STELLA Pictures
STELLA Pictures AB is a Stockholm-based editorial picture agency operating a digital archive of 20+ million images covering entertainment, celebrities, royals, news, and sports, licensing imagery to media publishers and commercial buyers via subscription and per-image fees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersStockholm, Sweden
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What STELLA Pictures does
STELLA Pictures AB is a privately held Swedish picture agency incorporated in 2004 and headquartered in Stockholm, operating a digital image archive platform at stellapictures.se. The company focuses on editorial photography across five verticals: entertainment, celebrities, royals, news, and sports. It represents international agencies and photographers and claims coverage of important events worldwide, with a corpus of more than 20 million editorial images accessible to clients through the digital platform. The platform is available in English and Swedish and requires user registration and login to access the catalog.
The technical stack centers on a self-serve digital archive with authenticated user accounts, keyword and media-number search, and direct image download and licensing functionality. Content is augmented through partnerships with external agencies (e.g., Abacapress for creative imagery). There is no disclosed API, SDK, or MCP integration, and no AI/ML features are documented; metadata and tagging appear to be conventional rather than vision-based. The platform also exposes a separate 'creative' section, indicating two parallel collections (editorial and creative) served through the same interface. Operations are GDPR-compliant under Swedish law, with STELLA Pictures acting as data controller for images and video.
STELLA Pictures monetizes through a layered model: a free standard-access browse tier (no usage rights), premium subscription access on monthly flat-fee or per-image terms, transactional one-time image licensing priced by usage type/medium/circulation/territory, and ancillary processing fees (75 EUR per hour) plus notification penalties (10 EUR per use). The primary customer segment is media and publishing buyers; commercial buyers requiring rights-cleared imagery for advertising represent a secondary vertical. The company has no disclosed external funding, no subsidiaries, no M&A history, and operates with a micro headcount of 1-10 employees led by Managing Director Pernilla Wohlin.
STELLA Pictures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- STELLA Pictures
- Legal name
- STELLA Pictures AB
- Website
- https://stellapictures.se
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- STELLA Pictures AB is a Stockholm-based editorial picture agency operating a digital archive of 20+ million images covering entertainment, celebrities, royals, news, and sports, licensing imagery to media publishers and commercial buyers via subscription and per-image fees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
STELLA Pictures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Editorial Stock Photography & Image Licensing
- NAICS
- Commercial Photography (541922)
- SIC
- Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Photography & Photo Production (BPAFAIAF)
Keywords
Where STELLA Pictures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Stockholm
- HQ country
- Sweden
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
STELLA Pictures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Image Licensing: Revenue generated from licensing editorial images for one-time use. Customers pay fees based on usage type (editorial vs commercial), medium, circulation, and territory. Rights are granted for single use with usage reporting requirements.
- Database Access Subscriptions: Premium access to the image database requires a separate contract with monthly flat charges or per-image service fees. Standard access is free but does not grant usage rights.
- Processing Fees: Processing fee of 75 EUR per hour for image processing orders. Additional charges for telecommunications, postage, and couriers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Access - Free database browsing without usage rights |
| Subscription | Monthly | Premium Access - Subscription-based database access with usage rights |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | One-time Image Licensing - Per usage transaction |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
STELLA Pictures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
STELLA Pictures is an international picture agency that licenses editorial and creative imagery through a digital archive platform containing more than 20 million images covering entertainment, celebrities, royals, news, and sports. The company represents international photographers and partner agencies, granting customers searchable, authenticated access to download and license images on a per-use or subscription basis with usage rights valid for one year.
Product overview
STELLA Pictures operates as an international picture agency offering a unified platform combining a digital image archive and image licensing services. The core offering is a searchable digital archive database (www.stellapictures.se) providing access to over 20 million editorial images, supplemented by rights management and licensing services that grant customers usage rights to the photographic content. The platform also provides access to creative imagery through partner agency relationships.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Digital Image Archive
- Image Licensing Services
Companies that use STELLA Pictures
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
STELLA Pictures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
STELLA Pictures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- AbacapressminorPartner agency providing creative picture content to STELLA Pictures' archive. The partnership expands the creative picture collection available to STELLA's clients through the digital platform.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
STELLA Pictures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Shutterstock: Shutterstock operates one of the largest global stock content marketplaces with editorial and commercial imagery, licensing, and subscription offerings. It is a direct peer in business model, licensing mechanics, and target customer base despite its much larger scale.
