Stock photography consists of existing photographs that can be licensed for specific uses. Publishers, magazines, web sites, advertising agencies, and graphic artists use stock photography to fulfill their creative requirements.

A client who uses stock photography instead of hiring a photographer can save time and money.

Stock photography images are often made available in searchable online databases. The client can make a purchase then download their chosen image immediately.

Collections of stock photography are sometimes called photo archives, picture libraries, image banks or photo banks.