Shutterstock Free MEANS Free

Making your holiday dollars stretch is no easy task. Whenever the holidays are around, it always seems like it’s a chore to really cram as much value as you can into each dollar. Shutterstock understands this, so they made some changes to their marketing this year. But first, who is Shutterstock?

The Big Six.

About 12 years ago, online microstock agencies did not exist. By the time the first few came on the scene, it was still a new idea. Now when you look online for Microsoft agency, it seems that you can find hundreds of companies, all competing for your attention. The largest libraries online are called the Big Six: iStock, Dreamstime, Shutterstock, Fotolia, StockFresh and BigStockPhoto. These companies dominate the microstock industry and are considered the best of the best. This is where you’ll find more details.

More Than Meets the Eye.

Shutterstock was founded by a photographer named John Oringer in 2003. Since then, he has grown Shutterstock into something phenomenal. The library has over 70 million stock photos at their disposal – and that’s just their photos. They offer far more than that.

Stock Photos.

Stock photos are just that – photography designed to be used as stock. The difference between stock photos and editorial photos is a stock photography is not allowed to identify any people, places or events. They’re supposed to be anonymous and are designed to enhance blog posts, articles – and in some cases – even video posts.

Vector Images.

Vector images are images that are designed by digital artists and graphic designers. They’re not photos, nor are they designed to be. They can be cartoonish, line images and drawings, or have a particular marketing message displayed.

Editorial Photos.

Editorial photos are photos that are usually taken by the sensitive press. These are specially designed to enhance journalistic pieces wherein people, places or events are individually identified. There are more limits on how you can use editorial photos than stock photos.

Illustrations.

Illustrations are also digital drawings designed by digital artists and graphic designers – with a difference. Illustrations are usually drawn by hand, scanned and uploaded by the artist to be used as stock footage.

Icons.

Icons are a special category for Shutterstock. These are usually small, black and white images that do exactly what the name implies – they are icons.

Stock Video Footage.

Stock video footage is the same thing as stock photos – just in video format. Very few people realize that when they see a commercial on television, chances are relatively high that it uses stock video footage to enhance the message. This is becoming a larger category as people are shifting from written material to video clips as a primary method to transmit information online.

Stock Music Clips.

Stock music clips, just like stock video footage or stock photos, are audio files that people use to enhance podcasts and their own videos.

Free Files Every Week.

Every single week, Shutterstock offers you two free files for you to download. They offer one stock photo and one vector image. In doing so, they not only showcase what the library can offer, but they also highlight the artists and the contributors who add to their library every single day.

Grow Your Collection without Cost.

When Shutterstock offers you the two free files, it comes attached with a royalty-free license. Royalty-free licenses do not mean free of cost. People still pay for these images. Royalty-free means that every time you choose to use the image, you don’t need to pay a royalty. In other words, once it is tied to your account, it will always be tied to your account and you will be able to use it how or when you wish, free of charge.

Shutterstock Promo Codes.

Since the holidays are here, Shutterstock has ramped up their marketing efforts and decided to provide some pretty steep discounts on their library. Check it out here.

15 Percent Discount on All Subscriptions.

Shutterstock provides its photos on a subscription-based service. When you decide to purchase from Shutterstock, they give you a set amount of photos to download per month – no daily download limit. This promo code will give you a 15 percent discount on your chosen subscription. That means for every $100 and you were to spend, you’re only paying $85.

15 Percent Discount on All Footage Packs.

If you try to get a subscription on stock video footage, you’ll find that Shutterstock doesn’t offer that – yet. So in keeping with the spirit of the season, Shutterstock has decided to give you the same 15 percent discount on all stock video footage packs.

20 Percent Holiday Savings.

To give out a little extra this holiday season, Shutterstock has decided to provide a 20 percent holiday savings on every purchase made through the end of the year. This provides a little more savings than the previous two coupons.

Spread the Word.

When you’re done signing up for your account, spread the word and spread the savings. Let people know where you went to take advantage of these awesome deals so that they too, can save some money this holiday season.

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