- Adobe Stock: Adobe Stock is the stock imagery service bundled into Adobe's creative tools, supplying licensed editorial and commercial photos to creative professionals. It overlaps STELLA Pictures on licensing model and target buyer (creative/media buyers), with the notable addition of deep distribution via Creative Cloud.
- Getty Images: Getty Images is the world's largest commercial stock and editorial image agency, offering a licensed digital archive of more than 500 million assets covering entertainment, news, and sports. It is the most directly comparable peer to STELLA Pictures given overlapping editorial focus, licensing model, and target customers.
- AFP (Agence France-Presse): AFP is a global news agency that produces and licenses editorial photography covering news, sports, entertainment, and royals worldwide. It directly overlaps STELLA's editorial image categories and global event coverage but adds a much larger in-house production capability.
- Reuters Images: Reuters distributes editorial photography and video from a global newsroom to media and commercial clients, with a particular focus on news, sports, entertainment, and royalty coverage that overlaps STELLA's editorial archive scope.
- Imago Images: Imago Images is a German photo agency distributing editorial and creative imagery to European media outlets and commercial customers. It is closely comparable to STELLA in operating region, editorial focus, and partnership-driven content aggregation.
- Alamy: Alamy is a UK-based stock photography agency distributing creative and editorial imagery through an online marketplace to media and commercial buyers. Its model of aggregating photographer and agency content on a digital platform closely mirrors STELLA Pictures' partnership-led archive approach.
- AP Images (Associated Press): AP Images is the photo licensing arm of the Associated Press, offering editorial photography covering news, sports, and entertainment globally to media buyers. It competes directly with STELLA for editorial assignments and licensing relationships with major publishers.
- ABACAPRESS: ABACAPRESS is a French entertainment and celebrity-focused photo agency that already contributes creative picture content to STELLA Pictures' platform. Despite the existing partnership, it remains a direct competitor for editorial and entertainment image licensing across European media buyers.
Emerging players
- Bridgeman Images: Bridgeman Images operates a rights-cleared image archive focused on cultural, editorial, and creative content licensed to media and creative clients. It shares STELLA's archive-distribution business model but skews more toward fine-art and cultural content rather than celebrity/royal current-affairs imagery.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
STELLA Pictures social profiles
Digital presenceSTELLA Pictures compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
STELLA Pictures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
STELLA Pictures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
STELLA Pictures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
STELLA Pictures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about STELLA Pictures
What does STELLA Pictures do?
STELLA Pictures is an international picture agency that licenses editorial and creative imagery through a digital archive platform containing more than 20 million images covering entertainment, celebrities, royals, news, and sports. The company represents international photographers and partner agencies, granting customers searchable, authenticated access to download and license images on a per-use or subscription basis with usage rights valid for one year.
Is STELLA Pictures a public or private company?
STELLA Pictures is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was STELLA Pictures founded?
STELLA Pictures was founded in 2004. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is STELLA Pictures based?
STELLA Pictures is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, in the Europe region.
How does STELLA Pictures make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Image Licensing is the primary driver. The others are database Access Subscriptions and processing Fees.
Who are STELLA Pictures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Getty Images, AFP (Agence France-Presse), Reuters Images, Imago Images, Alamy, AP Images (Associated Press) and ABACAPRESS. Bridgeman Images is listed as an emerging player.
Does STELLA Pictures have an API?
No public API is recorded for STELLA Pictures.
What industry is STELLA Pictures in?
STELLA Pictures's product category is Editorial Stock Photography & Image Licensing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAIAF, Photography & Photo Production. Its NAICS code is 541922 and its SIC code is 7330.