Stock Photography – What are Car Stock Photos?

Stock Photography – What are Car Stock Photos?

Stock photography is an industry that creates and sells imagery in various forms such as illustrations, photos, and videos. You can purchase these for use through different licensing models. One of the common subjects of this type of photography is vehicles such as cars.

What are Car Stock Photos?

A car stock photo is a professional, high-quality car photo that gets licensed for a fee. Many platforms offer a comprehensive resource for car stock photos.

Where do you get Car Stock Photos?

There are many platforms dedicated to car stock photography where you can license the best car stock photos. Housing a wide array of high-quality car stock photo websites are ready for downloading and licensing. All customers need to do is choose from the catalogue.

Why Use Car Stock Photos?

Customers have different purposes for availing of car stock photos. Some of the common reasons include: 

  • They are ready to use and requires no need for photography 
  • They save time and money
  • They are premium images
  • Since they are licensed images, there will be no copyright issues
  • Simply, what you see is what you get

There are many potential ways to use Car Stock Photos.  Mainly, there are two key uses:

Commercial Use

If a project’s main goal is to generate profit or income, it falls under stock photos’ commercial usage. Most stock photos get used for this purpose, but still, for stock photos to be suitable for this reason, you must clear them of all rights, including model and property releases. Some of the most common commercial uses for stock photos are:

  • Marketing & Advertising
  • Branding and Corporate Identity
  • Social Media & Online Presence
  • Artistic Productions & Creative Projects (Decoration, etc.)
  • Business Supporting Material (Presentations, etc.)
  • Products for Resale (T-shirts, Packaging, etc.) 
    • However, this use requires an Extended form of license.

The potential uses of stock photos for commercial use are almost as limitless as the blue sky. If you’re looking to start your own car dealership , car stock photos might come in handy , especially if you can’t hire a professional photographer. Everything from your website design photos and your next marketing strategy to a new shirt print to sell on your shop is possible with stock photos!

Editorial Use

If a project illustrates or accompanies editorial content, not necessarily pursuing a profitable path, it falls under stock photos’ editorial usage. The most common function of Stock photos in the Editorial lane include: 

  • News coverage: newspapers and magazine articles and editorials, broadcasted news reports, etc.
  • Illustrating content for articles for magazines, blogs, textbooks, etc

Due to its non-profit background, editorial stock photos cover many topics and content that you cannot use commercially because of the difficulty of clearing its rights. The images included in this category have but are not limited to large crowds of people, famous landmarks and landscapes, celebrities, and notable people. If you intend to use any of these photos commercially, ensure to clear those rights first.

While you can use most commercially used stock photos for editorial reasons, the converse is NOT valid. Having this basic knowledge is key to using stock photos responsibly and legally. So, always check the fine print before purchasing and using a stock photo.