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Frequently Asked Questions page

Who is Belga ?

Belga is the leading news agency in Belgium. Since 1920, Belga has been the partner of major media in the country, providing them with news stories (text and pictures) used as source of their journalistic work. Today BelgaPicture has become one of the leading pictures agencies in Belgium, delivering national and international news pictures to a wide range of clients: newspapers, magazines, companies, publishers, websites, advertising agencies, etc ... For a complete overview of Belga's activities, surf on www.belga.be

What can I find on the website ?

This website offers one of the most comprehensive picture databases of the country. Pictures on the website date back to 1994. More than 10,000 new pictures are added every day on the database. Pictures can be downloaded in high and low resolution from this website. The pictures available on this website are mainly news pictures and come from the production of Belga (20 photographers in Belgium) but also from international partners of Belga such as:

  • European Pressphoto Agency (EPA)
  • Agence France Presse (AFP)
  • ANP
  • Belpress
  • Cuboimages
  • Face to Face
  • Iconsport
  • Itar-Tass
  • Keystone
  • Leemage
  • MaxPPP
  • Sunset
  • Wenn
  • Xinhua

Pictures on the website cover politics, economy, sports, entertainment, fait-divers, culture, showbiz, etc..., both national and international. If you look for an archive picture not available on the website, please contact our pictures sales desk at 00 32 2 743 23 82 or send a mail to imagery@belga.be


Editorial or creative pictures:

Customers can choose between these 2 categories: editorial pictures with concrete content related to a particular event and creative pictures with artistic and timeless content and thus not linked to a particular event.


Galleries and coverages:

A gallery is a collection of pictures that are selected manually by BelgaPicture editors from the incoming picture feeds. The coverage is the collection of pictures related to an event (e.g. a football game). The coverages are automatically and immediately created during importing and allow customers to quickly have a look over our production.

How and why get a FREE login and password?

Getting a login and password is FREE ! To get a login and password to the database and be able to order pictures online, you need to fill the "register" form or "the request pictures" form if you know which picture you wish to order. You can also send a mail to imagery@belga.be or call 00 32 2 743 23 82
Once you have received a login and password, you will be able to:

  • access the full production of BelgaPicture and partners
  • access all news and features galleries
  • create order baskets with your selection of pictures
  • download pictures or order baskets in high or low resolution
  • track your downloads with the option "download history"

How to make a search?

See the Search tips page for more explanation.
You can search a picture by subject, by source, by photographer, by theme, by date, etc. If you do not find the picture you are looking for, Belga proposes links to the websites of our partners. To use these websites and download pictures, you need to be logged in to the BelgaPicture website. If you wish to order a paper archive (dating back to 1946), please contact our sales desk: send a mail to imagery@belga.be or call 00 32 2 743 23 82.

How to download a picture?

If you are registered, once you have chosen a picture that you would like to use, you can directly download the picture or place the picture in your order basket and download it later. Downloading only takes a few seconds. You just need to choose the drive and the folder where you wish the picture to be saved.

How much does a picture cost ?

You will not find any indication of prices on the website, because the price of a picture depends on various elements: type of publication, use of the picture, format, quantity of prints, etc. Belga follows the price structure of SABAM (www.sabam.be). To know the price of a picture, please send a request using the "request picture" form or send a mail to imagery@belga.be or call our pictures sales desk at 00 32 2 743 23 82.

How do I pay ?

All payments are made based on an invoice sent by our picture sales desk. Invoicing is based on the number of pictures downloaded as well as the information you provided on the type of publication, use of the picture, size, quantity of prints, etc

What about copyrights ?

For a complete overview of copyrights issues, please refer to the conditions page.

Who must I contact to buy a picture ?

Send a mail to imagery@belga.be or call our pictures sales desk at 00 32 2 743 23 82.