Stock Photography Tips for Designers

Designers are expected to work in a field that involves visual communication that requires the use of imagery in their work. Yes, a picture. The picture that could be what helps communicate their concept. The image that could leave the impression with a client and their target audience. Yes, a photo that could sell a product or service. And in graphic design this picture or graphic a designer creates can and will be one of the many factors in any effective design. But not every designer is a photographer so most are challenged to find pictures from other sources. With the internet and stock photography its getting easier and easier for designers to find great images for their projects but if you don’t understand the basics of stock photography then you may end up with image copyright issues or a not so happy client on your hands.

I suppose I find myself a little surprised semester after semester teaching a variety of design courses at Valencia that students are still pretty uninformed of very basic copyright and stock photography knowledge. Then again, giving it more thought I look back to my time as a student at Valencia, UCF and now SCAD and I can’t say that any of the programs really gave a thorough understanding of stock photography. Yes, the topic is one that is learned with experience.

LEARNING THE HARD WAY
Now I won’t say I didn’t learn about stock photography as a student. The understanding that it could be used in projects was intertwined in most courses. But understanding the details of the type of stock photography and the pros and cons really didn’t come to light for me until I began working as a designer professionally while a student at Valencia. Sure I remember being told there was a difference between rights managed and royalty free stock photography but it all didn’t click until I pitched a rights managed image to a client, which they totally fell in love with, and in turn I came to learn it was a rights managed image after the fact. As I scrambled to find an alternative to the outrageously priced rights managed image, which required me going out to do my own photography, it all clicked that there was much more to understanding stock photography.

GOOGLE IMAGES IS NOT STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
It happens every semester. I assign a project and students ask “can I just get my images from google?” or even better when I ask where they found their images they say proudly “gooogle! that’s okay, right!?”  NO. Google images is NOT considered stock photography. I love everything about Google images but lets face it. Google is a search engine, not a site that sells stock photography.

So I ask myself over and over again, WHY do students and even some designers think it’s okay to use Google to find their photography for a project? Let’s take a look:

Yes, Google is a great search engine. It lets you search for images. It lets you even search by image size. And it even allows you to “find similar images”. I suppose seeing all these options excites some beginning designers. Don’t be fooled by these options though. So many students have come to me saying they found a great “large” photo on Google. Ah, yes, Google’s version of a large image is usually 1024 pixels wide and 72dpi. In the world of stock photography that size image really isn’t that large at all. Google’s version of a large image will likely not do a designers much good even if a designer had the right to use the image.

So why not use Google for your project? It’s as simple as this. You don’t have the permission from the photographer to use the photos. Yes, that’s correct. Most photography, especially if it’s being used commercially, is not free. That’d be unfair to the photographer if you were allowed to use their photography for free and make a profit. And if you think it’s okay to do as a student then you’re in for a rude awakening when you begin working in the industry. It’s not even worth taking the risk. Just ask designers like Shepard Fairey who has been sued by the AP for using an image taken by a media photographer for his well known Obama Hope poster. The source photo Fairey used is an image he admits he found through Google images. Though Fairey created a work of art that definitely appears to be transformative enough from the original photograph to be protected by fair use copyright laws, the poster was created from the photo without AP or the photographer’s consent. Fairey has now almost become like a scapegoat for all designers because the topic of fair use is so vague that they require a court battle. In this case, this one poster became so iconic and famous so needless to say AP could have made a pretty penny if Fairey had elected to obtain licensing to use the photo as a source for his Obama illustration.

FLICKR ISN’T STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY EITHER
Flickr has become the most popular site for many new and even experienced photographers to share their work online. Just because a photo is online doesn’t mean you have the right to use it. The great thing about flickr is that they do have some groups that other photographers have established to share photos that photographers have granted permission to be used as stock photography {one | two}. As great as this is, the photos you’ll find for a specific project you may be working on may not be enough for you to use. Though you may find hundreds of photos in these flickr groups, the chances of you finding the ideal photo of a targeted idea is less likely than you might think.

