3. Advantages of sourcing images this way:
VARIATION – When using books to source images you can find a wide variation of images which
typically, barely anyone else will have used. This is because, unlike Google, not everyone will pick up
exactly the same book and try to find images from it. Whereas will Google the same results will come
up on the first few pages for everyone, and most people will just use what they find on the first few
pages. This makes the images people use quite repetitive. Whereas with a book, not every book on
that topic is available to everyone, so most people will source images from a large variety of different
books. This makes sourcing images from books good, because it’s unlikely that people will use the
same images you have.
SELECTION – There is a huge selection of books to choose from when searching for source images.
You can find a book on pretty much anything if you search online.
Disadvantages of sourcing images this way:
ACCESSIBILITY – Sourcing images from books is not always easy and simple if you don’t actually
own the book yourself. If you don’t own the book you may have to go out to a library or order/purchase
the book online or instore. If you go to a library to find the book, it may not even have the book if it’s not
a popular book or if the book is very specific. Whereas sourcing images from Google, you can access
Google anywhere very quickly and find what you need.
TIME – If you’re sourcing images from books, it can take a fair amount of time to actually get the
images from the book onto your computer – especially if you’re having to buy the book. If you have to
go out and buy the book you will need to wait until it arrives or until you’ve purchased it. Then you will
need to actually find the ideal image and then scan it onto a computer. This can take a fair amount of
time in comparison to just using Google to source images.
MONEY – If you have to buy the book, it will cost money to go out and buy it. The images may not
even be ideal once you have bought it. This is not suitable for everyone.
STYLE – The style of images may not be suitable for what you need the images for or you may be
unable to find the exact image you need for your project.
5. Advantages of sourcing images this way:
• CHOICE – One main advantage of sourcing images from Google is that there are millions of
different images to search through and choose from. If you search something in Google, generally
speaking, there will be over a million search results for that specific thing. This means you have lots
of images to choose from when sourcing, and chances are you will find one that is suitable
• FREE – Another advantage is that most of the images are free for personal use. This means for
general, at home work, you won’t need to buy rights to any of the images because they are free - as
long as you’re not using them publically.
• ACCESSIBILITY – Finally, Google is easily accessible and can be accessed pretty much anywhere
with an internet or data connection. It’s easily accessed by anyone and is easy to use to find what
you need/want for whatever you’re sourcing images for.
Disadvantages of sourcing images this way:
• SIZE – A disadvantage of sourcing images through Google is that often the images are the wrong
size, they’re usually too small. This means when upscaling the image, it can become stretched and
the image can become pixelated because of the image being too small. You’ll often need to resize
images from Google which results in loss of quality.
• QUALITY – Another main disadvantage of sourcing images from Google is that the images tend to
be of low/poor quality because they’ve been compressed upon uploading to the web. This means
when you try to use the image it will look pixelated or blurry because of the poor quality. You an try
to fix this by adjusting the resolution, but generally speaking the image won’t look sharp and good
quality.
• WATERMARKS – Often when sourcing images of Google you will find a lot of them have
watermarks over them which is annoying and can ruin your ability to use the image. If you find an
image with a watermark it means you need to purchase the image in order to get the full, high
quality version. This means spending money to buy the rights to an image and to remove the
watermark.
7. Advantages of sourcing images this way:
• SELECTION and VARIATION – An advantage of sourcing images from stock image websites is
that there is a huge variation and selection of images to choose from. If you search one a stock
image website for “Photography”, thousands of results will come up showing photography that you
can purchase from the website. This is good because you can find something along the lines of
what you need just by searching with a simple term/word.
• ACCESSIBILITY – Anyone can access stock image websites quite easily with an internet
connection which makes them good for finding the images you need to use. You don’t need to use
complex search methods and they’re easily obtained.
