has anyone purchased a GettyImage for personal use?

[mbenga28]

I came across a beautiful photo-match for one of my bats, and the image is available only on Getty and am deciding to purchase it (just this once, as the price is more than my monthly rent).

For those who've done this before, could you provide some information on the following:

a) after downloading the image, how many copies are you permitted to print out?

b) what is the maximum size the image could be printed out?

c) where would be the best photo center to send this to?

I've asked their customer service and have gotten vague information, so I am seeing if any of you have done this before and could share your experience.

thank you

[David]

Don't know if this is helpful, but I had an account at Corbis for work. I don't believe there is a charge to join, but you have to be a part of an organization (I think, and it can be small, probably even your website counts). You have free viewing to all the images without any watermarks. If you purchase one, you will get a veeery large and high quality image, which I assume you can print out 100 times if you want. I would imagine you can save the image on your computer too.

[David]

I forgot to add that as the images are very high quality and size, you could probably have it printed to about any size within reason-- 20x14 no problem. In publishing, the images they work with are about 10x better, larger and higher quality than any images posted on this or other sports boards.

[mbenga28]

Hi David thank you for your suggestions and advice. I also checked Corbis and unfortunately the image is not on their site, and Getty is the only place it is available.

As for the sizing, I just noticed beneath the image it said this:

17.2 MB / 10 x 6.67 in. (3000 x 2000 px) / 300dpi

does anyone know if this means the maximum size that could be printed out is 10 x 7? that appears somewhat small, even for the licensing fee they are charging for this. thank you.

[gameused]

Have your tried AP images? I recently purchased some 8x10 photos from them and was very pleased, price was about $20 per photo.

[mbenga28]

that looks great gameused, yes I checked AP and didn't see the photo there either.

[rj_lucas]

Hi David thank you for your suggestions and advice. I also checked Corbis and unfortunately the image is not on their site, and Getty is the only place it is available.

As for the sizing, I just noticed beneath the image it said this:

17.2 MB / 10 x 6.67 in. (3000 x 2000 px) / 300dpi

does anyone know if this means the maximum size that could be printed out is 10 x 7? that appears somewhat small, even for the licensing fee they are charging for this. thank you.

No, the 10 x 6.67 inch measurement is just another way of expressing resolution. To use a pre-digital metaphor, think of it as the size of the negative.

With a file size of 17.2 MB, this is going to be an uncompressed RAW file, which means you could print a massive photograph (think mural size) with complete clarity.

In fact, you might want to consider buying a lower-resolution version of the image, which would lower your cost. Use the on-line chat feature and ask what resolution would be suitable for printing at 8x10 (or 11x14 or whatever size you think you'll print at).

There's no limit to the number of photos you can print, but of course, you can't sell them.

If you do buy the full 17.2 MB file, you're going to have to compress it (i.e. reduce the file size) anyway, since it's too large for on-line photo services or the kind of photo kiosk you'd find at someplace like Walgreens.

Rick
rickjlucas@gmail.com

[mbenga28]

thank you Rick, this helps tremendously - completely opposite from what the live chat at GettyImages just told me, they said it would be impossible to print out a size larger than 10" x 6.67". They also said I could only print the image once, if I needed additional ones I would have to pay additional licensing fees.

I don't believe they have any price options, as what is quoted is the fee for the license.

I apologize for not being too savvy with photography, but in the event all that is available is the 17.2 MB, how can I go about compressing it as you mentioned? thank you.

[slats7]

In the last month or so, Getty has stopped slapping watermarks on their images. The older images in their archives are still marked, however.

[otismalibu]

I bought some scans from a photo archive a few weeks back. They came as TIF files on a disk. I cleaned them up in Photoshop and saved them as highest quality in JPEG format. They are all around 5MB in size. Can easily make nice 8x10s or 8x12s from that size. Even made a 12x16.

I just use Sam's Club. I think Costco has similar pricing. Almost free and in matte.

FWIW...AP won't sell NBA prints.