Overview on the fundamental business models of royalty-free images and rights managed stock photography.  How they are priced; what you can and cannot do with the images.

"Royalty-Free" and "Rights Managed" stock photography defined.

The two different pricing models between rights managed stock photography and royalty-free images.  What to expect.

Probably the most significant difference between rights managed and royalty-free stock photography, maybe even beyond price.  A specific checklist for determining how much weight you should give this issue as you decide which direction to go.

Surprising: It's different.  Amazing new design options have been opened up by the availability of low-cost royalty-free stock photography of high quality.  Understanding what rights managed and royalty-free images are intended to do for you can help in your decision-making.  What we can learn from Beethoven and Palestrina

Rights managed images have been around for a long time; royalty-free images are a newer concept.  Is it likely you'll find the image you're looking for in the royalty-free "pool"?  And what to do if you don't...

Royalty-free images are often promoted as "hassle free", and there's truth to that as compared to some of the complexity involved with rights managed image licensing.  But the hassle factor can be greater than you think with royalty-free images, and less than you think with rights managed.  Read this section and learn how to make that work to your advantage.

Use royalty-free if ...  Use rights managed if... A checklist...
When to use both in the same project.  How we make all this easy for you ...