There are many stock photography sites out on the web and it has always been a challenge to determine which one to use. Web designers and graphic designers like share the challenge of searching for that perfect photo for their vision. Sometimes there is more time spent scrolling through stock photography online than is actually spent coding a website or laying out a template (not kidding). Here are a few sites to consider during your next photo-hunt.
BigStock – Bigstockphoto.com is a site that we recently started using as an alternative to istockphoto.com. They have a bit better prices and some very creative photos
Istockphoto.com – this is no secret, they are one of the most well known and widest used royalty free stock photography sites on the web. Their price for credits has increased in recent months ever since their acquisition of stockxpert.com (which was my favorite). Regardless, this is still a good place to hunt for images.
Bing & Google Images – when you are looking for ideas it is sometimes helpful to search either Bing or Google’s image search and see what comes up. We do not condone stealing photos, but it can be a good idea generator.
Buy Stock Flash – a great site for buying editable flash (.fla) files. There are some great flash source files on here that provide for easy image swapping via XML files and read me notes outlining integration. Price range of files varies from a few dollars and up, but you get what you pay for, most decent files are at least $15-$20.
Tin Eye – Tin Eye is a reverse image lookup site that allows you to submit a photo or point to an image on the web and it searches for where that photo can be found in stock photography sites. It is like a scanner and search engine for photos.
