Why Stock Photography is a Great Resource for Web Business

A picture is worth a thousand words.

And it still is today. With the media changing everyday photography has changed along with it and as a result is still a valuable resource for web business.

Photos enhance the look of a website.

Communicate so much more than words, they communicate emotions.

Photos can be customized for borders and backgrounds.

Photos have more impact than clip art. (They tend to give a more professional look.)

Stock photography is a big business and affordable stock is out there.

As a web business you're most likely a small business and have a limited budget and that's where stock photography can be great resource for you. You can spend as little as $10.00 or as much as $200.00 plus on one image. (Consider that if you hired a professional commercial photographer to shoot a few rolls of film to your specifications it would cost you thousands and thousands of dollars.)

Things to remember when shopping for stock photography:

Know what you want, start with a generic idea and get specific as you shop (Remember you probably will not find the exact image that you have in your head, be open to good photos that you find along the way.)

Shop around, try the larger agencies try the independents too. (Larger agencies offer more to chose from independent photographers offer more personalized service.)

Know what you're going to use it for, stock photography belongs to the photographer who created it, or the agency, so know what you need it for there can and will be limitations of use.

Know what format you need, you only need 72 dpi for the web, be careful that you don't pay for a higher quality when you don't need it. (300 dpi for printing purposes)

Know your terms for the industry, Make sure that you know what the difference is between royalty free and rights managed, and any other terms the business may use. If something is not clear on their site contact them and ask for clarification.

So remember you can add a little more impact and emotion to your site by making use of the stock photography out there today.

About The Author

Kelly Paal is a Freelance Nature and Landscape Photographer, exhibiting nationally and internationally. Recently she started her own business Kelly Paal Photography (www.kellypaalphotography.com). She has an educational background in photography, business, and commercial art. She enjoys applying graphic design and photography principles to her web design.

RELATED ARTICLES

A Website Checklist
If you've just finished building your new website (or revamping your old one), how can you be sure it's "ready for prime time"? Or maybe your site's been around for awhile and you think it may be due for a makeover. Because Web technologies, techniques and standards change so rapidly, even a website that seems "cutting edge" when it's built can look obsolete a year later. Or maybe you started out with a barebones website and finally have the time and/or money to take it to the next level. If you'd to give your website the once over, here are ten aspects you should consider:

Best Web Design And Free Web Promotion Tips
This article gives free tips on how to find a cheap web designer and free tips on website promotion.

When You Create A Web Site, Dont Make A Splash!
Don't make a splash!

Breathe New Life Into Your Half-dead Website By Using Words That Sell
This article may come as a surprise to you.

3 Simple Ways To Dramatically Improve Your Website
Before you start worrying about marketing your website on the internet it always pays dividends to look at the website itself and get the fundamentals right before looking to shout about it from the virtual mountain-tops.

Quality Website Design At An Affordable Price
I always have people asking me if I know of anybody who can build them a website which is affordable but also professional looking. They want the website to be search engine friendly, there is no point in having a website if no one can see it, and fully optimised.

Get Rid of Your Frames
A few years ago a lot of websites utilized frame technology.

Converting Traffic into Sales
Making a successful online business can be a long and tiresome adventure. For most new online business's this can just lead to failure and a website that just isnt making sales despite a high number of visitors.

Web Design Advice And Information
Most of us at times need advice on different aspects of life and the thought of obtaining a website can be quite a daunting task for many people. There are so many people offering cheap web design services, therefore how do you know who to choose and what to look for.

The Secret To A Profitable Website
Whether you are planning on having a website built for your business or you are looking for ways to increase the sales being generated (if any) from an existing website the following information will be of enormous benefit to you.

Give Your Website A Chance
I often wonder how serious people are when it comes to their websites. I thought that most everyone knew that the phrase "Build it and they will come" no longer applies on the internet but I'm not sure how many people really believe it.

Creating a Favicon
Once, I attempted to create a favicon (the little graphic in the URL address box) for this Web site, but never did finish the work until now. I used a free program that allowed me to copy and paste an image to create an icon, but I believe it has spyware so I won't share its name. There are many icon creators out there.

Web Production And Design Tips
You have identified that to have an internet prescence would be of benefit to your small business, however are not sure how to proceed. This article gives free tips on web design services and practices and on how to keep your web designer happy and on side.

Pop-Ups Still Work. At Least For The Time Being
Do you remember playing with the jack-in-the-box toy as a child? You knew that if you kept winding it up, eventually jack was going to burst out of the top and startle you!

Using Server Side Includes to Simplify Your Web Design
An "include" file is a piece of code that can be put into a seperate file -- for example -- your navigation bar -- and then "included" in a number of other pages. This has the very useful advantage of allowing you to retain consistency over a very large number of pages, and then make changes to all of those pages by just changing the include file.

Don?t Put Your Slogan in the Title Tag - Optimize Your Web Pages
Don't just put your slogan in the title tag when you formulate the copy of your website. The formulation of the title tag is the most important single aspect when you fine-tune your website:

Web Design Tips To Boost Your Sales
The way you design your web site affects your visitors' online experience. As each visitor to your site is a potential customer, the easier they find your web site to use and the more they enjoy being on it, the higher the chance that they will make a purchase.

Your Website Visitors - Will They Stay?
I'm sure you've all heard the saying 'Build it and they will come'. Although that may have been true a few years ago, now we must work, and work hard, to get visitors to our websites.

Make Artistic Graphic Designs
Are you a student of graphic design? If you have taken time in extra reviews and put "graphic design" and "drawing" into any search engines, you'll get almost the same result = descriptions of graphic design programs at many design schools. Baffled? Well, it's like this: As a student interested in graphic design, you have to take drawing and not actually a degree in fine art.

10 Reasons Why You Need A Multilingual Website
The internet continues to grow and has become the default point of call for businesses and individuals searching for goods, services or information. For businesses wishing to get that competitive advantage, a multilingual website now presents one of the most high impact means of expanding a client base and securing greater sales volumes.