NOTE TO computerconsultantsforum.com and forums.techcareerfubar.com USERS: This is the same site. Your login will work here. Use the "forgot password" function if you need help recovering your password.

Obvious fact: You're not logged in.

Therefore, you're only seeing the tip of the iceberg of great discussion threads on this site.

Get rid of this big black message box by joining here: http://mature-it.pro/register/

Who We Are: A collection of IT, engineering and sciences professionals, in a variety of current circumstances with a variety of career backgrounds. Including System admins, Developers and programmers, Freelancers and "gig" entrepreneurs, Contract, job shopping and FTE-employed contract house IT workers, Web developers, Inventors, and artists and writers with tech backgrounds.

We're smarter than the hive mind you've experienced on large tech discussion forums and groups. So register on the board - your email is NEVER sold or provided to third parties. Then LOGIN FREQUENTLY to see new stuff daily.

Join by Registering here: http://mature-it.pro/register/

« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Stock photo sites  (Read 815 times)

Richardk

  • Global Moderator
  • Wise Sage
  • *****
  • Posts: 4278
Stock photo sites
« on: December 11, 2017, 03:28:23 pm »
Does anyone have a favorite stock photo site? Something that is cheap, if not free with quality pictures?
Logged

G0ddard B0lt

  • I absolutely DESPISE improvised sulfur-charcoal-salt peter cannons made out of hollow tree branches filled with diamonds as projectiles.
  • Trusted Member
  • Wise Sage
  • ******
  • Posts: 22672
  • Gorn Classic, user of Gornix
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2017, 05:06:36 pm »
Rather than do a core dump of my valuable wide ranging knowledge on the subject, why don't you explain what your specific end purpose is for the photos? Be real specific, not just "web site".

Some sites are better than others for particular needs. And what people think of as stock photographs varies widely. Since you aren't in the web designer club you'll need to splain what you are looking for.

I'm not being snarky. I could spend an hour writing up what I know.
Logged
Gornix is protected by the GPL. *

* Gorn Public License. Duplication by inferior sentient species prohibited.

G0ddard B0lt

  • I absolutely DESPISE improvised sulfur-charcoal-salt peter cannons made out of hollow tree branches filled with diamonds as projectiles.
  • Trusted Member
  • Wise Sage
  • ******
  • Posts: 22672
  • Gorn Classic, user of Gornix
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2017, 06:33:36 pm »
Google these sites for completely free, no-strings high quality stock photos:

Unsplash

Death to the stock photo

These photos are more artsy than business-conceptual.

Also, on Google image search, you can limit image searches by Creative Commons license types. In other words you can limit found images to those marked available for non commercial use.
Logged
Gornix is protected by the GPL. *

* Gorn Public License. Duplication by inferior sentient species prohibited.

Richardk

  • Global Moderator
  • Wise Sage
  • *****
  • Posts: 4278
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #3 on: December 11, 2017, 07:26:47 pm »
Gorn! Of course I'm a web designer, just not a very good one! Ha-ha. (I know what I want but can't get there without training wheels. More of a back-end guy.)

How the web has grown. I'm thinking there's about a dozen sites at best with decent stuff, so this is easy but maybe not so? Gosh, do I miss working for a big company with an in-house art department? Need something? They will take care of it plus it added a consistent look and feel. Guess those days are long gone.

Short story is my sister got tasked with doing the flyer and whatever else they need for their ribbon cutting (expanding their service area). She was frustrated with the prices she was seeing for garbage stock photos and asked me for help.

I Googled a bit but thought we're all like minded, so why not ask and just cut to the chase? Also I'm not sure what is out there since if you search for 'ribbon cutting' you get a lot of "other people". I suggested she take her own photos if she can't find anything since she doesn't have an art department to hit up.

Personally I think she's overthinking this by wanting to do a good job. Show some scissors, a ribbon, the info you need and you're done. Hmm, maybe I'll show her several good examples of other people's ribbon cutting flyers, though I'm sure she already has something in mind.

Also looking at ribbon cutting photos, where do they get a pair of ridiculously oversized scissors? Not exactly something you find at Hobby-Lobby.

Logged

G0ddard B0lt

  • I absolutely DESPISE improvised sulfur-charcoal-salt peter cannons made out of hollow tree branches filled with diamonds as projectiles.
  • Trusted Member
  • Wise Sage
  • ******
  • Posts: 22672
  • Gorn Classic, user of Gornix
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #4 on: December 11, 2017, 07:33:19 pm »
Ok, that's clearer. She or you probably really want some staged stock photos of business group events.

