Any recommended stock photo websites?

[TheDude]

Hello there,

I'm looking for a stock photo website for our company blog posts. We used iStockphoto in the past, but they raised their prices and it just isn't worth the price.

Does anyone have suggestions for a good stock photo site that is less expensive?

[BeardoCo]

We use Istock - I believe you get what you pay for in the stock photography area.  There are some free stock photos, but you have to be careful with royalty free etc.

[Prospector-Plastics]

We have used www.istockphoto.com for several years and like BeardCo mentions, you get what you pay for in the Photo area. iStock as you probably already know has great image selection, high quality, and nice - easy to use interface to find just the right image. We have noticed an increase in pricing on their site as well, but have been able to find other images on their site that work for the application we're working on at a lower price-point.

[Hospitality-SEO]

I have no idea what industry you are in but you can contact local and even national photographers (maybe? depending on your business) and see if you can use their photos while giving them credit or a link. This is especially good with wedding photographers. They LOVE to provide you with photos for the free advertising.

You could also hunt in Pinterest since there are so many stellar photos and contact the photographers there as well.

[Johnny4B]

Cheaper (much cheaper than iStock) could be http://photodune.net

Dont get me wrong, they don't have the quality of some of the iStock stuff, but I have often got some good images there

Regards

John

[Cocoonfxmedia]

Shutterstock and bigstockphoto are two cheaper ones

[MattAntonino]

I think if you're looking to save money, Canstockphoto is usually cheapest for good quality. I'm a former stock photographer so I could refer you around to all the main places if you want.  I would start with Canstock, Shutterstock if you need a lot of images, Dreamstime, Istock and Fotolia - as the main players.  Depends on your needs though.

[TheDude]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm going to look into all of your suggestions.

[MattAntonino]

Just to update my reply in case someone else finds this question on the forum search.

My stock friend Amos just did a comparison of stock agency pricing:

http://www.stockphotosecrets.com/buyers-guide/7-of-the-cheapest-stock-photo-subscriptions.html

I think that's the freshest look at some of the best stock subscriptions if you need more than a 1-off photo.