A Professional Look, On a Budget

The imagery you use in your marketing materials and advertising is important to represent your brand and appeal to your target market. With the growing number of stock photography websites, small business owners no longer have to pay a premium for professional images.

Royalty-free stock photographs are available online at reasonable costs. Images can be purchased for as little as $1. Typically, you pay a one-time fee for an image that can be used multiple times in various forms of media. However, this image is licensed to one user and cannot be redistributed. Since the license is Royalty-free and multiple users can purchase the image, exclusive rights are not available. Each stock photography website has their own set of license and usage restrictions, which you should review before making a purchase.

Ready to create a new (and inexpensive) look for your next brochure? The following Royalty-free stock photography websites will help you get started:

• iStockphoto (www.istockphoto.com): Images, videos and illustrations are available for $1 to $50. Membership is free, but photos can only be purchased with credits. Credit packages start at $13.

• Shutterstock (www.shutterstock.com): Royalty-free stock photos are available on a subscription-only basis. With packages ranging from $199 to $1,999, you can download 25 images per day for up to one year.

• Dreamstime (www.dreamstime.com): This website offers free images (limited license) and images for purchase. Images can be purchased with credits or a subscription. Credits expire after one year and subscriptions are available for 30 days to one year.

• 123 Royalty Free (www.123rf.com): Images are available through subscriptions or credits. Subscriptions start at $89 and credit packages range from $15 to $225. A collection of web resolution (150 dpi) images are also available at no cost.