Shutterstock Photographer Forum :: View topic - Display resolution 800X600. & Copyright-Commercial use

kevin reddy · Joined: 17 May 2012 Posts: 1

Hello every one,

Thanks for reading my question.

I am planning to purchase images with shutter stock for posting them on my blog posts. The blog will be on a website which is a commercial one where i intend to sell services.

I did read the terms of service and i want to be doubly sure:

1. Under the standard license, after I purchase the image, can i use them for on my blog posts considering my website falls under the commercial category?

2. In the terms of service, it states the maximum resolution that can be used is only 800 x 600 pixels.

I am confused about this aspect, my understanding is when purchasing an image every jpeg has following categories: small,medium & large.

Even the medium size image goes beyond the 800 * 600.
So do i only need to download images that fall in the "small" category?

Could you clarify the resolution part, I mean is 800* 600 resolution limit meant for my website or the resolution for the image that can be set on the website??

I tried searching if the topic has already been posted, but i couldn't find any. Any inputs on my doubts would be highly appreciated.

have a nice day.

Thanks

pjmorley · Joined: 15 Apr 2005 Posts: 3300

My understanding is that the larger images are for print where you need the extra pixels for quality. However, a website image rarely needs to be at that size for display purposes.

I think the restriction on 800x600 for web use is due to the fact that most monitors (when the T&C were written) didn't extend beyond that size. Of course that's not the case nowadays.

A second but probably primary reason is for protecting the distribution of the image. Essentially, any image on a website can be easily downloaded. Making the image available larger than that on a website offers an easy way for unscrupulous people to obtain a free relatively high resolution copy.

So to answer your question. If you are using it for the web then yes, you only need to download the small version. You may still need to downsize it further depending on how large you intend to display it.

rixie · Joined: 29 Dec 2007 Posts: 3444 Location: Hampshire, UK

Hi Kevin,

under the licensing agreement, the maximum size you can display on a website is 800 x 600. I believe the small size image is under this and the medium is over - you can purchase medium and downsize or crop to your requirements. What Shutterstock don't want is images displayed at a larger size that can be lifted from your website.

The Commercial Usage is fine under a Standard Licence provided you are not going to get readership in excess of 250,000 - in which case you would need to purchase an Enhanced Licence for each image. Also, you can't use any Editorial image for commercial purposes.

What you can't do is resell the image itself. If you are setting up a blog about wine, for example, with links to wine merchants, then it is fine to purchase 'wine' images to illustrate your blog.

If you look at this blog, you will see stock images in use, (the olives image is from my portfolio), with 'where to buy' links. Is that the type of commercial usage you had in mind?

http://longlex.com/blog/index.php/category/hair-treatments/page/2/

If you are still in doubt you can contact Shutterstock for further assistance.

rinder99 · Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 12:34 pm

also..Not mandatory but whatever image you use it would be nice if you gave a Photo credit. example,>> Photo by laurin Rinder/Shutterstock.com

semmickphoto · Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:43 pm