I'm one of those people who is very smart at anything creative, but understanding the legalities of who owns the rights to a photo once its been submitted and accepted by a stock photo company is beyond me.� I was hoping one of you could answer a couple of questions regarding this?� And hopefully answer it in in idiotese?

You retain the rights to your images at all of the major microstock sites (iStock, Shutterstock, Dreamstime, Fotolia) and many of the smaller ones(Bigstockphoto, 123RF, Stockxpert, LuckyOliver).� I am only aware of one site that wants to purchase your images (for around $5 apiece), but I can't remember their name.� There are also some licenses (such as Sell the Rights on Dreamstime) where you could sell the rights to a potential buyer, but that is usually for a substantial amount of money (usually $500 and up).

If a stock photo company like Dreamstime accepts my submitted photos, does this mean they now own the image and I can't sell or use it anymore?� If not, can I submit the same image to several stock companies?

With RF sites, you can submit to all of them if you have the time, and inclination (unless you go exclusive with a site).

Also, what has worked better for you guys -- Royalty Free or Extended License?

This is not an either/or.� You can do both.� Usually an Extended License allows the purchaser to resell your images (as in mousepads, tshirts, coffee mugs) or increase the amount published (from one specified amount to another or unlimited), but you still retain the rights to your image.  But this does not mean that they can take your image and submit it to another microsite or sell it as is.  It needs to be a part of another product.

The major question that many people deal with is whether they want someone to resell their images (on a product) for such a low amount.

Hope that helps...