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Choosing Stock Photos For the Header - A Web Designer's View

If you're thinking of creating your personal header for the Site, you are able to really take advantage of knowing how a Web designer thinks when choosing photos.

Stock photos can be found from a number of Internet sites and services. The cost and quality vary considerably, but for most of us, inexpensive stock photos are we'll ever need. Two typical stock photo sites are Dreamstime.com and BigStockPhoto.com, but there are lots of more.

Incidentally, not long ago i was browsing a well-known, glossy magazine and recognized a stock photo I'd seen the day before on Dreamstime.com. So, it's not necessary to be concerned about the quality of inexpensive stock photos; even the big magazines use them!

Why don't we see how I'd approach finding suitable photos for my client's header...

First, I'll ask my client regarding their business: their typical audience, as well as their market's gender and age group. I'll also want to know about the mood or feeling my client wants for that Site. Using the solutions to these questions I'm able to choose photos using the appropriate colours and ambience.

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For instance, a spa will need tranquil colours, usually light blues and pale greens, and photos of blissed-out people (typically women) obtaining a massage or facial. They might use smooth stones, a leaf or perhaps a flower to convey a Zen atmosphere.

A children's daycare on the other hand, will need primary colours (red, yellow, blue) and photos of energetic, happy kids. They may use clipart balloons, crayons or building blocks within the header or the navigation.

Note: Clipart objects, people, backgrounds, buttons, badges, icons, cartoons and other images are also available on stock photo sites.

Now I'll visit two or three stock photo sites and choose photos based on my client's criteria and my very own requirements for the header. (The Web designer's requirements are just as essential as the client's requirements.)

To find appropriate photos, I'll enter keywords into the search box. This really is almost an art by itself. For a spa site, I might start with the most general term "spa," and end up with phrases like "happy woman massage," "massage stones," "tranquility, "wellness," "candles," "spa products," etc.

When I'm choosing photos, I'm automatically running them through my internal filter:

1. Performs this photo possess the right colours? Or will I have to modify them in Photoshop?

While colours can be changed in Photoshop, I'll first try to locate photos using the right colours. However, if I discover the perfect photo, but the colours are wrong, I will definitely consider changing the shades in Photoshop.

If the colours for the Site haven't yet been determined, I might base the shades for that header (and also the site) on the photo. Designers often do this, especially if they are only using one photo within the header. Pulling the shades from the photo will more often than not guarantee that the Site will look pulled together.

2. Would be the people in this photo facing the direction I want these to face within the header? People (and objects having a "front" just like a car or even a teapot) should face toward the center of the header or straight ahead. Note: Flipping on the photo can lead to an odd looking image because of the play of light and shadow.

3. Can one crop this photo to concentrate it better on the subject? Many photos convey more potential when they're cropped in tight to the subject, often even some from the subject: a ladies eyes, the stitching on a baseball, half a golf club on a tee, the bow of the canoe, brightly coloured rain slickers hanging on hooks, a country mailbox. Take a look at art magazines or book covers for ideas.

4. Is photo portrait or landscape style? Portrait style is tall, instead of wide. Landscape style is the opposite. Inside a shallow header, landscape-style photos will fit better. A portrait-style photo will have to be reduced considerably in dimensions to fit a shallow header and may not work at all. But it might work if cropped in close to the subject (see #3 above).

5. Can one use this photo because the entire header? To utilize a photo for the whole header, you will need to have the ability to take a slice of the image that tells a story: a lone tree in a field, a mountain climber with arms upraised on the mountain vista, a jogger on a stretch of deserted beach.

6. Will I need to find several photos to tell the story? Basically use multiple photos will they look great together? Will the photos blend well into a montage or can they look better as a row of person photos? Either way, I'm going to be looking for photos that complement each other and have basic colours (unless I'm planning to deliberately emphasize some element in the photos).

Finally, if I find a photo near to what I want, but not quite right, I'll do a few things. I'll locate the photographer's portfolio and appearance to ascertain if she or he has taken similar photos, maybe utilizing the same model or scene. Often this can open up an entire realm of photos that I might have overlooked.

I'll also use the "similar photos" tool which brings up a load of photos concentrating on the same keywords towards the one chosen. Not the keywords I typed in to find the photo originally, but keywords the photographer gave when they uploaded the photograph towards the site. This could open up yet another realm of photos. Sometimes these paths lead nowhere, however they are always worth a try once the photo is near to, although not quite, right.

I still won't buy any photos at this time. I'll simply add the photos I've chosen to a lightbox and email it to my client to give them a chance to comment on the photos and veto ones that do not fit their vision for the header. After my client has finished evaluating the photos, hopefully I'll have some really good ones to use for the header.

I still won't buy any photos. Instead I'll make use of the "comp" versions from the photos to create the header. These versions are adequately sized to use in the header, but they possess a watermark in it. If I plan to slice or crop the photo I can still see what which will look like around the comp. If I intend to use the whole photo as the header, I'll make use of the comp to produce a miniature header, in order to see how it will look.

I'll buy the photos once I'm satisfied I've the very best photo or even the right mixture of photos for that header.

Now you know some of the thoughts a graphic designer much like me experiences while choosing photos. Hopefully, you can use these suggestions to choose good photos for your own personel header.