Frequently Asked Questions

What is an image library

An image library holds a collection of pictures photographs and images to be used by members of the public or companies subject to certain rules and laws. Uses vary quite dramatically. For example a picture of a sunny beach in Spain could be purchased by an individual to use as a print on their living room wall or by a tour company to place in their next holiday brochure.

The aim of an image library is to offer as many pictures or images as possible and cover as many aspects of photography and imaging as possible. Of course there can be a difference between a photograph and an image. A photograph is of course a photograph and everyone knows what a photograph is. It is a picture taken with a camera. However, an image can be something quite different. An image can still be a photograph depicting an image but it can also be a computer generated visual effect which is an image but not actually a photograph.

Image libraries therefore offer a selection of photographs, pictures and images for various uses. Let's look at some of those uses. Well look around you. What do you see? Everywhere you look you are bombarded with images and pictures. Whether it is television, magazine adverts, billboards, newspapers, the sides of buses, shop windows, the Internet, product packaging, holiday brochures, the visual image is KING!

Images are used to sell everything! There is a vast market for images of every kind. Therefore the purpose of an image library is to fill that thirst for pictures by offering as many as possible to cater for the needs of all advertisers and picture lovers.

How do I buy pictures for commercial use?

All the photographs pictures and images on 'Photo Image Products' can be purchased for commercial use as magazines and brochure pictures, calendar pictures, Christmas and greetings cards, postcards, reference books, holiday brochures, web-page graphics and any other mass media production only after a usage price has been agreed. Before a price can be quoted we need to know:-
1) Media in which the picture will appear.
2) The position of the image i.e. front cover, centre fold, inside page.
3) The duration of use.
4) Quantity of print run.
5) Exclusivity.
6) Frequency of use.
7) Territory of distribution.
The answer to these questions and any more we deem necessary will need to be answered so please have some idea of your intentions before contacting us. Once the usage and price has been agreed, a contract will be formed and must be strictly adhered to.

How do I buy pictures for my own private use?

It's very simple to buy pictures for private use. First you need to find the picture you want. You can select a 'category' where you will see lots of pictures of a similar type. You can use a "keyword" where you type the description of what you want in the 'keyword search' box, or you can look through the "featured galleries" of the contributing photographers, some of which appear on the homepage.

Let's assume you want to find a picture of a holiday scene to brighten up your living room. You could choose the heading 'Holiday' from the category section and see pictures of holiday locations throughout the world. However you may wish to be more specific and only want to see pictures of sunny beaches. In this case you would use the 'Keyword search' facility and type in 'sunny beaches'. By selecting this precise search phrase you would only be shown pictures which included the words 'sunny beach' in their keywords. Once you have found the picture you want, simply add it to your 'shopping basket' by clicking on the small symbol of a shopping basket, then go to the 'checkout' and pay for it with your credit card. Once your payment has been cleared the picture will be sent to you. Please allow a few days for delivery as we are sometimes very busy.

A note about copyright

All photographers are protected by law against anyone copying their photographs whether or not the copy is to be used for private or public use or to be used for monetary or other gain.

The relevant UK Act of Parliament is the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. The Berne Convention of 1886 and the Universal Copyright Convention of 1952, as amended in Paris in 1971.

All photographs on this site are copyright protected. It is illegal to copy by any means whatsoever either in part or whole, to sell, hire, or make available to any third party for the purpose of financial gain, or transmit electronically or by any other means any photograph purchased from Photo Image Productions (PIP) without prior permission.

Even if you purchase a picture you must not make any copies of that picture either for your own use or to be sold or supplied free of charge to any other party.

Breaking copyright laws is a serious offence and punishable under the law.

How do I buy pictures to download for webpage use?

We offer a service for graphic designers by having a facility to download any picture for use on web pages at a reasonable charge as, jpg files at 72dpi approx. 1100x730 pixels. These downloads must not be used for any work to be used in printed media as this would be construed as use for 'commercial' purposes and must be purchased as such, see (How do I buy pictures for commercial use?).
To purchase a picture or pictures make your selection and add to the shopping basket. Go to the checkout and make payment. You will then be sent an email with a web address from which you can download the picture/s. This web address will only be 'open' for 24 hours so please be sure to download the pictures within this time otherwise you will have to order and pay again.

Can I sell my own pictures on your site?

No, at the moment we are not allowing other photographers to exhibit on this site.