If you want to add some photos on your publications, wether online or printed, you basically have three options to source them:
1. Finding free photos on the web
As we’ve seen before, you need to be careful when using images on your site and make sure that you are allowed to do so. Don’t just google images and choose the ones you like, it might get you into serious trouble.
If you are looking for photos, I’ll give you two reliable sources for finding stunning images for FREE on the web.
Flickr
Flickr is an image hosting website, created back in 2004 and counting more than 51 million registered users and 80 million unique visitors. It is probably one of the most used website for sharing images.
Anyone can browse the site and view the images, without having to register for an account, but only site members can upload content on the site. Registration is free and open to anyone, and there is also a premium account for larger hosting space and extra functionalities.
Initially, Flickr was used mainly for sharing personal images with friends and family. But over the years as the site developed, many people started using it to highlight their work (photographers, crafters, food lovers, etc.) and bloggers are now using it to host images for their blogs. It is also a very common source where bloggers, or other website owners, find their images from.
The key is to know how to use the site, how to find the best images and how to make sure they are ok to be used on your own website. What you need to do, is to look for “Creative Common” photos – photos that you will be allowed to use by simply respecting the authors copyright instructions, which often just means giving their reference.
To find these photos, select “Creative Commons” under the “Explore” menu, and just browse! There are some tips that you will want to know for optimising your chances to find the most beautiful photos, and I would highly recommend that you read this post from the Skelliewag blog for learning all the tricks.
Microsoft Office Gallery
I only discovered this resource recently but I’ve already used it many times for my marketing material at work. Microsoft has teamed up with Fotolia (a Royalty Free Image library) to offer microsoft users free images. There is only a condensed selection of images, but big enough to find relevant photos for most topics. Browse the gallery and see for yourself.
Your photostream
People often forget to look into their own content! You probably visited interesting places during your holidays or business trips, so don’t discard your own photos. After all, you took the time to take them and you own the rights. Browse your Facebook photos, Picasa gallery or email archives and dig out your best shots. See how you can crop them to make them more interesting and voila!
2. Purchasing royalty free photos
If you have a budget and are willing to buy some images, then I recommend using the Istockphoto website.
Images on the site fall under the Royalty-Free category. You can use them how many times you want, on any type of material, without giving credit to the author. The images are not exclusive to you, but they are usually very affordable.
I like this website because it has a very large selection of stunning photos, but also illustrations and videos.
The search feature is very easy to use but can also be very specific. You can search by color, price range, size, etc.. You can even specify where you would like an empty area to be on the photo in case you wanted to include some text on it (for example a landscape photo might have some empty space on the top where the sky is).
As you browse through the website and find some images you like, you can place them in a “lightbox” for future reference, continue browsing and come back to your lightbox when you are ready to purchase.
You will need to create an account (it’s free) and buy some credits before you can download any image. You can buy credits as you go (by credit card) or have monthly plans if you are a big user. For detailed explanations on how to find your images and pay for them, visit their help page.
3. Working with a professional photographer
If you need some specific photos for your business and can’t seem to find what you want on the web; or need to showcase your products, then you can consider organising a photo shoot.
All you need to do is find a professional photographer who has a network of models, or maybe talk to a design agency so that they can also give you some artistic directions. The beauty with a photo shoot is that you can customise the photos to be exactly like you need them.
Be creative and don’t limit yourself to the studio. Embrace your environment, whether you are in a large city with exciting lights, brick wall backgrounds, or in the countryside with large open spaces, green fields, spectacular coastlines and so on. Use accessories, colors, patterns and movement, and you will own an invaluable asset with your new photo collection.
Of course you need to have a set budget, but you can always work with students or why not ask family and friends to be your models? Consider these tips from eHow to make sure your photoshoot is a success.
Questions: Where do you source your photos most of the time?
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