Cool Tools: iStockPhoto.com

Invariably it happens that when I find a website that I think is uber cool, I discover I’m way late to the party. My sister has a t-shirt that says “What you like, I liked five years ago.” This more or less sums up my recent internet discoveries – I tell people excitedly about a service or site I’ve found and I get this response: “Where have you been? Under a rock?” My favorite recent reaction: “You work in new media? Really?” Yes, but I have to work on the business side so it’s not always hip or glamorous, but it pays the bill. Hmmph.

Take istockphoto.com for instance. Raise your hand if you’ve heard of this site (or used it). Yes, yes, thank you. Now you and your smug hand can sit down and shut up.

iStockPhoto.com, as its name implies, is a site that offers stock photos – but for way less than sites like Corvis. They’re one of the pioneers of the micropayment model for stock images – pictures can cost as little as $1 and go up to $20. They also offer video clips ranging in price from $10 to $50. iStockPhoto was founded in 2000 and was acquired by Getty Images last year, but its management insists that nothing about its low fee model will change.

It’s free to sign up and downloads are a cinch. The site has a library of 2.7 million images so it’s likely you’ll find something you want, and the content is top notch. I was looking for photos of “saffron” for some logo work I want done and the site returned a nice collection of very high quality images from which to choose. When you’re on a budget (or you can’t even afford a budget!), it’s a great source for your creative work.