Do you pay for stock photos?

[jovi]

Hi all,

I think many people on this forum use stock photos on their sites, and I very much doubt you guys pay $10 per image :) However, if you want good-quality images from Shutterstock or iStock, this is how it costs there, or you buy a subscription (very pricey).

I used to buy any 25 images I want for $5 on Fiverr, but it doesn't look very legit. As I recently found out, getting a notice from Getty or any other stock site is not that uncommon nowadays. Usually they offer to settle the deal for several $k or threaten a legal action if you ignore them.

How do you guys deal with it?

And another thing, if I use fake names or private whois, and will ignore the notices they send to me, how far they can go? Maybe send take-down requests to hosting company or domain registrar? What do you think? Does anyone have experience with that?

Thanks!

[dadmyx]

How i wish experienced warriors may share their opinions and best practices on this matter.

[korbortor]

I don't lots of sites offer free photos. Some on site in my post below

http://bestblackhatforum.com/Thread-52-F...ess-Owners

[rettu]

(09-21-2015 09:58 PM)korbortor Wrote:  I don't lots of sites offer free photos. Some on site in my post below

http://bestblackhatforum.com/Thread-52-F...ess-Owners

link is broken

[korbortor]

You are probably copying and pasting. Just need to click it. Works fine on my side.

[sjc999]

The thing to understand is that there are different kinds of stock photos.

Some are 'money shots' - the stuff of paparazzi - news, celebrities... These are licensed by companies like Getty. They are licensed for a specific site and use, often paid for per thousand impressions and served by Getty's own servers. Stealing these will eventually get you into trouble.

On the other hand, if you buy from lower-end sites, the stuff is not tracked. They never ask you for your website, Very often you buy with paypal and use an email totally unrelated to your website. So if that picture appears on your website, they have no way of knowing. They don't annoy their customers by continually asking to see the picture licenses. The business model is to make and sell more photos, not to get involved in long complex law suits.

Think on this before choosing a niche. It's actually very hard to run a site related to celebrities, for instance, because the pictures are typically in the 'money shot' class. Choose a site on 'dating' on the other hand and there are a plethora of pictures you can get free or with little risk.

[taras]

(09-12-2015 04:22 PM)jovi Wrote:  Hi all,

I think many people on this forum use stock photos on their sites, and I very much doubt you guys pay $10 per image :) However, if you want good-quality images from Shutterstock or iStock, this is how it costs there, or you buy a subscription (very pricey).

I used to buy any 25 images I want for $5 on Fiverr, but it doesn't look very legit. As I recently found out, getting a notice from Getty or any other stock site is not that uncommon nowadays. Usually they offer to settle the deal for several $k or threaten a legal action if you ignore them.

How do you guys deal with it?

And another thing, if I use fake names or private whois, and will ignore the notices they send to me, how far they can go? Maybe send take-down requests to hosting company or domain registrar? What do you think? Does anyone have experience with that?

Thanks!

Once it happened to me.
I received a letter about a Picture that I had posted on my Site.
I changed the image immediately with another.
After a while, I received another letter with a request of money (ignored) and probably 20 more after such request, some from an unidentified law firm, (all ignored).
I never received a Certified Letter, or something official.
After a couple of years eventually they stopped to send me letters (probably they realized that at $0.42 it was becoming too expensive).
Now, that said, I'm not encouraging you to do so.
If you're paid to design a website, you need to inform the owner of the risks involved with the use of images taken from the internet and, if he/her don't like to take any risk, make them pay to use the images.
If it is for personal use (non commercial), I don't believe that anybody will pursue you.
If it is personal, but for commercial use and you're making money with it, it would be a good thing if you pay for the Pictures.
This is my 5 cents contribution on your request.