Finding Good Stock Photos Faster

Shorten your stock photography search

Finding the perfect image isn’t only about knowing what you want; it’s also about knowing how to find it. Sure, it will likely still take a little bit of time to come across the photo of your dreams, but most stock sites already include intuitive tools that help you along. Plus, there are plenty of sites out there, so if one isn’t producing results, you can move on to another.

After 15 years and a few thousand pages (at least) of flipping through search results, I have five fundamental tips to save you time in your search for stock photography.

#1 Leverage Keywords

Let’s say you are publishing a blog post about children’s toys. Naturally, you’d search “toys” or “kids games.” But there’s more to it than that. Besides, if any old photo will do, then you may want to rethink your imagery strategy. You want the visuals to match the mood, tone and message of the content, and you want it to be on brand, too. Think about how you’re searching in addition to what you’re searching.

🖼 View keywords of a photo you like. If you see a photo that’s relatively close to what you want, click on it. Most sites display the keywords of each image. Use these for inspiration. You may realize you want to refine the results to “toys for kids with sensitivities” or “toddlers toys” instead.

🗣 Learn the language. Keywords vary from site to site. For instance, some may use “African-American” and “Hispanic,” while others use “Black” and “Latine.” Keywords may vary across the same platform, too, depending on each photographer’s input. Start with the most common term on your platform of choice, and then move on to synonyms (e.g., “dolls” or “action figures”).

🎯 Use long-tail keywords for specificity. Don’t settle for one-, two- or even three-word searches. Dig deeper. If you need a photo for an article about marketing to children, “child in a toy store” may yield more relevant results than “toys” alone.

🚫 Exclude negative keywords. Sometimes, rather than wanting a toy with a specific feature, you want a toy without a specific feature. Most sites allow you to add a minus sign before a word to exclude results that match that query. So, if the content is not relevant to teens or infants, add “-teen” or “-infant” in the search bar.

💔 Search for the wrong thing. As counterintuitive as it sounds, it’s easier for some of us to say what we don’t want than what we do. If you don’t see the ideal image, search for “broken toy” or “bored child.” (I do this often to figure out what was bothering me about a previous photo.)

🛸 Be abstract. You may not be able to find the perfect fit with an abstract search, but it certainly makes you think differently about the task at hand. “Curious child” or “play time” may yield a photo that changes your search strategy entirely.

#2 Use Content Series

Another fantastic, useful tool is the Related Images section. I’d venture to say that 20% of the photos I choose come from this tactic. Click on an image that barely misses the mark and see if it’s part of a series. Photographers often snap multiple angles and situations using the same setting, props or models. If you spot a picture with playing children where the decor is ideal but the angle is garbage, look to see if it’s in a series.

#3 Filter Effectively

Filters are your friend. If you need a photo for a vertical ad banner, don’t waste your time looking at everything. Check the box to peruse vertical—or, better yet, panoramic vertical—orientation. Likewise, if you want a photo of an intergenerational family, set the Number of People filter to three or more. This makes your search for “parents playing with kids” much more effective.

One of the most underused tools is the color picker. This is especially useful when you are curating a specific mood or need the picture to stand out (or blend in). Photos that mesh well with your brand’s color palette create a much more aesthetically pleasing experience. Pluck an RGB, CMYK or hex color code from your brand book and paste it into the color picker. In a world where people are sensitive to stock photos, this facilitates the illusion that the photo was taken specifically for your project.

I also love to sort by Newest rather than Most Popular or Relevance, especially if there are a lot of results for a particular search. This reduces the potential for picking an unoriginal or overdone image.

#4 Search in Reverse

Sometimes, clients come to me with a photo they really, really like that they found on Google Search. More often than not, though, it isn’t royalty-free, high-resolution or on brand. But if it makes the client happy and meets their needs, I use it to search for a better selection. Top stock sites usually include a reverse search feature that allows you to upload a photo you like so it can scour its database to find photos that are similar in color, composition, style, etc.

Of course, you need to be strategic about which image you upload. Artificial intelligence has come a long way, but not far enough to intelligently glean what exactly it is you like about the photo. 

#5 Look at Other Sites

If you start to feel frustrated by the lack of ideal options on one stock site, move on to the next. There are plenty of prominent sites out there, and each has its own set of features and filters. One site may be a better fit for your parameters. Plus, some photographers sell their photos exclusively to one particular site, so shop around. The perfect photo may be exclusive to iStock rather than Adobe Stock, for instance.

Companies in niche markets may benefit from finding an industry-specific stock site. Medical Images, for example, boasts a wide range of medical field images and illustrations, from arthritic hand photos to Zika virus diagrams. And Foodiesfeed has thousands of hunger-inducing photographs. Want to represent a specific demographic? There are sites for that, too. Nappy.co has hundreds of photos and videos of Black folks—all for free.

Outsource the Search

These tips and tricks can drastically reduce the amount of time you spend searching for stock photos, especially once you’re used to it, but sometimes it’s an overwhelming process no matter what you do. Let us find the perfect photo for you! 

At Elevate My Brand, our content experts and designers already know the best site to use—and how to use it—for your content marketing needs. We’ll scour the world of stock imagery to choose a visual that will convert leads and build your brand. And, most importantly, save you tons of time so you can focus on running your business rather than looking at... whatever this is.