Disadvantages of sourcing images this way:
• COST – The main disadvantage of sourcing images from stock websites is that in order to get the
full image without the watermark you need to buy the actual image. If you’re only using the images
personally, paying for an image can be costly and fairly pointless. Usually the images cost from £5
upwards on iStock, some can cost above £20 which is a bit extortionate for personal use.
• STYLE – When sourcing from stock image websites it may be difficult to find exactly what you
want. Although there’s a huge library of images to choose from, they may not be suitable for what
you need the images for. Also some stock imagery is taken is a specific, style which is very
organised and structured. This can ruin the natural style of images that you may be looking for.
• WATERMARK – The most obvious disadvantage of stock imagery is that every image has a
watermark over it which cannot be removed, unless you have a high level of Photoshop knowledge.
When you save the image, it will come with the name of the company who owns it, all over the
image – so it is fairly difficult to remove quickly and efficiently. This essentially makes the image
unusable unless you purchase the rights to the image.
9. Advantages of sourcing images this way:
• STYLE – Sourcing your images by actually taking them yourself can be very beneficial to the
outcome of your project. This is because you know exactly what you need and the exact style of
how the images need to look. It means you can tailor the images to exactly how you want and need
them. You can also take the images in the specific style you need which means the images will all
look similar flow/work together well. This is unlike images you may find online which will all have
completely different styles. In conclusion, sourcing your own images from ones you have taken,
means you have complete control over the composition, style and appearance of the images.
• OWNERSHIP – If you use images sourced from your own existing work, you own the images which
means there will be no watermarks and you won’t have to pay for the high quality version of the
image.
• QUALITY – Taking the images yourself and using them in your work means you have the full, high
quality raw file to use and edit. This avoids the pixilation when upscaling which can occur when
using images sourced from the web. The image will be of very high quality and may not be too
small.
Disadvantages of sourcing images this way:
• TIME – If you choose to source your images yourself, then you may be using up valuable time. This
is because you will have to go out and take the images yourself. You may need to wait for the
appropriate day, weather, time of day and travel to the location. Also, you may need to arrange a
date which is suitable for a possible model. Sourcing your images by taking them yourself can end
up taking a decent amount of time if you’re choosing to take very professional photos.
• MONEY – If you want to source your images by taking them yourself and you choose to take them
in a very professional manor, then this could also cost you a decent amount of money. You may
need to hire or purchase a professional camera, hire a studio, hire a model, pay travel expenses
and buy editing software.
• QUALITY – Another disadvantage is that you may not be a good photographer yourself and may
not actually know the basics of photography to take good pictures. This could mean your pictures
turn out looking bad or you may even need to hire your own photographer – which costs money.
15. Advantages of different resolutions:
• FILE – An advantage of using 72dpi for images is that the size of the file will be quite small. This
makes the image suitable for sharing, downloading and uploading online and for storing on a low
capacity storage device such as as 2GB memory stick. Using 72dpi barely takes up any room on
your computer and is suitable for accessing anywhere online.
• QUALITY – However, an advantage of using 300dpi is that you get high quality images which can
be upscaled easily without much pixilation occurring. This resolution is suitable for printing out large
images (such as magazines) and for upscaling significantly. Barely any pixilation occurs when
upscaling a relatively normal amount.
• SIZE – Images saved in 300dpi are fairly large images which means the need for upscaling is less.
This means there is less chance of pixilation occurring on the final image – no loss of quality.
Disadvantages of different resolutions:
• FILE – If you save and edit all of your images in 300dpi the size of the file will be significantly larger
because the image is higher quality. This means images in 300dpi can take up more room on your
hard drive in comparison to images saved at 72dpi.
• QUALITY – The quality of images saved at 72dpi is significantly less than images saved at 300dpi.
This is because there is less pixels per inch, so when an image is stretched, so are the pixels
resulting in a poor quality, stretched image.
• SIZE – The size of a 72dpi is quite small because there being less pixels per inch in comparison to
a 300dpi image. So there is a higher chance the image will need upscaling, meaning there is more
chance of the pixels being stretched and the image becoming poor quality.
