Trendwatch Says Stock Photo Use on the Rise

A report from TrendWatch Graphic Arts states that the use and acceptance of stock imagery in all segments of the graphic-arts community is on the rise. Graphic artists are using traditionally rights-managed images as well as royalty-free versions in all styles and price ranges, including new pricing models like flat-rate, limited distribution, illustration, and video. Users increasingly prefer to work directly with digitally captured or prescanned high-res digital images that can be injected immediately into their digital workflows–and as this has happened there has been a steady decline in the use of traditional slides and chromes in all categories.

The rights of stock imagery is retained by the stock photo provider, allowing a creative director to acquire just the right look at a reasonable price, without incurring the costs and effort of creating original artwork. The report, “Stock Imagery: The Maturing of an Industry” is available for online purchase at the TWGA eStore in PDF format. (TrendWatch Graphic Arts: www.trendwatchgraphicarts.com)