June 13th, 2011 
Genesis THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.
A couple of weeks ago, I started using Fotalia for stock photos. I’ve been using free sites like Flickr for a while and the difference is . . . amazing. Let’s just say that there’s a good reason to pay for stock photos!
Fotalia has a huge database and a very extensive tagging system, so it’s really easy to find what you want. Good photos of people are particularly hard to find on the free stock photo sites, but if you’ve ever tried to find a photo for a concept, you know how tough it can be to find something that symbolizes something like this. Fotalia doesn’t have that problem, because they have a huge number of talented photographers contributing to their photo base.
You can choose from a variety of options when you sign up for Fotalia. First, you can just buy credits and use those to get your photos. The different sizes cost varying amounts so if you only need little pictures, this can be a good way to go. It’s also the best option for anyone who needs a handful of stock photos each month, rather than a large amount. However, if you are a graphic artist or a blogger who needs a constant supply of photos, then the subscription option might be better. You only have one choice for size, but it’s a very high quality shot. This is the option I’ve been using for projects like the one below, which used four different stock photos.
Pricewise, it’s in line with other stock photo places, even a bit cheaper. If you go with the credit system, 25 credits costs $30. That’s pretty reasonable, truth be told, and the prices drop as you buy more. A photo can run from 1-30 credits depending on size, with some of the better photos running more. You also pay more for more rights.
The subscription option is probably your best bet if you’re looking at needing several photos a day. The lowest version, which allows for 25 downloaded photos a day on the Standard version (you can opt for Premium, which lets you download video and vectors, as well) will run you $199 a month, but it’s cheaper if you pay by the year. You can go up to 250 images per day, if you should need that many, but the price rises as well.
For me, I probably can’t justify paying that much for an account since I use my photos for Squidoo lenses and book covers once in a while. My actual consumption is far less than the minimum amount, so credits would be a better choice for someone like myself.
The actual downloading is super easy and lets you do a direct download or a “rescue download” where you can save to a specific folder on your computer. The pictures are of very high quality and you can find plenty of nice isolated images (if that’s what you want, type in “isolated” when doing your searches).
The Giveaway!
Now for the good part . . . YOU can win a 2 week trial subscription on Fotalia! The site is giving two of my readers a two week subscription account where you can download five images a day. That’s plenty to get a feel for the site.
To enter, just leave a comment telling me what you would use your Fotalia account for. Don’t forget to fill in the email field so I can contact you.
The contest ends midnight, Pacific, Monday June 20th, so get your entry in now! Winners will be randomly selected and announced on June 21st.
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I would use the images for my four blogs. Sounds like an amazing source!
Thanks for the clarification, Robert!
I could really use the pictures for my architectural impressions. Good photos really do make a difference and enhance the “real” factor a lot. If I where to have extra credits to spend, the photos would find their use in my graphic design “projects”
Just for the record: Images start at 1 credit, there are only a portion of images that start at 2 credits.
If I win, I would use the images to illustrate my blogs.
Bye, Robert
I’m a freelance designer so I’d use the account to stock up on stock photos! Would be so cool!
Thanks for the contest!