Stock images seem to be everywhere these days. Have you seen free stock images advertised or super low cost, but when you look at them they are so canned or staged that they make you shudder?
I have, I was looking for images for a web site that I wanted to stand out, the "free" ones either looked as if they were staged or ones you see everywhere.
I wanted something that would make the website I was designing look amazing but also unique, something that wasn't going to show up on a competitors website.
Yet everywhere I looked for those type of images they were too expensive for my budget, where could I find unique and affordable stock images?
Luckily, I am a professional photographer and so was able to take my own images, but for those of you who aren't photographers or don't have the time, where do you go.
To the internet...it can be a great resource if used properly, or a great time waster if not.
Look in your search engine for "unique images" or something very specific, such as "rusted old Bedford truck in Western Australia."
By being very specific you get rid of a lot of the generic images that everyone comes across.
If you have a particular job you are working on look for "stock Photographers" instead of stock images.
Also don't be afraid to contact the stock photographer directly and tell them you are looking for affordable images of...and see if they can help.
Never be afraid to ask!
Most photographers won't bite and if you do an email template you can just send it off & see what response you get. Most Stock photographers also have many images that are not on the web but are in their offline collection, so you tap a completely new market and the photographer is looking for the images for you thus saving you time & money!
When you find photographers that are affordable and unique keep a list of them for future reference and share them with you contacts.
Use social networking sites, especially Twitter. Ask other web designers if they have found unique images or good stock photographers and then check them out.
This will save you both time and money as well as giving you high quality, professional, unique and affordable stock images.
Good luck & happy hunting!
Fantastic photos example:
I have, I was looking for images for a web site that I wanted to stand out, the "free" ones either looked as if they were staged or ones you see everywhere.
I wanted something that would make the website I was designing look amazing but also unique, something that wasn't going to show up on a competitors website.
Yet everywhere I looked for those type of images they were too expensive for my budget, where could I find unique and affordable stock images?
Luckily, I am a professional photographer and so was able to take my own images, but for those of you who aren't photographers or don't have the time, where do you go.
To the internet...it can be a great resource if used properly, or a great time waster if not.
Look in your search engine for "unique images" or something very specific, such as "rusted old Bedford truck in Western Australia."
By being very specific you get rid of a lot of the generic images that everyone comes across.
If you have a particular job you are working on look for "stock Photographers" instead of stock images.
Also don't be afraid to contact the stock photographer directly and tell them you are looking for affordable images of...and see if they can help.
Never be afraid to ask!
Most photographers won't bite and if you do an email template you can just send it off & see what response you get. Most Stock photographers also have many images that are not on the web but are in their offline collection, so you tap a completely new market and the photographer is looking for the images for you thus saving you time & money!
When you find photographers that are affordable and unique keep a list of them for future reference and share them with you contacts.
Use social networking sites, especially Twitter. Ask other web designers if they have found unique images or good stock photographers and then check them out.
This will save you both time and money as well as giving you high quality, professional, unique and affordable stock images.
Good luck & happy hunting!
Fantastic photos example:
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