Fotolia.com and more Free Backgrounds!

I have had the most AWESOME opportunity to dig in and test out Fotolia.com for a few weeks now…… and…… I LOVE IT! I am really new to the stock photo world, I purchase my first iStock.com image only 3 weeks ago! Even though iStock is highly recommended and widely used in the design industry, I am thinking that I am a new convert to Fotolia, and here are my reasons:

1. PRICE: I was super impressed with the low cost of Fotolia! I thought that iStock was reasonable, but Fotolia is a STEAL!

2. Quality: When I first took a look at Fotolia, I saw the pricing, and I instantly thought that the quality would NATURALLY be worse (cause honestly, that is usually how it goes), but the quality was quite comparable! iStock seems to have more to choose from, but not by so much that I wouldn’t check out Fotolia first…. especially with the prices offered.

3. Subscriptions: I have done a little looking around for subscriptions, and I was impressed with the low cost for the quality, I have found other stock websites with similar subscription plans, or “Unlimited” Subscription plans, but the quality falls way below Fotolia.

4. Ease of Use: I had no problem jumping in, and getting started! Fotolia is easy to navigate and purchasing and downloading was a cinch!

Now that you know all of the things that I LOVE about Fotolia, here are my cons:

1. Terms of Use: On the surface it seems simple, but I got a little lost on the fine print.
2. Search: It was okay, and I am able to find what I am looking for, but it doesn’t seem as refined and clear as iStock.
3. Cluttered with Less than awesome work: Like I said with the search, I can find what I am looking for, but I am not fond of quantity over quality. Although LOTS of the work is FABULOUS, there is a lot of less than fabulous photos/illustrations. It just makes filtering through images take a lot longer.

If I had to give Fotolia.com a rating, I would give it an 8.5 out of 10! I LOVE it, and because the pricing, quality, and ease of use, I have made it my #1 Stock Photo Site :)

Now, you will have to thank Fotolia for the awesome new backgrounds that I have created for you. (with permission from Fotolia, of course) Enjoy!