Frequently Asked Questions


1. How do I join, and is joining free?
Membership is absolutely free! To register click on the word, "register", in the little window in the top right hand corner of the home page, or on the large "register now" button. You will be taken to the registration page. Enter your name, email address and password, then click on the register button. You will now be able to log in, and start downloading or contributing images.

You must be a member to be able to upload or download images.


2. Are the photos and graphics on rgbstock.com really free?
Yes! All images available for download from the galleries are completely free, if they are being used within the Terms of Use and Image License rules:

http://www.rgbstock.com/license

http://www.rgbstock.com/termsofuse

If you wish to use these images in any other way, you must contact the image owner by clicking "Send message" in their profile. Profiles can be accessed by clicking on the photographer's name next to the image, or at the top of each gallery page. (The comment box is not appropriate for this.) Owners have the right to make conditions and charge for use which falls outside rgbstock.com's terms and license. That arrangement must be negotiated with the image owner, and has nothing to do with this site.

3. What if the image owner won't respond to my request?
rgbstock.com has no control over the contributors to this site. If they are not breaking any of the rules, and they choose not to respond, there is nothing we can do. If the request is for something outside our terms and license, silence means no permission has been granted.

4. Can I sell these images?
No. You may use them as illustrations or decorations in books, leaflets, magazines, on websites that you are producing, etc (see the terms of use and image license for full details), and you may be paid for your project. But these images remain the property of their owners and may not be redistributed, sold, or put on items where the image is the reason for the sale, e.g. on greeting cards, calendars, t-shirts, cups, web templates, wallpapers, etc. If you are not sure, always contact the photographer or graphic artist for permission.

5. Where can I find the Terms of Use and Image License Agreement?
There is a link to the license next to every image. Here is the direct link:
http://www.rgbstock.com/license

Terms of Use can be viewed by clicking on "Contact" in the blue selection bar on the home page. Here is the direct link:
http://www.rgbstock.com/termsofuse



6. The rules are the same as on other sites, aren't they?
Not necessarily, and you must read them before downloading or uploading images. One small thing we do ask is that you contact the image owner when using their images publicly and let them know how and where the image was used. This takes a short time only, and can be done in the comment box next to the image.

7. How can I find the image I want?
There are several ways. You can type name of the object or concept in the search bar on the home page. You can click on one of the categories in the "Categories" box under the front page image. You can click on any image displayed on the front page. You can click on "Popular photos" or "New Photos" in the selection bar on any page. You may know a certain photographer or graphic artist has a style that suits your project, so you can go to the list of photographers by clicking the "Photographers" link within the cover image on the home page. All these methods will pull up a gallery of thumbnail images for you to scroll through. There will usually be several pages, so you can either keep clicking "next" at the bottom of the page to see them all, or by clicking on the page number, a drop down box will appear, and you can type the page number into that, and click, "go". When you see something that appeals, click on the image or its title, and you will open the preview image. Clicking on this opens the full image, which you then save to your computer. Some files here are very large, and may take some time to download.

8. Do I have to credit the site when I use an image?

Credit is not necessary when you use items within the Terms of Use and Image License. However, it is good manners to do so whenever possible, and the photographer or graphic artist is the one who must be credited, not the site. The site is a venue only and has no ownership of images. Use their real name - found on their profile - and not their tag name. Something like, "Image courtesy of Joe Smith, rgbstock.com" with a link to their gallery, not the home page, is ideal.

9. What is a lightbox?
The lightbox on RGBStock.com allow a user to organize photos. Photos can be assigned to a viewable lightbox  by subject, for later convenience, or used to compile unrelated photos for a specific project layout.  Lightboxes also can be used by graphic designers to show clients options for a project in one simple uncluttered folder. RGBstock.com lightboxes are free an can be used by all users. You can add as many lightboxes as you like and you can make the lightboxes private or public.

10. How do I delete my account?
If you want to delete your account, please go to the contact page and fill in the contact form. Please tell us you want to delete your account and we will delete it as soon as possible.

11. How do I apply to have a gallery on rgbstock.com?
No application is needed. Just begin uploading your photos or graphics. Please note: these must be in jpeg format. It's very simple. Click on "Upload photos" in the selection bar on any page. The upload window will open. Read the upload rules by clicking on those words. You will be taken to the Image License Agreement, which all uploaders are bound by, as well as downloaders. If you do not want your images used within those terms, then rgbstock.com may not be a suitable venue for you.

Return to the upload page and fill in all sections.

Select a title for your image.

