Pricing of Stock Photography

There are two basic pricing models for buying photos, Rights Managed (RM) and Royalty-Free (RF). RM images require a fee based on usage (type of use, scope, and length of time) while RF images require a flatfee payment for unlimited use. Rights Protected (RP) photos are an enhancement to the basic RM model, providing control over competing uses. We sell only RM and RP licences.

The advantages of RM/RP images

On the surface, it might seem that RF is a preferred model, but in most cases that is not true, for the following reasons:

  1. PRICE: Most clients rarely use an image more than once. RF seems like a bargain but in reality, fresh images are preferable to re-used ones. A small RM licence will be less expensive than a RF one. And for larger uses, image uniqueness becomes increasingly valuable.
  2. UNIQUENESS: At this moment, any particular RF image is owned by many different users, forever. You can’t hope to create anything original with an RF image and may well risk the embarassment of having your image choice show up in a competing product or design. That’s unprofessional and may even be damaging to your company. A number of famous gaffs have occurred recently when the same RF image was used by different clients. RP images can guarantee this will not happen by managing your rights and limiting competing uses.
  3. CONTROL: Our RP images provide “spot exclusivity” whereby your exact use of an image will not be duplicated by anyone else. We maintain tracking data on all our licences and no RM/RP sale is allowed to compete directly with any other. For an extra fee, we can provide full exclusivity offering complete rights protection to safeguard your campaign or product uniqueness.
  4. QUALITY and PRIDE: Here’s where we both benefit. You want an image that stands out, builds your corporate identity, or carries visual clout when presented to others. We expend great effort acquiring these sky scenes and are proud of our achievements. Fair compensation for use allows us to make images that help you take pride in your business too.

Your image is enhanced by ours. A photo has great impact on the viewer, projecting a positive influence that has value. The photo licence is a small price, in relative terms, to pay for this impact for your organization’s image.

Buying a Rights Managed and Protected photo licence

The discriminating buyer will want a photo with managed rights. Our licence will grant you the right to use the photo in a particular way for a specified time period. This ensures that you only pay for what you need, and that you receive protection from possibly conflicting uses.

To grant this licence, we will need to know several things about your intended use or project, loosely grouped as follows:

Requesting “unlimited use” may sound appealing but is expensive and rarely needed. Please find out exactly what the photo is needed for and let us know so we can price accordingly.

Protecting your purchase

Our value-added RM licence automatically includes basic rights protection. We maintain a history of usage for all photos and place restrictions on similar, competing uses after your purchase. Additional protection can be obtained by requesting an exclusive use licence to prevent your competitors from using that image in the same way within your industry or territory for a certain time period. This will ensure that your photo use is unique and your investment secure.

About the licence

Please note that our licence is with you, our customer, and not with your client. Rights are not transferable.

With our RM/RP licence, you get what you pay for... we guarantee it!