STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY DEFINED

Stock photography is previously created artistic work that the author retains copyright ownership. You may have to pay a fee to use.

THE BENEFITS

Using stock photography saves time and money. Once the photo is purchased, it is often downloadable and ready for use. Hiring a photographer and setting up a custom shoot can be costly.

COST

Royalty-Free (RF):  Pre-set images that can be duplicated many times without the need to pay royalties. Prices range from as low as $1/image to upwards of $500/image.

Rights-Managed (RM): Cost is either for a 1-time usage/instance of an image or usage for only a specified period of time.

USES

Images are licensed for usage in commercial, editorial, or personal purposes. When purchasing stock photography, pay attention to the type of license and any usage restrictions that license may carry.

Source:  stockphotosecrets.com/questions-answers/what-are-stock-images.html