Write a description. E.g., "A green can on a blue and red background", or "This image could be used to illustrate sadness, fear or loneliness" - whatever is appropriate. People like to read descriptions, which show up under the image, and you can give them ideas for potential use that they may not have thought of.

Fill in at least 5 keywords. A keyword is something that someone will type in when looking for a particular image. Think about the words you would use to search for that image. Be careful about this: type your keywords separated only by a comma and not a comma and a space, or just spaces. Without the commas, your keywords will all run together in one giant keyword, and no-one will be able to find your image. Double keywords should have a space between the words, like "red flower, tall building, etc. Hint: use as many keywords as you can think of. You can describe the article - tree,tall tree,pine,evergreen,plant,nature - but then also think of concepts that people might want to illustrate with your tree, like strength,creation,peace,mother nature,environment, etc. Don't get too abstract. A tree might represent "aliens from the planet Snark" to you, but if it isn't a commonly held understanding, then it's very unlikely to be a helpful keyword, and could even be misleading.

Click on "Choose file", which will take you to your computer's files. Locate your image and select the file. The name will open next to the choose file button. You may select three images to upload at once. Remember that this will take longer than one image. Most importantly, once the images have been uploaded, edit the titles. You may wish to keep the same name for all. In that case, add numbers as in, "Birdcage 1", "Birdcage 2", etc.

Make sure you have ticked the box to say you agree with the license, then click the "Upload Now" button. An hourglass will appear beside your cursor to indicate the upload is proceeding. When complete, the "Upload Successful" page will appear, with a link to your photo management page for any editing, the option to upload more images, or to return to the home page.

12. Why don't my images appear in my public gallery straight away?
Newly uploaded images will appear in your personal gallery where only you can view them. They will be labelled "Pending" until formal approval has been completed. Once approved, the images will be added to the New Photos gallery for public viewing, comment and downloading.

All images must be approved as being of an acceptable standard for rgbstock.com. Approvers are experienced volunteers who have been working in the stock image industry for years. As volunteers, their personal schedule may not allow them to be here all the time. However, our approvers are dedicated to the site and to ensuring you are treated respectfully, and your images are dealt with promptly. As the number of images awaiting approval grows, approval times may slow, but our aim is to approve all images within a few days at most.
Please check for any notices about approval delays in the forums and contact us if you think there is a problem.

13. Why did you reject my perfectly good images?
There are many reasons for rejection. We may have too many images of flowers, so we approve only very high quality images. At full size, your photo may have been blurry, pixelated, or full of noise or artefacts. This affects images that are to be printed or viewed at large size where they are being used. Your image may be badly focussed - on the background rather than the subject. It may have a poor composition, which distracts the eye. It may be considered not very useful as a stock image.

There will be a reason given regarding the rejection. In future we may have less time, but we will try to point out the problems with your rejected images. However, you must not take personal offence at the advice. We are trying to help you, and if you disagree, please do so in a pleasant way. We are human, we can make mistakes. But our aim is to provide high quality free stock images, and because of that, some images will be rejected. Keep trying. Take the advice on board, and your photography and graphics will improve. Many people have begun on free stock sites, learned from them, and gone on to make money on paid sites.

14. Can I upload images taken by or created by another person?
The short answer is "no". However, there are images in the public domain, which means they are free to use commercially. If they are hosted on other people's sites, then you may not be allowed to take the image from there. Check with their terms of use. But you can't take one of those images, and upload it here. You may use it in an edited work, but it would need to show a lot of editing or creativity, and not be primarily the original image. You may use images from any source that approves of such use, but you must acknowledge the source in your image description. Our approvers may want to see the original image to determine that what you submit is mostly your own work. Generally, other image sites do not allow such use, as it is redistribution.

15. What kinds of image formats are allowed?
Jpeg(.jpg) is the only photo format currently being accepted.

Graphic images are permitted.
Color profile must be in the RGB format. We request that you do not upload photos in the CMYK format. Images that are uploaded in CMYK will automatically be converted to the RGB color space and may not render the colors properly as you had sent them. We recommend that you convert your CMYK images to RGB before submitting.

16. What is the minimum and maximum image size allowed?
The minimum size of an image is determined by the shortest side of the image whether it be the height or the width. The minimum length allowed is measured in pixels and shall be no shorter than 1000 pixels.
The maximum size of an image is measured as file size. The maximum file size shall not exceed 30 megabytes. (30MB)

17. Can I submit images containing nudity?
No. There are plenty of sites which cater for that. While there would seem to be good reasons for nudity in some stock categories, we would prefer not to host nude, adult or suggestive content. That way there can be no argument about how far is too far, etc. Therefore, no bare breasts, genitalia, pubic hair, or implied sexual acts.