very simple. You simply go online and search for an agency that sells stock images. Once you find a suitable agency, contact them and set up a meeting.

During the meeting, you will discuss how much money you would like to spend on stock images. If you decide to buy stock photos from them, they will provide you with all the information you need. 

Selling stock photos is more difficult. You will need to learn how to properly tag your photographs. This involves adding keywords that help people search for your photo.

You should also add tags that describe the type of image you are selling. For example: landscape, portrait, product, animal, etc. 

Depending on what kind of photography you specialize in, there might be certain types of stock photos that sell better than others.

Can I Resell My Bought Stock Photos?

Not really, which is a confusing answer, but we will endeavor to explain it.

The thing about stock photos is that when a person purchases a stock photo, they are not actually purchasing the photo or the intellectual rights to the photo. 

They are purchasing the right to use the photo in either a commercial or a personal role in the form of a license.

As such, the license holder can generally use the photo in any way they like – from being a website background to being on billboards – except one. 

The one thing a license holder can not do with a stock photo is to resell it. The reason for this is simple: they do not own the photo, therefore they have no right to sell it.

If you attempt to resell a stock photo without permission, then you could be in a lot of trouble. 

You will probably be told to remove the photo and refund those who you sold it to, but most likely you will be subject to legal action by the company who sold you the photo. Bad news all round, really. 

So, What Can I Do With Stock Photos?

If you want to take advantage of stock photos, then you need to know what kinds of things you can do with them.

There are many ways that you can use stock photos, depending on the type of project you are working on. Some examples include:

Portfolio websites: These websites are used to showcase the best work of photographers. They usually feature portfolios of the best works created by each photographer.

Portfolios can include anything from single photos to entire albums. A portfolio site allows users to view thousands of photos at once.

Therefore, if you have a large collection of stock photos, then this is a great way to display them.

Corporate Websites: Corporate sites are often used by companies to promote themselves.

They can feature products, services, testimonials, videos, press releases, newsletters, blog posts, and other promotional material.

When creating a corporate site, ensure that everything is branded correctly.

That means using the same font throughout, having the same color scheme, and using the exact same style of layout as every other page on the website.

Additionally, make sure that any logos and brand names are consistent across the site.

Blogs: Blogs are similar to corporate websites in that they allow companies to promote their business and products. However, blogs are typically smaller scale than corporate sites.

Instead of featuring multiple pages, blogs only feature one post per day. In addition, blogs tend to be written by individuals rather than businesses.

Therefore, if you’re looking to create a corporate site, then blogging may be more suitable for your needs.

Business cards: Business cards are very useful because they provide a quick and easy way to get information out to potential customers.

They also give people something to write down, which makes it easier to remember details. This is especially important if you are selling something.

For example, if you were running an online store, then you would need to collect emails, phone numbers, addresses, and other contact information.

Using business cards lets people easily write these details down.

Facebook/Twitter Ads: Facebook ads and Twitter ads can be used to promote yourself or your business.

They are similar to Google Ads, but instead of paying money to appear above search results, you pay to place advertisements within Facebook and Twitter feeds.

If you already have a presence on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, then there is no additional cost involved.

You simply pay a monthly fee to run ads on these networks. The benefit of advertising through social media is that it reaches a much larger audience.

With over 1 billion active users, Facebook has become a major platform for communication and advertisement.

Print Ads: Print ads are another common method of promoting your business. These advertisements appear in newspapers and magazines.

They normally last for several weeks before moving onto other publications. Although print ads are still popular, they aren’t nearly as effective as they used to be.

Newspapers and magazines have limited space, so they must choose where they will spend their ad budget wisely. As a result, many advertisers now use print ads alongside other methods of promotion.

Online Marketing: Online marketing is the practice of promoting your business via the internet.

It includes things such as email campaigns, affiliate programs, and SEO (search engine optimization). There are also various apps available that can help advertise your business.

Direct Mail: Direct mail is another form of online marketing that involves sending physical letters to potential clients. Similar to print ads, direct mail provides a good return on investment.

However, it does require some initial capital to set up. Once you have the necessary materials, though, you don’t need to worry about the costs anymore.

All of these methods – although not directly stated when listing them – use stock photos to help their ads appeal to consumers.

The breath and range of stock photography in marketing is enormous, and you should consider how best to use stock photos before purchasing them. 

Conclusion

Stock photographs are worth buying for when you are building a brand, project, or a marketing scheme for your business, however, they are not something that you can really resell.

This is due to the fact that you are not the owner of these photos, but a licensee of their use.

As such, you should focus more on what you can use them for in the long term, rather than how you can get rid of them afterwards.

Katie Dawson