Photo Resolution - How to Know Which Size Photo to Buy For Your Creative Project

Every photo buyer, like yourself, can choose from multiple resolutions offered at many stock photography sites, ranging from XSmall, Small, Medium, Large and all the way up to XXLarge etc. Many stock photography agencies introduced the tiered pricing so buyers would have an option to choose which file they needed at cheaper prices. They will charge the most for the highest resolution all the way down to a few dollars for the lowest resolution. What can sometimes get confusing is what file size is most appropriate for the project you are working on and how you can cut costs when downloading photos. Below you will find answers about what resolution size is large enough to fill a specific creative need a designer, web publisher or blogger might have.

So how do you go about determining which file size is right for your creative project and thus save a bit of cash by licensing the cheapest file size that will work for your project?

Do you want to use this stock image for web or digital use, such as your photography blog, website, a banner advertisement or a PowerPoint presentation? If this is the case then you may be best off just downloading the smaller file sizes. For example an image resolution that is around 600 x 800 pixels would work well for that.

Are you planning to use the stock photo for a print use instead? If your desired print size is approximately 5 inches by 7 inches, i.e. about the size of a greeting card, we would recommend downloading the medium resolution file (~1200 x 1600 pixels). If you also wanted to use that image on your website it would work well for your digital or web needs.

If you want this picture for a full-page, A4 size printing, then you will likely need the larger image resolutions (i.e. 2300 x 3000 pixels). You can use this for smaller size print needs, as well as, web and digital use

If you are still unsure which file size you should purchase when downloading stock photography then please visit http://www.cutcaster.com to learn more about photo resolutions and what a fair price to pay is for a particular file size.