The sites CanStockPhoto and Fotalia are really good for the money. Fotalia is the better one and CanStockPhoto is really better for drawn web illustrations.

The sites I mentioned (Death to the stock photo) are more ponderous artsy images and won't be "fun".

At the very low end you fund an account with like $10 to $30 on one of these sites and that provides you with some credits to download images. Lower resolution images are fewer credits, and thematically and artistically "better" images require spending more credits.

I would recommend one of those two sites just to save time. You can zero in quickly on good stock photos on a stock site whereas you may spend hours dicking with Google image search and find that the best images are copyrighted.
Logged
Gornix is protected by the GPL. *

* Gorn Public License. Duplication by inferior sentient species prohibited.

Richardk

  • Global Moderator
  • Wise Sage
  • *****
  • Posts: 4278
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #5 on: December 11, 2017, 07:45:48 pm »
Thanks for the tip. I guess since the site wants you to buy stuff, they make it easy to narrow down your choices.

Tangent alert! This reminds me of searching for apps for my phone. Yes, my old flip phone finally died and I upgraded to a "smart phone". I think that means you have to be smart to use it, not the phone. Short of it is, how do you find a "quality" app? Some are obvious but others are junk with high ratings.

Thanks again. I'll pass it on and see what happens.
Logged

G0ddard B0lt

  • I absolutely DESPISE improvised sulfur-charcoal-salt peter cannons made out of hollow tree branches filled with diamonds as projectiles.
  • Trusted Member
  • Wise Sage
  • ******
  • Posts: 22672
  • Gorn Classic, user of Gornix
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #6 on: December 11, 2017, 09:58:34 pm »
The payment includes administrative shit plus royalties to the original photographers. Someone who created the stock photos benefits if you buy them.
Logged
Gornix is protected by the GPL. *

* Gorn Public License. Duplication by inferior sentient species prohibited.

ilconsiglliere

  • CCF Winner's Circle - Supporter
  • Wise Sage
  • *
  • Posts: 3267
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2017, 07:23:01 am »
I second what the Gorn said.

I have had a few personal web sites and provided guidance to others who wanted them as well. Pictures are like everything else in life - you get what you pay for. If you want nice graphics and photos you have to pay. Bottom line. Sure you may find some free ones but for the most part they will never be as good as the ones you pay for. 

The paying part provides a right to use the images with certain kinds of media. Frankly its not worth the aggravation/time for free relative to the small cost you will pay for the graphics/photos.
Logged

Richardk

  • Global Moderator
  • Wise Sage
  • *****
  • Posts: 4278
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2017, 05:20:15 pm »
Thanks for all the feedback! She discovered Unsplash just before hearing back from me but appreciated the recommendation and felt good about her choice. She has a budget and is willing to buy something if it meets her needs.
Logged

G0ddard B0lt

  • I absolutely DESPISE improvised sulfur-charcoal-salt peter cannons made out of hollow tree branches filled with diamonds as projectiles.
  • Trusted Member
  • Wise Sage
  • ******
  • Posts: 22672
  • Gorn Classic, user of Gornix
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #9 on: December 12, 2017, 05:26:21 pm »
Quote from: ilconsiglliere on December 12, 2017, 07:23:01 am
Pictures are like everything else in life - you get what you pay for. If you want nice graphics and photos you have to pay. Bottom line. Sure you may find some free ones but for the most part they will never be as good as the ones you pay for. 

The gold standard for online stock photography is iStockPhoto. Their pricing is stratospheric - they're now part of Getty Images. And their images are the best of all the sites. The images that it's difficult to find at economical cost are people in specific situations or showing certain concepts. iStockPhoto has a wide range of such photos.

Really high quality images at high resolutions can individually cost $50+ and a lot more for web use rights.
Logged
Gornix is protected by the GPL. *

* Gorn Public License. Duplication by inferior sentient species prohibited.

ilconsiglliere

  • CCF Winner's Circle - Supporter
  • Wise Sage
  • *
  • Posts: 3267
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2017, 05:04:06 am »
Quote from: The Gorn on December 12, 2017, 05:26:21 pm
Quote from: ilconsiglliere on December 12, 2017, 07:23:01 am
Pictures are like everything else in life - you get what you pay for. If you want nice graphics and photos you have to pay. Bottom line. Sure you may find some free ones but for the most part they will never be as good as the ones you pay for. 

