For Web Designers

All photos at BigStockPhoto are at *least* 600 pixels wide and 72 dpi, so they are perfect for web designers looking for high-quality royalty-free stock photographs. Most are more like 2500 pixels and run up to over 4000 pixels in size.

If you are designer creating web templates for resale, you don't need to worry about paying each time you sell a template, as with other mainstream services, or with new conditions at istockphoto that prohibits this usage.

You SHOULD purchase the photo for each NEW TEMPLATE or web design that you create however. If you build 2 websites and want to the photo for each site you should purchase it twice for instance. At these prices, it's only fair.

Please refer to the Photo Usage Agreement for more detail if you are unsure of your intended usage.

Are there any limits to how or what I can use the photo for?
See the Image Usage Agreement for full details - basically, most uses are permitted except reselling or posting them as stock images, or anything that defames or slanders the models in the photo.

However, you should be aware of U.S. Fair Use laws and copyright laws that may affect your usage of the photo in question. Some photos are OK for virtually any use, whereas others may be intended more for editorial purposes, and some uses not be permitted unless your usage falls under Fair Use laws.

The responsibility of determining whether your use is legal is yours, since it's impossible for BigStockPhoto to know what your planned usage for the photo is.

File Formats: In what format do we receive the photos?
JPG format mostly, but we now offer EPS, AI, PNG, PDF and PSD files also. Note that the Photo Details and Downloading pages tell you what formats are available for any given image.

Are there more than one size or resolution available?
We sell several sizes, small, medium, large and extra-large versions, of most images. In some cases the image originals from the photographers are small, so we only offer the smaller sizes you see. The standard image sizes are 900x675 px, 1600x1200 px, 2400x1800 px and 3800x2900 px. Some are larger. The small images come at 72 dpi while all the larger images come at 300 dpi. Vector images such as EPS, AI are available too, as well as Photoshop PSDs and PDFs.

You can choose the 1 credit (small), 2 credit (medium), 4 credit (large) or 6 credit (extra large) image sizes. Credits cost as low as $1 each, or $2.50 when you are buying one at a time.

We receive images in many sizes from photographers around the globe...file sizes and resolutions vary depending on what the photographer supplies to us.

How large are the photos? What is the d.p.i.?
We sell three or four sizes of most images: Small (72 dpi), Medium (300 dpi), Large (300 dpi) and Extra Large (300 dpi). These average .6 megapixels, 2 megapixels, 6 megapixels and 11 megapixels. Some images are as large as 14-16 MP.

Once you download the image you can easily change it's dpi as needed in your graphics program like PhotoShop. Remember DPI is merely a printer setting and has nothing to do wiht the image size itself.

On the photos "More Info" page there is data about how big the photo will print at a variety of dpi resolutions.

Are there any fees for using them more than once?
You should purchase the photo ONCE per project that you use it for. From there you can make as many copies of the product as you like.

For instance, you print 50,000 copies of a brochure or a book, that is one purchase. But if you want to use the same photo for a new book or a web site or another brochure, you should re-purchase it for that secondary use.

You can not sell the photos alone, or print them as is, and sell them -- but it may be included in a work or product as long as the photo comprises 50% or less of the product.

Will there be watermarks on the large images I download with my credits?
Absolutely not. They are large images, mostly high resolution, no watermarks.

What does "royalty-free" mean?
It means that we won't ask you to pay based on the number of times you are using the photo in a given product. Purchase the photo once for EACH product that you are using the photo in.

You pay for each download, and you cannot resell the photo as a stock image or alone, but it may be included in a work or product as long as the photo comprises 50% or less of the product, and that product is not a stock image or stock photography type product.

Are these images FREE?
No - you must sign up, purchase credits for a buck or two, and then you can download images for between 1 and 6 credits normally depending on the image size you want. The money is split between the photographer and BigStockPhoto.

Do I own the rights to any photo that I download?
No. You own the right to use the photo or image within the bounds of our Image Usage Agreement. The original photographer retains the copyright to the photo.

Do I have to include copyright information or credit BigStockPhoto.com when I use the photo?
We ask that you do that... please include the copyright information from the image file somewhere visible within your site or product in this form: "© Photographer's Name. Image from BigStockPhoto.com".

Can I resell the downloaded photos?
No absolutely not. You may not resell, repost, free or for payment the photos unless they are part of another product or work where the photos comprise less than 50% of the product, and that product is not a stock image or stock photography type product.

Can I get the photo in other resolutions?
Photos mostly come in 2 resolutions, 72 dpi for the smaller images and 300 dpi for the larger images. Once you download it you can easily change it in your graphics program.

On the photos "More Info" page there is data about how big the photo will print at a variety of dpi resolutions.