If you ever had to design a book cover, if you do visuals for the European market or artsy content in general, or if you’re very into German stock photography, then you’ve likely heard of Plainpicture. While purposely lowkey, this stock photo agency has been around for many years, specialising in artistic and authentic photography, and is successful in the very niche market of book cover art.
While their library is certainly beautiful and worth discovering, their licensing model and pricing may put them out of range for many buyers. Don’t despair though: if you’ve fallen in love with Plainpicture style, you are going to love Photocase, another German stock photo agency that has been around for the same time, and puts exactly the type of images you want right at your fingertips.
Ready to learn why Photocase is such a great Plainpicture alternative? Let’s go.
Photocase is Artsy, Quirky, Highly Curated… and German!
One of the main attractions of Plainpicture’s collections is how artistic they are, opposed to the more commercial-like style that is the focus of other bigger agencies.
Well, Photocase has been specialising in artsy and unique photography since they first launched in 2001, way before mobile imagery and Instagram turned authentic stock imagery into a worldwide visual trend. It's one of the reasons it ranks in our list of the 20+ best stock photo sites ever.
Following a very tight curation process that keeps their catalogue purposely small but also very high quality, Photocase offers one-of-a-kind images that portray everyday life people and situations in an aesthetically pleasant and interesting way. Their photos are perfect for book cover designs, as well as for social media (especially Instagram) and any other projects where you want to sparkle some beauty and art and have a trendy result – and you definitely want that, if you intend to have the best photos for marketing and visual content.
A sample of Photocase's images
Another factor that helps define Plainpicture’s library is how influenced it is by the European and particularly the German visual perspective. Well, this is why Photocase is such a great alternative, as it’s also based in Germany and features pictures soaked in the distinct Berlin style, injecting humour and adding beauty to the unexpected through photography.
If you have surfed Plainpicture and thought their images are everything you wanted but you couldn’t afford, you must discover Photocase collections right now. You’ll love them! You can learn more about the agency in our Photocase review.
More beautiful photos from Photocase
Photocase has a Simple and Affordable Licensing and Buying System
The one thing that may keep you from buying images at Plainpicture is their licensing and pricing model.
They did something very interesting by creating a custom license, named Rights Simplified (RS) that merges the flexibility of Royalty Free with the exclusive rights of Rights Managed. This type of license is perfect for book covers since it lets you define a period of use and even exclusivity of use for your chosen image, but it comes at a higher-than-microstock cost that starts at $385 and can go up to over a thousand bucks for just one picture.
They have Royalty-Free license available as well, and they price them according to image size, but again they come at a higher cost than that of microstock agencies, starting at $45 for an extra-small image and rising to hundreds of dollars for bigger resolutions. Additionally, they offer prepaid packs that apply discounts on bulk purchases.
This goes to show why Plainpicture may not fit into every buyer’s budget: their costs are a bit more than many are willing/able to pay, and the whole system is a bit more complex than many would like to navigate.
Lovely and artsy Photocase images
Enter Photocase! The great news about this cool stock image agency is they have much more accessible prices and a very simple licensing structure. They sell Royalty Free licenses on demand, and they are priced according to image size, ranging from $14 to $42 for the biggest size available. Furthermore, they offer credit packs that are paid upfront and save you money with volume buying, just like Plainpicture.
This makes Photocase a superb alternative to get authentic stock images for any commercial project at an affordable rate and without having to learn legal terms or make complex decisions about licensing.
Exclusive Photocase Discount for Stock Photo Secrets Readers
If the last point got you interested, you’ll be hooked when you learn this: The lovely folks at Photocase are offering you, the Stock Photo Secrets reader, a special Photocase deal to buy from their site: 5 FREE credits, plus 10% off in your first purchase!
By using our coupon code below, you’ll get to download images using your 5 free credits, and you will save a nice amount when buying Photocase pictures. How generous is that?
Photocase is the Ultimate Plainpicture Alternative
Gotten to this point it’s pretty clear how Photocase can cover your needs for artistic, unique stock photography just like Plainpicture does. And also the reasons why you may find Photocase more suitable for you, your workflow and your budget.
With both agencies having comparable backgrounds and offering a similar style of images, it’s up to you (and your pocket) to decide which one to go with to get those perfect artsy shots for your next project.
Do take our word and discover Photocase today!
And don’t you forget to grab our exclusive Photocase Coupon Code just for you!
Note: Our header graphic showcases images from Photocase.
