I recently signed up with 123RF.com, a stock image service.
Image from 123RF.com
“RF” stands for Royalty Free, which means a user has the right to a one-time use of a copyrighted photo or graphic without many restrictions. Designers subscribe to one or more stock image services to legally use copyrighted images for their projects. I have subscribed to several stock photo services over the years, but I’m really enthusiastic about this one.
The variety of images on 123RF is what attracted me. New images are continually being added to the site and some are FREE to download (at 72 dpi) for a limited time. After the free period, images go into the regular pricing categories.
Images can be purchased by credit or by subscription. The subscription plan is better for high volume users and the credit plan is perfect for low volume users. Credits expire after one year, so only buy the number of credits you expect to use in that time.
Credits are based on pixel size, so a 1-credit image will be smaller than a 10-credit image. I spent $100 for 115 credits (plus some additional credits from a promotional package). This will last me a while, because most of the images I use are in the 3-6 credit range.
Note: you can download any image as a “comp” (which has a watermark and very fine crosshatching). Comps are used to test how an image will look, in your initial design. Save your credits to buy only the images that end up in your final design.
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