Before we dive into the process of actually taking photographs to sell in the stock market, we need to take a quick side-step into the stock market itself. As we’ve learned already, the point of taking stock photographs is for graphic designers to find them, buy them, and use them in their projects. The way this happens is through the use of keywords that the photographer assigns to each image. When a designer enters search terms, looking for an image, these keywords will determine which images are returned in her search results.
These keywords are basically a collection of words or phrases that describe the content, aesthetics, and/or other criteria of the photo. Keywording in stock photography is arguably just as important as the photos themselves because the keywords are the faces of the stock images. Before the thumbnails of your stock photos can appear in a buyer’s search results, he or she has to think of a collection of keywords that describe the desired photo(s) for the project. If you have managed to think of the same keywords, your images will be on the starting line and poised to win the race!
Not a Fun Task—But Absolutely Necessary
Making up keywords is not a glamorous task. It squeezes the brain juice, it keeps us at the computer, and it can be boring—if not downright frustrating. How we wish we could put an end to this as soon as possible, get the upload started, and get out there to start shooting again! Of course, then we’ll just end up having to devise more keywords for the new images. There is no escape, my fellow stock photographers.
After keywording thousands of stock images, I have devised a systematic approach that reduces the chances of overlooking keywords, increases the breadth and depth of the keyword collection, and (most importantly) expedites the process.
Each worthy stock photo has its major attributions. It can be a specific place. For example, image 2–1 is an aerial image of the Sydney harbor. What would be the top attribution here? “Sydney Opera House,” of course. “Cruise ship” might be another keyword you’d consider. Now consider image 2–2. This image was also taken in Sydney, but because of its lack of identifiable landmarks, the first keyword that comes to mind would not be Sydney. “Castle” would surface as the top keyword.
Image 2–1.
Image 2–2.
“One keyword can be more effective than another in a search.”
One keyword can be more effective than another in a search. Once both “Sydney Opera House” and “cruise ship” are both assigned to image 2–1, searching for either keyword can lead to a hit. However, the chance of it being picked during research on the Sydney Opera House is higher than it being picked in a “cruise ship” search, because the former term is much more specific.
It is possible that more than one attribution could be equally important. Consider image 2–3. Here, “Bay Bridge,” “bike,” and “San Francisco” are equally important keywords. A graphic designer could be thinking about the landmark, the trend of city biking, or the destination. This image can serve all three narratives, so its thumbnails should surface when a designer enters any of those search terms.
Image 2–3.
Don’t rush. Don’t be lazy. Do the research. There is no point in saving a few minutes of time if it means sacrificing the potential sales of a stock photo. Let’s look at an example. What is the name of the strange plant in image 2–4? It is not a straightforward task to find out. Searches on Google Images aren’t good at identifying objects with similar shapes (they are best at identifying identical images). So how did I find out that this plant is called Karoo Rose? I posted it on Facebook and I asked around! A florist friend offered help. From Karoo Rose, I Googled its scientific name: Lapidaria margaretae. What is the fountain called in image 2–5? The landmark of Chicago? Using Google Maps, it was not hard to find out that the name is Buckingham Fountain.
“There is no point in saving a few minutes of time if it means sacrificing the potential sales of a stock photo.”
These are very specific keywords—and it’s highly possible that they might be the only ones a buyer would use when starting a search. If you skip them, the image might never see the light of day.
Image 2–4.
Image 2–5.
Work from the Specific to the Generic
Let’s use image 2–7 as an example. To analyze the specificities of the keywords, I will use tiers. Tier 1 would be the most specific. As the number increases, the keywords become more general.
| Tier 1: | Half Dome, Trinity Point [where the photo was shot] |
| Tier 2: | Yosemite |
| Tier 3: | national park, California |
| Tier 4: | dusk, sunset, glacier, hike, tree, rock, valley, geology, mountain |
| Tier 5: | nature, outdoors |
My approach is to start by typing the tier 1 keywords. Then, I think about what would encompass that term. For example, “Yosemite” would be a generalization of “Half Dome.” “National park” would be a generalization of “Yosemite.” “Nature” would be a generalization of “national park.” Higher-tier keywords should never be neglected; omitting the lower-tier ones, on the other hand, does not constitute a catastrophic error.
“Tier 1 would be the most specific. As the number increases, the keywords become more general.”
Image 2–6.
Image 2–7.
Use Keywords for People, Objects, Activities, and Conditions
Be sure to include keywords to describe these four categories of attributes, if they exist in the image. Let’s consider image 2–8, for example.
| People: | woman, Hispanic, female, biker, cyclist |
| Object: | bike, bicycle, bike route, bridge, helmet, guardrail |
| Activity: | biking, cycling, workout, exercise |
| Condition: | healthy, fit, fitness, sunny |
“Be sure to include keywords to describe these four categories of attributes, if they exist in the image.”
Image 2–8.
State the Obvious and the Implied
When stock photo buyers search for images, they sometimes think of a very specific object—for example, a wind turbine. However, they might not have that specificity in mind; a term like “renewable energy” might come to mind first. As a result, images of solar panels, wind turbines, and/or hydraulic generators can all show up, giving the image buyer a range of options.
Consider image 2–9. If we ignore the surrounding objects and focus on the wind turbine, we can come up with keywords, ranging from the obvious to the implied:
| Obvious: | wind turbine, wind farm, blade, nacelle, generator, tower [parts of a wind turbine] |
| Less Obvious: | wind power, power generation, renewable energy, green energy |
| Implied: | environment, environmental protection, environmentally friendly, carbon emission |
| Very Implied: | climate change, global warming, rising sea level |
Do keep in mind that the stock photo agency can reject keywords. The chance of rejection is higher at the “implied” end of the scale. It is highly likely, though, that a buyer using a keyword such as “environment” would be interested in an image of wind turbines. So put them out there; rejection is a fact of life for a stock photographer. Be at peace with rejection and do not self-censor for it.
To help you get a hang for keywording images, I’ve included keywords for most of the photos in this book. Keep an eye on them in the captions as we move forward and talk about how to shoot cell phone stock images.
Image 2–9.