Photography Information

Selecting Good Stock Photography in the Age of Digital


The business of stock photography has drastically changed over the last few years. Ten years ago, selecting photographs for your brochure or newsletter meant spending hours pouring over stock photography catalogs and ordering photo research to find the exact image. When the order came in a giant overnight package, designers would spread transparencies out on the light table, squinting through a magnifying loop to check every detail.

Enter the digital age.

High speed Internet connections. CD's. Searchable Archives. Royalty-free stock. These elements have changed the face of communication design forever. The quality, quantity, affordability and accessibility of stock imagery have made it the resource of choice for many organizations.

The advantages of instantaneous access to searchable archives of good images are numerous.

  • Speed :: We can never have enough of it. Search. Download. Import. It's remarkable.
  • Choice :: Searching "stock photography" on Google delivers 1,470,000 results. You can find pretty much anything out there.
  • Price :: While there are free resources, unless you are doing a school report, you may need something slightly more exclusive. Also, many of the free images are only good enough for online display and the selection is very limited. Royalty-free images are reasonably priced, you pay for only the size you'll use and images can be used as needed with no extra charges.
  • Flexibility :: Image selections can be grouped, saved and emailed to others in the review cycle. People in different locations can simultaneously review ideas.
  • Archiving :: Some companies even keep a record of your buys that you can re-download whenever you need them. To use this resource effectively, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
  • Plan ahead :: Will you ever need the picture to be printed? The low cost of "low resolution" images can lure you into costly mistakes. Images need to be 300 dpi (dots per inch) at the size they will be printed.
  • Low-cost tradeoff :: Pictures are now so affordable, everyone's buying them. That means your image could show up in your competitor's brochure. Some projects call for more exclusive imagery.
  • Image-enhancement :: When you need something totally unique, such as your product in the shot, it may be more economical to hire a photographer than to have your designer spend countless hours in Photoshop trying to get it just right.
  • Availability :: Good images still cost money. While many firms have images on file, don't expect your designer to have a database full of images right for your project.
When searching on the web, search for "stock photography" rather than doing an image search in Google or another search engine. Google returns all images from the web -- including those that are the property of others and not legally usable.

About The Author

Beth Brodovsky is the president and principal of Iris Creative Group, LLC. Brodovsky earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design from Pratt Institute, New York. Before launching her own firm in 1996, she spent eight years as a corporate Art Director and Graphic Designer, providing a sound foundation in management and organizational standards and structure. Iris Creative specializes in providing marketing and strategic communication services to clients in service industries and small businesses. For more information contact Beth at bsb@iriscreative.com or 610-567-2799.


MORE RESOURCES:

Pros and cons to Facebook's fast-growing role in digital photography
Washington Post
The glossy print, it seems, is losing its sheen. According to estimates from IDC, 42 billion photos will be printed worldwide, ...

and more »


Ravaged landscapes, ugly yet not
Philadelphia Inquirer
Curator Heather Coyle decided to make an exhibition of them now to give the museum a photography show for this season. She further observed that she wanted ...

and more »



Sabine Thole participates in the night photography monthly assignment
The Guardian
A good mix of pictures. 'Tower Bridge' is a good shot showing the architecture lit up beautifully at night. 'Road' on the other hand, seems a little ...



J_ymmit participates in the night photography monthly assignment
The Guardian
As a set these images work well together, and pictures such as 'Kreuzberg' are certainly reminiscent of Rut Blees' work in inner city London – made famous ...



Joanna Epstein participates in the night photography monthly assignment
The Guardian
Joanna has photographed these shots around a town at night with the best of this portfolio is in the image 'Football'. Here a scene has been photographed ...



Kingston High photography students win honors
Kingston Daily Freeman
KINGSTON – The work of a dozen Kingston High School photography students will be recognized by the New York State Media Art Teachers ...



A mom's journey
Gainesville Sun
For Bea Nettles, the heart of her photography is more about her topics than technique. Before mixed media was cool, Nettles pushed ...

and more »


Photography Course
BurlingtonFreePress.com
Using pictures of VINS' raptors, Rob will illustrate essential techniques to enhance participants' digital or film photography skills. ...



Boston Globe

Lots of attitude, energy at this 'Rock' show
Boston Globe
There are also pictures from photographers important within the genre of rock photography: Alfred Wertheimer, who took so many terrific early shots of Elvis ...


Google News

home | site map
© 2009 Professional Photographers Guild Of Abilene, Abilene Texas