If you've been following visual trends recently –and if not, you're really missing out–you know the market is constantly and undisturbed moving towards motion imagery, especially video. If you haven't embraced this media format yet, it's about time you start.
To use high-quality stock photos for videos is a very easy way to create compelling motion productions easily and cheaply to share content with your audience that is what they want to see, without hurting your back or your pockets. You can create slideshows for your social media posts, your site, and even your apps. You can insert photos into more elaborate videos for YouTube, even in TV and film production!
To make sure you do your absolute best with stock photos in your videos, here we tell you all you must know about using Royalty-free stock images from the best stock photo sites in video production.
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Stock Photos and Videos – A Good Match for Visual Impact
If you are after royalty-free stock photos to use in your video clips for commercial purposes, then you already know this, but if you opened this article out of curiosity to find out why should you use stock photos to create videos, here is your answer:
From short and sweet Instagram stories or Snapchat clips to out-of-this-world immersive video experiences through 360º and VR, right now, you can say more, louder and clearer if you say it with a video.
In another testament to stock photography versatility, high quality stock photographs can make it so much easier to create any videos you need for content marketing. A Photo slideshow to promote your product, brand, or content and to share on social media. Quick YouTube videos for your channel –and complementary graphics such as YouTube banners, YouTube thumbnails, and more. Stills to complement your footage. You name it; stock imagery can make it happen in a whisker.
Keep in mind that most of the main stock photography sites –from Shutterstock to Getty Images– also have curated collections of stock footage available, with reasonable pricing, so you can get all the materials you need for your videos in one place!
Let’s Talk Licensing – Stock Photos and Video Usage
Even if you are a veteran stock photo buyer, well-versed in all things image usage, you might find yourself a bit unsure when using photographs in video productions of high resolution. You’re not alone: the verging of media formats and variations in license types for one and others can be indeed confusing. Here, we’ll help you eliminate those doubts by answering all your questions about using stock images in videos.
Can I Use Royalty-Free Photos in Video Projects?
Can I Use Royalty-Free Photos in YouTube Videos?
Nearly all top stock imagery sites permit downloading and using their photos on the YouTube platform, but there are a few that introduce certain limitations. Some agencies apply a limit to the video project's budget size in which the photos will be used, and if yours exceeds it, you would need an extended license.
Shutterstock is one of those photo agencies, restraining this use to projects with a budget of under $10,000. And some companies restrict the use of photos in YouTube videos based on the number of views. Again, if your video would exceed their cap, you will need an extended license. Adobe Stock does this, limiting its standard license coverage to videos with up to 500,000 viewers.
Can I Use Royalty-Free Photos in Social Media Videos?
Can I Use Royalty-Free Photos in Videos for other Online Platform?
Can I Use Royalty-Free Photos in TV or Film Content?
Getting Down to Business – Where to Get Photos for Video
You know all the ways you can use stock images in video content, so now let’s address the matter of where you can –and where you should!– find stock photos to use in your videos.
Buying Images for Video – Best Quality, Legal Safety, and Price
By far, the wisest option when it comes to using stock photos in video footage is to buy royalty-free images from a reliable stock photo agency online. This saves you the hassle of doing custom photo shoots and ensures not only that you’ll get high-quality images but also that –as you learned in the previous section– are very safe to use in commercial-oriented footage projects.
Heads up! It’s worth noting that many of these agencies also offer vibrant collections of royalty-free HD video files that are the perfect resource for creating video content quickly and at a low cost. Some of them even offer free previews –with watermark– that you can test edit into your project before deciding on a purchase.
- The Stock Photo Secrets Shop gives a whopping 50% discount in stock videos to all members subscribed to any of their stock photo plans. Find all about it in our Stock Photo Secrets Shop review!
- iStock lets you buy both photos and videos on demand using credits, so by buying a credit pack; you can download files from any of these media types indistinctively. Their Premium+Video subscriptions also let you download videos, images and audio files indistinctly and with the best prices. Learn more details in our iStock review, and make sure to use our special iStock Promo Code with 15% off in EVERYTHING!
One last good news: We have an exclusive iStock coupon code to get a BONUS 10 CREDITS with the purchase of any iStock monthly subscription! Using our code, when you buy a month-to-month plan at iStock (be it image plans or Premium+Video subscriptions) you unlock 10 FREE CREDITS to download extra images and videos, at no added cost! Don't miss it!
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Free Photos for Video in Commercial Projects
What happens when your budget is so tight that you just can’t fit even small photo packs or a one-month stock photo subscription in it? Don’t fuss. Free stock images can help your monetary restrictions not to obstacle your creative flow… as long as you use them carefully.
And keep an eye on the few sites that also have free stock video offers available! Because yes, there are free websites with creative commons videos and other types of stock video footage for free!
It’s All Creative – Image Editing for Video Projects
Filmmakers, video editors or graphic designers, and marketers, and anyone who knows their way around image editing, already know this. But if you’re new to this video making thing and are wondering how hard –or easy– can it be to put high-quality photos in HD videos, we are about to tell you.
What Software Do I Need to Put an Image into Video?
There is a huge pool of video editing options to use images in videos to insert a still in a clip or make a photo slideshow styled video with multiple images and music.
The most powerful options include professional and premium software like Adobe Premiere or Apple Final Cut Pro, intended for filmmakers, as well as free or low-cost tools like Blender, DaVinci Resolve, or Lightworks – learn more about them and others similar in this list of the best free video editors.
But there is no need to go for the complex editors. Suppose you want to create slideshows or make basic use of an image in a video. In that case, there are simple yet efficient tools like the iStock Video Editor that are very user-friendly and come with templates and other resources to make your video creation process faster and easier. And it's free!
Plus, essential apps such as the natives for popular desktop and mobile operative systems, like Windows Movie Maker or Apple iMovie, will do the trick and are very user-friendly.
- Open your chosen video editor
- Import the video you want the photo in, and open it in editing layout (Remember, you can use free stock video files, as well as royalty free video footage!)
- Import the photo you want to use
- Go to the video's timeline and drag the open and closing stitch marks to where you want your image to show and to stop showing
- Add transitions, music, voiceovers, and other effects at your discretion
- Save the file when you’re done, and export it in the desired format
- Open your chosen video editor
- Import all the photos you want to use
- Arrange the image files in your timeline
- Play with the scale and position of the images to add dimension and movement
- Add transitions, music, voiceovers, and other effects at your discretion
- Save the file when you’re done, and export it in the desired format
These are fundamental editing tips. If you want to take your skills beyond, check out this guide to Edit Footage like a Pro.
As you can see, using stock photos is an effortless way to create video content fast and without spending much. Like this, you can have many HD videos for your YouTube channel, your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram profile, your website, and more!
Master Video Creation Using High-Quality Photos in Video
And that's our full insider guide with everything you need to know to use photos in video content the right way!
Now it's time for you to start developing awesome photo slideshows and video footage! Share content across multiple platforms and use it for the most varied purposes; rest assured it's the media format people prefer today, and it's all done nicely and equally important, legally.
Don't forget the best place to get your images will be listed in our 20+ best stock photo sites!Happy creations!
