For the past three years, I’ve faithfully been using iStockPhoto (iStock) for my stock images because their images are cheap and great quality. Then, while doing something random, I bumped into the Lucky Oliver (LO) website and I’ve been hooked ever since. The photo quality is excellent.
Initially, LO didn’t appear to have much selection. Frankly, all their images seemed to center around food, but it looks like it’s growing.
I broke down and signed up when I was captivated by the photo of the moment by Victoria Alexandrova. The composition was so lovely I racked my brain thinking of where I could possibly use that image (alas, no where at present).
The site itself is very similar to iStock. (Not the visual design. That’s very different.) Like iStock, LO uses a token system where you can purchase as many tokens as you like and then purchase images. Each token is worth about $1 (you get more bang for your buck if you buy tokens in bulk). The images start at 1 token for the super tiny blog entry size up to 20 tokens for the super mega high resolution images. Chances are, if you’re a regular web designer, you’ll be hovering in the 2-3 token range per image.
As I navigate the site, I’m discovering adorable little nuances - for instance, LO uses a Shoebox instead of a Lightbox to compile and keep track of images you like. LO can definitely become the place to go for stock photos as more people find out about it. Especially if they keep up the quality that they have now. Visit Lucky Oliver and judge for yourself.
