Where to Find Celebrity Photos That You Can License and Use
Credit: Getty Images / Handout 476996143
It’s 2024 and we are still as obsessed with celebrity culture as always. Photos of Celebrities, much like the celebrities themselves, are everywhere so it’s pretty understandable you would want to use their recognizable image in your blogs, magazines and other projects.
Here we’ll point you in the right direction towards where you can get the very best in celebrity imagery at a reasonable price.
Something to keep in mind: A celebrities likeness is a part of their business and they can be pretty protective of it. The type of image you are looking for, and what you plan on doing with it are some of the main points to consider, alongside the licensing and any possible restrictions to the images use
Shutterstock
Shutterstock, another of the top stock agencies. Primarily dealing in Royalty-Free stock images, Shutterstock Editorial does also have a very wide selection of celebrity content, boasting videos and over 50 million images!
With images from red carpet events through to movie scenes and on set pictures, Shutterstocks Editorial collection is searchable by categories such as News, Entertainment, Royalty, Sports and more, and with plenty of collections to look through you won’t be stuck for choice!
Do keep in mind that Shutterstocks Editorial has different pricing that applies from their regular royalty free offering.
Lionel Messi with the FIFA Ballon d'Or
Barcelona v Athletico Bilbao, La Liga football match, Nou Camp, Spain – 17 Jan 2016
Getty Images
Of course Getty Images would be on the list, renowned worldwide for their huge selection of editorial content under Rights Managed licensing (The price will depend on the usage). Their celebrity images can be used in articles for publications such as blogs, magazines or newspapers.
Another great thing about Getty Images is their huge network of photographers and partner companies. These help to bring in thousands of new celebrity images on a daily basis and you’ll find collections to cover all of the events they cover.
They also have images from all the main events such as from UEFA, FIFA, the Tennis Open Championships, the Olympics and others. And of course not forgetting the Royal Collection, full of images of the world's Royal Families and their members.
Pretty much any kind of celebrity photo you could be looking for, Getty Images will likely have it. They display collections by topic, event, and date, making it easy for you to find exactly what you're looking for. But Getty works with Rights Managed licenses, meaning what you pay will depend on the image its use type, but if your budget can afford it, Getty Images is the best place to get celebrity photos!
Getty Images' Best Value Offer: UltraPacks for Celebrity Stock Photos
Getty Images has a great offer for photo buyers: UltraPacks. These are image packs that you pay upfront and can use to download images whenever you want. As long as you log in to your account at least once in the year after purchase, the downloads you bought never expire. An extra benefit is you don't have to preselect the photos you want to buy, but only estimate how many you'll need and pay them upfront.
UltraPacks are from 5 images for $800 up to 15 Images for $2,100 for their small images and lower resolution videos. This way, you can save from 10% to 30% from regular image prices. There are higher-priced packs for higher-resolution images, and video and you can always contact their support team if you need a different amount. You can also buy different UltraPacks simultaneously, and there are no periodic fees with this offer. Get your Getty Images UltraPack now!
UltraPacks include any combination of royalty-free creative photos, illustrations, vectors, royalty-free videos, and most editorial images (editorial images can’t be used for print covers or commercial uses with packs).
What Types of Celebrity Images Can You Get?
There are lots of different kinds of celebrity images that you can find, ranging from PR images taken especially for the press through to candid shots, such as spontaneous photos at red carpet events.
There are also Studio photos but these are rarer to find in stock media, as are paparazzi images which are typically candid and are taken without the celebrities consent, and as such are typically excluded from stock libraries, however most photographers are open to negotiating a fee to use the image.
What Can You Do With Celebrity Images?
Most stock agencies that sell celebrity photos will do so with an editorial license, this lets you use the images print or digital media such as magazines, newspapers or blogs to help illustrate them. It can also sometimes include other non-profit uses.
Keep in mind that Editorial Licenses also normally forbid the editing or altering of the photos in any way, no cropping, resizing or excessive retouching. You also cant use the images in a way which would give a negative connection to the celebrity (I.e in a defamatory manner).
How to Get Permission to Use Celebrity Photos Commercially?
There are some legal considerations for using celebrity photos + commercial use of celebrity images you would need to consider if you wanted to use a picture of a celebrity in some other way, perhaps as part of a product design or to promote a site or business such as needing some form of commercial license and as most agencies simply don’t provide these, you would need to reach out to said celebrity or their manager yourself and negotiate a fee.
But here's a curious tip that could sometimes be used as a hack: Some celebrities modeled for stock photos in their early days before being famous. Although often dated, those images are also commonly model-released and available for commercial use with an RF license (therefore, much cheaper).
Ready to find and buy celebrity photos for your blog or publication?
Thank you so much for the explanation but neither option is viable to a new blogger who was set on using celebrity and high fashion photos for her blog. I should have researched that first. I just saw ( and still see) people just write photo credit:…. And if you can’t use them for social media that could be tough too. I recently saw someone using Zumba a Press. Their site has no pricing info. I filled out an application but haven’t heard anything.
Hi Alisa, yes there are many misuses of images and image credits out there. I recommend checking your local law about the usage of such images. But if you want to purchase celebrity stock photos, reach out to Getty Images and ask them for their rates. They should be able to get you a good price depending on the usage (i.e. on your blog only).