Artefaqs Corporation

Why use professional stock photography?

For as long as mankind has been putting words on paper, people have been illustrating those words. Photographs can convey a sense of location in a way that words rarely can, especially in business communication.

Stock photography is an affordable way to add life, vibrancy, and interest to your projects. Corporate reports brochures, web sites, and more can be turned from ignorable black-and-white piles of paper into engaging documents that get both noticed and remembered.

What are typical uses for your stock photos?

The versatility of stock photos is limited only by your imagination and creativity. But here are some common scenarios:

• A store has recently opened a new location. It will license a photo of its new building for use on its announcements.
• A law firm has opened a branch office. It will use one of our photos on its web site to show how proud it is of its fancy new home.
• A bank has recently purchased a skyscraper. It will use several of our photos in its corporate report to stockholders.
• A real estate development company has finished a new project. It will hire us to shoot photos of the project for its brochures, web site, catalog, and marketing material.

I can just take my own pictures. Why should I pay for yours?

Yes, you can take your own pictures. In fact, it would be great if more people knew how to work a camera. But the reality is that while most people think they can just point-and-shoot their way to saving money, they're actually creating mediocre images that make them look bad.

We use professional grade equipment to create photographs that stand out, that are memorable, and that simply aren't possible with the average pocket shooter. Whether it's manufacturing, cooking, or photography, there's a reason the professionals use professional tools to get the job done.

Moreover, these days a lot of people should ask themselves, what is their time worth? The time spent getting a camera, taking pictures, sorting through them, cropping, retouching, and correcting them is often more costly than simply licensing an image from a professional stock photography company.

What about Google Images?

There is a misconception that the photographs on Google Images are free. 99% of the time, they are not. In fact, using copyrighted images from Google Images will leave you and/or your company open to lawsuits. There is an entire industry dedicated to tracking down people who illegally use images copied from the internet. There are whole companies that earn their living from helping people sue companies that misuse photos from the internet. Opening yourself up to this kind of legal liability isn't worth the risk.