What Does it Mean If an Image is Royalty-Free?

Whether you’re working on a social media campaign, a blog post, or a sales brochure, strong visuals are a must. Royalty-free images from Shutterstock are the perfect way to make your content stand out.

However, you should always read the license carefully before using any image. Many royalty-free licenses prohibit specific uses, so be sure to check.

Definition

When an image is marketed as royalty-free, it does not mean that you can use the photo without paying royalties. This is because the copyright is still with the photographer or other original owner of the image.

However, you can find royalty-free images on many stock image sites. These are commonly used in marketing, advertising, and other creative projects like websites.

They also come in handy for making in-store displays more captivating. A well-designed display with a high-quality image can help shoppers remember your product or brand and even make them buy more!

Another key feature of royalty-free images is that you can reuse them as often as you want. This is unlike rights-managed (RM) images, which require you to re-license them for each new use.

While royalty-free images are less expensive than RM licenses, they can still cost you a significant amount of money. The price depends on the stock photo agency, image resolution, purchase option, and exact licensing terms.

There are two main types of royalty-free images: commercial and editorial. Editorial:

Typically, images labeled ‘editorial’ can be used for non-commercial purposes such as news articles, books, blogs, or online editorial content. These images can be used for both print and digital formats, including on posters and flyers.

If you are planning on using royalty-free images for any type of project, it is essential to read the license carefully. This will allow you to make sure that you are not infringing on the copyright of any other user or company.

For example, if you are promoting your website, you might want to avoid using images with models or properties because these may be used by other users in a way that is misleading. You might also need to provide attribution when you use royalty-free images in your design or content.

Licenses

If you are looking for stock photos, it is important to know what licenses you can use. This will help you make sure you get the best images for your project, while keeping costs low.

There are a few different license types available for images, including standard, rights managed, and royalty-free (RF). The rate you pay for each type of license will depend on the agency you’re buying from.

Royalty-free (RF) is the most common type of license, and it means that you can use an image as many times as you want without paying any ongoing royalties to the original owner. However, RF images do come with some limitations, so it is important to read the license carefully before using them.

RF images are also non-transferable, so you cannot sell them or gift them to others. This makes them great for freelancers and small businesses who aren’t able to pay a royalty fee each time they use an image.

Another common limitation on RF images is that they have a certain time frame, usually 2 to 5 years. If your client decides to use the image beyond this time, they must have a new or renewed license.

The duration of a license can be very important, especially for larger projects. This is why it is always a good idea to specify this in your contract with the client.

There are also different licenses for different uses, so be aware of your client’s intentions before deciding on which one to purchase. For example, if your client plans to make products that are intended for resale, they will probably need to purchase a rights-managed license.

For example, iStock offers a rights-managed license for use on ads, such as banners and TV commercials. This type of license is also great for creating resale products, like mugs and T-shirts.

Restrictions

There are some restrictions associated with images being royalty-free, and this is important to understand. These restrictions may limit how you can use a photo, depending on what you intend to do with it.

There is no guarantee that a stock image website will offer images as royalty-free, and it’s best to always check the terms of any license you purchase. Each agency will introduce variations and changes to their terms, so it’s essential to read them carefully.

You can also find images under a Creative Commons license, which gives you permission to use a work with no attribution. However, you must follow the CC license terms to use them properly. For example, you cannot alter or reuse the photo for any commercial purpose without obtaining a separate license from the owner of the image.

Some content is in the public domain, which means that the copyright has expired or been forfeited. But this doesn’t mean you can use it without permission — some government agencies still require photo credit and/or registrations.

Another common restriction is that photos containing models or private property don’t have releases, which means they aren’t available for use in commercial projects. This is because you need a release to use models or property in any way that suggests the people in the photo endorse your product.

Fortunately, there are many sites that feature royalty-free stock images. These sources can be particularly useful for projects that need to make a big impact on social media. You can get high-quality, compelling visuals that will stand out from the crowd and keep your audience engaged. These are great for marketing materials, sales brochures, and blog posts.

Burst

Burst is a module that helps you to craft numerous sophisticated motion effects. Basically, it composes a bunch of child ShapeSwirl’s forming the radial shape by default and mojs takes care about all markup bootstrapping work, creating as narrow container for the effect and positioning it for you.

This is the basic version of this effect, which will animate one line, but you can increase the number of copies by increasing the Copies value under Repeater 1 in the Add dropdown. After that, just rotate your keyframes around and watch the animation animate out!

Another great way to add a burst is to use the slow sync flash feature in your camera. You can use this to freeze your subject in sharp focus while retaining the blurred look for added creative impact. This is ideal for night time photography, as the bright lights of a city create stunning light trails in your photos!

For more complex animations, you can also use a ShapeSwirl to create a burst. This is the most popular method for this effect.

The ShapeSwirl can be used to create a simple round circle, or you can use a more complicated ellipse shape. Once you have a shape that you like, you can animate it using this effect to create a beautiful burst of movement!

Alternatively, you can even use this effect to animate the shape of a person or animal. The animation is simple and very effective, making it easy to animate your shapes and make them look amazing!

The Burst effect is an excellent addition to any animated scene. Whether it is for a short sequence or a full-blown movie, this animation is a must-have. You can even combine multiple bursts together, so they move in unison!

Depositphotos

Depositphotos is a stock photo agency that offers a wide variety of royalty-free images to businesses, designers, and bloggers. It also has an intuitive design and user-friendly features to help users find what they’re looking for quickly.

The site’s search function allows you to filter results by image type and keyword. This helps you to find relevant content faster and easier than ever before, regardless of the type of project you’re working on.

With a library of over 200 million files, Depositphotos is one of the best sites for finding royalty-free photos and videos. It is a popular choice among professional content creators, offering a wide selection of unique images and high-quality videos.

It offers a wide range of pricing options, including credit packs and subscriptions. With credit packs, you can purchase as many downloads as you like for $2,99 – $4,90 each. Then there are subscriptions that allow you to download as many files as you want for a monthly or annual fee.

Moreover, the site also offers a wide variety of video files in HD and 4K resolutions. These videos can be used to create high-quality content for websites, social media posts, and more.

Editorial images are another type of image found on Depositphotos. These images are marked with an editorial license, which means that they can only be used as a visual reference in articles and blogs. This license is usually cheaper than a commercial license, since it doesn’t include model releases or other elements that may be protected under copyright laws.

Depositphotos also offers a free trial that allows you to see all the available premium images for seven days. If you’re not sure if it’s the right fit for your needs, it’s worth giving it a try!