The gold standard for online stock photography is iStockPhoto. Their pricing is stratospheric - they're now part of Getty Images. And their images are the best of all the sites. The images that it's difficult to find at economical cost are people in specific situations or showing certain concepts. iStockPhoto has a wide range of such photos.

Really high quality images at high resolutions can individually cost $50+ and a lot more for web use rights.

Agreed, been there, done that with the pricing. The last web site that I had was professionally done and I did have to pay for all the graphics. But it did look nice. Did it buy me anything? Not really because the business concept was not as sound as I thought it was.

You live and learn.
Logged

G0ddard B0lt

  • I absolutely DESPISE improvised sulfur-charcoal-salt peter cannons made out of hollow tree branches filled with diamonds as projectiles.
  • Trusted Member
  • Wise Sage
  • ******
  • Posts: 22672
  • Gorn Classic, user of Gornix
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #11 on: December 13, 2017, 07:46:17 am »
Quote from: ilconsiglliere on December 13, 2017, 05:04:06 am
Agreed, been there, done that with the pricing. The last web site that I had was professionally done and I did have to pay for all the graphics. But it did look nice. Did it buy me anything? Not really because the business concept was not as sound as I thought it was.

You live and learn.

Fotalia is a good high quality cheaper alternative to iStockPhoto.
Logged
Gornix is protected by the GPL. *

* Gorn Public License. Duplication by inferior sentient species prohibited.

unix

  • Trusted Member
  • Wise Sage
  • ******
  • Posts: 4296
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #12 on: December 13, 2017, 05:51:07 pm »


I am not following what kind of photos you want. Here are very neat nature pics. If you want to use those as a background.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tj_simon/11617256636/in/photostream/
Logged
Brawndo. It's got what plants crave.

G0ddard B0lt

  • I absolutely DESPISE improvised sulfur-charcoal-salt peter cannons made out of hollow tree branches filled with diamonds as projectiles.
  • Trusted Member
  • Wise Sage
  • ******
  • Posts: 22672
  • Gorn Classic, user of Gornix
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #13 on: December 13, 2017, 07:13:35 pm »
Quote from: unix on December 13, 2017, 05:51:07 pm
I am not following what kind of photos you want. Here are very neat nature pics. If you want to use those as a background.

Yeah, you're pretty much out of it.  >:D :P

You get any corporate annual reports? Sure you do. The images in those reports of cheerful corporate life and cheerful employees and grateful customers and happy children whose lives are blessed by the company's operations are stock photos.

Not landscapes, not screen savers, not background images in place of a background color...

They're images typically used to create a specific emotional impression for an ad or something. They're called "stock" because they are in an inventory of images for rent and multiple people may buy the same image for their use (meaning license the use of the image.)

If you use a stock photo you lift from a website without paying for it, you can get sued for big money by the real owner.

Sorry, my snark setting is sky high. Look outside your tech silo once in a while, there's daylight out here. :P
« Last Edit: December 13, 2017, 08:56:05 pm by The Gorn »
Logged
Gornix is protected by the GPL. *

* Gorn Public License. Duplication by inferior sentient species prohibited.

ilconsiglliere

  • CCF Winner's Circle - Supporter
  • Wise Sage
  • *
  • Posts: 3267
Re: Stock photo sites
« Reply #14 on: December 14, 2017, 03:21:49 am »
Quote from: The Gorn on December 13, 2017, 07:13:35 pm
Quote from: unix on December 13, 2017, 05:51:07 pm
I am not following what kind of photos you want. Here are very neat nature pics. If you want to use those as a background.

Yeah, you're pretty much out of it.  >:D :P

You get any corporate annual reports? Sure you do. The images in those reports of cheerful corporate life and cheerful employees and grateful customers and happy children whose lives are blessed by the company's operations are stock photos.

Not landscapes, not screen savers, not background images in place of a background color...

They're images typically used to create a specific emotional impression for an ad or something. They're called "stock" because they are in an inventory of images for rent and multiple people may buy the same image for their use (meaning license the use of the image.)

If you use a stock photo you lift from a website without paying for it, you can get sued for big money by the real owner.

Sorry, my snark setting is sky high. Look outside your tech silo once in a while, there's daylight out here. :P

ha - otherwise known as corporate propaganda  >:D
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »