By Corey Grant, Green Vegan Media and Laura Barry, Equinox Open Library Initiative
When it’s time to find photos to pair with your next project, here are a few tips that have helped us:
- Where to find photos: stock photography sites. There are many stock photography sites available, and they all vary in price points and subscription cost. You may want to try a few stock sites to see what works best for you.
- iStock, a favorite overall due to price, content available, quality, and subject matter (subscription-based; license)
- Pixabay, (free for non-commercial and commercial use; license)
- Pexels, (free to use for non-commercial and commercial use; license)
- When your budget allows for original photography, that is ideal
- How to select photos, overall photo composition. When searching for photos, it takes time to find just the right one. These are a few things to keep in mind:
- Images of people are relatable, with just the right nuances. Here’s what we find works best:
- People not looking directly at the camera
- Real people, not models
- Diversity/inclusivity. Consider bias in marketing – aim to create a portfolio of images for your guides that ensures historically underrepresented groups are positively and authentically portrayed
- People performing some action—talking on a bench, reading a book, etc.
- Photos with a background vs a stark white background
- Non-people—more flexibility, but less relatable. If the subject matter is difficult, abstract images work well. Try to find a similar aesthetic to create continuity—be it color, texture, or style.
- Overall composition—current look/feel, not dated
- Images of people are relatable, with just the right nuances. Here’s what we find works best:
- Subject matter, keywords to use. Keywords will vary and are usually trial and error. However, once you select an image, the option to view similar images is sometimes available and can be helpful, as well as keywords and/or description metadata that is already tagged with a photo.
- Specific to libraries, keywords that may be helpful:
- Study
- Education
- University
- Bookshelf
- Specific to libraries, keywords that may be helpful:
Then it all comes down to having the right content management tool for the job: SubjectsPlus is an open source solution that can unlock the potential of subject guides, library websites and more.