The great thing about Flickr is that most photographers are willing to give students permission to use their photography for educational purposes. So rather than just stealing photos off the web, contact the photographer directly to request permission. Yes, show photographers a little respect for the work they choose to share online publicly. Some photographers are even willing to allow commercial use, though you should expect that they may be looking to get compensated if you’re going to be making a profit from their photography.

Flickr has become so popular that this past week Flickr and Getty images have teamed up to enable photographers to have images they’ve posted in flickr to be sold through Getty images. Yes, this is totally cool because it gives both photographers and designers far more options with stock photography.

THE PROS & CONS OF RIGHTS MANAGED PHOTOGRAPHY
I recall as a student being told to use caution with rights managed photography because it was pricier than royalty free photography. I suppose when I started as a new designer it really never dawned on me until I made the oversight of not unchecking the “RM” (rights managed) search option. Once I realized the mistake was made I hoped maybe the client would love the image enough to pay for the rights to use it. When the rights to use the photo cost far more than the project costs to design you know it’s likely not okay to consider the photo’s use in a project, regardless of how awesome that image you found is. That’s when I realized just how many challenges rights managed images could pose.

The great thing about rights managed photography is that by managing the rights to the photography you’re less likely to have a competitor using that same photo. In other words, you’ll end up with more creative photography and you’ll stand out in your market. Of course to do that it’s going to cost you. They refer to these images because the rights are managed based on a number of criteria which usually include the size it’s being used at, the type of project it’s being used in, how many times it’s being distributed, and the duration of use. Of course if you wanted to be the only designer to use the photo you’d then be paying for exclusive use, meaning only you could use the photography, which as you can imagine is that much pricier. Yes, rights managed photography isn’t cheap and because of that it’s less likely you’ll be using it in projects unless you’re working with high paying clients who can afford to manage the rights to their photography.

THE PROS & CONS OF ROYALTY FREE STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Royalty free stock photography is one of the most common sources for designers to locate images to use in their designs. The great thing about royalty free stock photography is that once you purchase the image you purchase the rights to use it commercially as many times as needed. Royalty free stock photos can be found free or low cost on many sites these days. More creative options by professional photographers do often cost a bit more, but keep in mind, you’re paying for professional images and if you’re gaining a profit from this photography the photographer deserves to be compensated for the image’s use.

So if royalty free stock photography is so great and low budget why doesn’t everyone just rely on it? Yes, in many cases you can find sufficient photos to work for your project. But when you do you’ve got to remember that your competitor can use the same photos. Just like a logo, images used in a company’s marketing also become a part of the company’s brand. Consumers relate to visuals, yes photos, to connect to a product or service. They remember the photos. After you’ve been designing a few years you’ll likely begin to see the same stock photography you used on a design project in a variety of other places that are completely unrelated.

Rather than posting the neverending list of stock photography sites here I’ll post the link to my stock photography related bookmarks. I continually add to these resources so you should find these a useful starting point if you’re looking to learn more about stock photography or searching for places to find stock photos.

SOMETIMES STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY ISN’T ENOUGH
Sure there are lots of resources to find a variety of stock photos, but lets face it there may come times that that rights managed or royalty free stock photos may not be enough. When it comes to using rights managed photos it may be easier to commission a professional photographer than it is to work out the rights to when and how photos can be used for a project. And well, sometimes you may not find just the right image you’re looking for. I recall many times searching for hours at a time for the “perfect” photo for projects. Yes, sometimes it may be easier to hire a photographer to help you capture the vision in your head.

Of course, these days digital slr’s are more common and it’s not uncommon for designers to pick up photography as a secondary skillset. I’m not suggesting all designers suddenly pick up a camera and expect to be an amazing professional photographer. But in many cases you may be able to photograph some of the most simple stock photography such as textures, objects, and location shots that may work and be a more cost effective option than stock photography or hiring a photographer.

If you have additional thoughts or resources on the topic of stock photography I’d love to hear them.