You do not understand stock photography. Images are only "sold" if someone offers a buyout. In such a case a buyer pays sometimes thousands of dollars to use an image that no one else will ever be able to use. It could be an image for a national marketing campaign. For example Coke would not want Pepsi having access to the same image.

Images are typically licensed. It is far cheaper for big corporations to pay for a licensed image than to hire a photographer to shoot the image in the first place. Images are in effect being rented. Is it right to rent cars or tuxedos for a wedding, or to pay for a hotel room? You are never buying these things. You are paying for a right to use them.

You pay for the right to use my work. Simple enough. If you think it is wrong, buy yourself a car or a condo for your next vacation. Lol!

Getty is an agency - like an agency that rents out property. They do all the marketing and take 70 - 80% of the fee. It's not a case of how much I "charge" Getty! We have contracts. They place a huge copyright notice over the images. Sure you can right click and remove the copyright notice if you think it is morally right to steal because you can.

They have given bloggers a way to legally use the images by embedding the image. It provides a link back to the site. Steemit somehow does not support this. I tried it. The other option is to use the link .

But, you are basically saying in your comment that it's ok to steal something if it easy to do and that renting out something is dishonest? I don't get it! Why should my business be any different from others?