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Advice & Tips

Agency Listing
The Picture Agency Council of America lists the specialties of each member stock photography agency in its directory. All members pledge to adhere to a code of ethics, including abiding by copyright regulations and fair business practices. The directory is free. Visit their Web site for more information.

Check Quality Before You Buy
Before you buy an inexpensive photo CD-ROM, be sure to get a sense for the quality of the images. Expensive discs are usually geared for professional designers, while the less expensive discs are targeted at the general public and may have much lower-quality photos.

Use Your Negotiating Power
Many agencies will lower their prices if you are buying multiple rights-protected photos, so whenever possible buy all your photos for a project at the same time and from the same agency.

Downloading Options
The web is full of stock photography vendors that allow you to peruse your options, then order, pay for, and download your images. Depending on your situation, some even allow free downloads.

Read Licensing Agreements Carefully
You don't want to be stuck with an outrageous fine for copyright infringement.

Check on Model Releases
Under copyright law you are liable for any misuse of images a model did not authorize through a model release form, not the agency that sold them to you. Be sure to ask the agency if they have model releases signed and in their office for all the pictures they sell, and don't buy from an agency that leaves it up to the photographer.