How to Find the Digital Stock Photos You Want with the Quality You Need
Because there are millions of photos on the Web today, it’s important to know how to search for digital stock photos. You could spend hours, or even days, searching for the right photo! Being specific is the key.
Narrow Your Photo Search
Narrow your photo search specifically for what you need. For example, if you need a photo of a woman smiling and sitting by a computer, you can type any of the phrases below (or variations of these) into a stock photo search box or a general search engine to locate the right image:
Phrase One: stock photo of woman sitting by computer smiling
Phrase Two: stock picture of woman sitting by computer smiling
Phrase Three: stock photo of woman smiling by computer
Phrase Four: buy photo of woman sitting by computer smiling
Or, you can add the word “photosource” to your description if you’re using a general search engine such as Google to find stock photos.
Here’s an example:
medical doctor taking patient’s temperature photosource
The more specific you are the better. Through a stock agency site, photographers are encouraged to add as many specific keywords or key phrases as possible.
This benefits you because it saves time and effort when performing a search. Key phrases (as shown above) are usually better than a simple keyword because they enable you to enter as many details as possible about the photo you need.
Consider these Search Possibilities:
*Color of clothes (i.e. stock photo of woman in blue shirt sitting by computer smiling)
*Location of photo (i.e. stock photo of man flying a kite on a beach in Miami)
*Lifestyle photos (i.e. stock photo of teenage girl sitting on couch reading a magazine)
*Scenery or landscapes (i.e. stock photo of mountain scene with cows and red barn)
*Animal photos (i.e. stock photo of Siamese cat with kittens)
*Color or Black and White (i.e. black and white stock photo of man flying a kite on a beach)
These are just a few ways you can narrow your search to speed up the process.
Finding Top Quality Stock Images
Stock agencies often require top quality for all their images, but if you’re searching for a stock photo through a general search engine, you might want to specify the quality along with your description of the photo to narrow your search.
Here’s an example:
If you’re searching for a stock image for your magazine cover, use the following type of phrase in your search.
stock photo of baby wearing a pamper laughing 300 dpi
stock photo of baby wearing a pamper laughing high resolution
If you’re searching for a stock image for your Web site, use a phrase similar to the one below.
stock photo of baby wearing a pamper laughing 72 dpi
A photo that’s 300 dpi and high in megapixels (such as 5, 6 or 10 megapixels) works great for printed projects in magazines, brochures, book covers and corporate newsletters. The dpi can be lower for Web use, however. So, the quality and size needed will depend on how you’ll be using your stock photo.
Remember to be as specific as possible when performing your stock photo search.
Include quality and details about the images you need and you should be able to locate the stock photos you need online without wasting hours of your valuable time searching.
Bob Pardue is a professional travel & teen lifestyle stock photographer. His work has been published worldwide.Bob Pardue Stock Photography
Pixels in your camera’s sensor pick up light. This light is converted into an electrical impulse which is then transferred as an image to your LCD camera screen or stored on the memory card.
Sometimes the electrical signal is not “clean” but muddied and “noisy”. This can lead to a degradation of the image especially visible on a printed or computer screen enlargement.
This happens through natural variation, internal electricity generation (the internal activity of the sensor) and temperature changes.
Noise becomes apparent on the image as an unnatural variation in colour of small spots or areas. This is especially so where the image is a uniform colour - such as sea, skies and large flat surfaces which are evenly lit. In the days of film, we would call this “grain”. But, whereas grain could be used to creative effect, noise is usually unwanted. In general, there is little you can do to avoid it except pay for a more expensive camera.
Noise won’t be a big issue for you although you may notice it. A lot of people talk about it as if good photography and perfection are equivalent qualities. It is often more apparent in compact cameras than SLRs and, of course, professional level SLRs have the least noise of all.
There are ways of reducing noise but they involve software manipulations which are reasonably detailed. Unless you are a perfectionist, it might be best to use your energies elsewhere and let the purists worry about a few stray pixels here and there.
Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com.
