Christian K.

I find Thinkstock by Getty to be one of the best values in subscription stock photography for the simple fact that the site is backed by the quality of the Getty name, the photography covers libraries and photographers past and present, and the site's management tools for your subscription are easy to use and, recently, have been upgraded so that they are the same across multiple Getty platforms... great idea!

This site IS the benchmark. Intended for the professional only, it has every tool you need in order to search, license and manage your acquisitions. A library unequalled on the planet, it contains every genre, from every age back to the first photography, and even further back to paintings and illustrations, in order to cover nearly every topic on the planet.

Access to the Getty Library has always been a dream; this may be the most affordable means to get your feet wet. The iStock collection is a cross-section of the famed Getty Library and modeled after the subscription micro-stock sites... except... it costs a little more! But the quality of the photography stands out! This is a luxury for me, maybe not so much for a larger business, but I cannot say anything but good things regarding my subscriptions.

I purchased a quarterly subscription through Fotolia in order to take advantage of their niche of European photographers who haven't signed up at other stock photography websites. I love their dashboards and management tools for my subscription, purchases and light-boxes.

I love AgeFotoStock for the tiered pricing approach they have taken with stock photography, the ability to tailor your licensing to meet your needs, the broadest variety of photography from some of the best photographers in the world, covering a wide genre and era, with arguably the best customer service on the planet in the stock photography world. My Account Executive, Kevin, is at the top of the pyramid of customer service and has helped me through countless issues and ALWAYS follows up with me to ensure my needs are met. I use multiple stock photography services and I would say that perhaps Alamy is most similar to Age in terms of content and pricing, but Age wins hands down in customer service! Kevin among the best in the business!

I like Alamy's setup of pricing but their best attribute is the massive content their site hosts. Photographers and libraries, past and present, can be found here which is a need for me and they get the job done. Only recently have they reached out to me to begin establishing a relationship which is good. I would say they need to do more of this as stock photography sites of their market, which primarily would be AgeFotoStock, already have superior customer service but I cannot say anything negative at this point regarding the site as they have always met my needs.

I have been a customer on and off for many years and their recent Holiday Subscription deal (50% off) was simply too good to pass up so I signed up for the 750 image/month subscription... excellent value! The website is intuitive and search engine yields excellent and relevant results. I would say that a good percentage of the photos found at the site are similar to comparable micro-stock sites (e.g. Shutterstock) but there are unique photos as well which will always have the Dreamstime feel and appeal to them. I am a stock photography buyer professional so it is critical to understand the terms and conditions of working with the images as well as understanding those of your subscription or credit purchase. Keep this in mind so as not to be surprised when charges you agreed to appear on your statement. You have the ability to manage your account using your profile and subscription tools and I would encourage any buyer to become familiar with these before making a purchase. Understand this is a business and micro-stock companies need to make a living to be smart about what you are buying. There are free image sites for those who would prefer not to deal with the transactional side of things but, again, remember you use a service, such as a stock photography site, for a reason... and that is not only to find a pretty picture but ALSO to license it. From that standpoint, Dreamstime offers a competitive product in this market and, although I cannot comment on customer service, which I have not used, it makes sense to educate yourself on what a stock photography business provides and what its terms and conditions are behind the service it provides relative to the fees you pay. Having purchased Getty Images priced fees in the past, I am very pleased with Dreamstime.