Stock image producers often have two misconceptions about subscription licensing services: They believe subscription licensing is simple and that for a very low monthly fee customers are allowed to use any image for any purpose. Neither is true.This story compares the subscription offering of Shutterstock and Britannica Image Explorer to drive home the point that two services can both be justifiably called subscription, but offer very benefits for both the customer and the image creator.

Universal Images Group, the distribution business unit of the Virtual Picture Desk (VPD), in conjunction with Encyclopaedia Britannica has launched a new photo service called "Britannica Image Explorer." This library of imagery launched with over 1 million images specifically edited for the needs of educational users. School systems will subscriber to this service and members of these organizations will have unlimited access to low resolution (150 dpi) versions of these images for the duration of the license. The license is for non-commercial educational use only. Any uses not covered by the subscription license must be licensed separately directly from the image provider.

A comprehensive comparison of the various sizing and pricing strategies between the top 6 microstock photography sites.