This document provides tips for image sourcing based on different search criteria. It discusses 9 key criteria to consider when finding images, including whether the image fits the text, its intended use, size, orientation, whether it will be part of a montage, if other elements will overlay it, and whether it needs cropping. The tips provide examples and recommendations for each criteria to help find the best fitting image.

1. SEARCH CRITERIA
&
TIPS FOR
IMAGE SOURCING

2. INDEX
0. INTRO
1. DOES THE IMAGE FIT THE TEXT?
2. WHERE AND HOW IS THE IMAGE GOING
TO BE USED?
3. WHAT SIZE IS THE IMAGE?
4. WHAT ORIENTATION IS THE IMAGE?
5. IS THE IMAGE GOING TO BE IN A MONTAGE?
6. IS THERE GOING TO BE TEXT, LOGOS OR OTHER
VISUAL ELEMENTS ON THE IMAGE?
7. IS THE IMAGE GOING TO BE CROPPED?
8. IS THE IMAGE ON BRAND?
9. IS THE IMAGE EYE-CATCHING AND CLICKABLE?
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3. Whenever you are finding images for a specific
task, you have to operate with different search
criteria. These can be seen as questions one should
be asking.
For example, if you are finding images for blog posts, these are the questions
you ideally should be answering ‘yes’ to:
Does the image correspond with the text?
Can the image be easily deciphered by the reader?
(also in a smaller size on mobile etc.)
Is the image visually appealing and/or eye-catching?
Does the image have the right aesthetics?
(an editorial and authentic feel more than a stocky feel)
Is the image on brand?
(colourful, human storytelling, different perspectives etc.)
Is there empty space for headline for feature image?
(so you don’t risk cropping of heads etc.)
But if you fx. are finding images for newsletters, some of the search criteria
are the same - but not all:
Does the image correspond with the newsletter text and the
specific blog post?
Does the image need to be credited?
(If so, you might have to find a new one)
Does the image have clean space where the text is going
to be placed?
Is the overlaying white font readable on the image?
(you might want to avoid too bright colours)
Does the image fx. work in a smaller size?
Does the image fx. work in a panorama orientation?
Does the image work alongside other images in terms of
colors, perspective, composition etc.?
Is the image eye-catching and clickable?
Is the image on brand
(colourful, human storytelling, different perspectives etc.)?
The point is that whenever you find an image is has to live up to a variety of
different search criteria depending on the task in question: Sometimes it’s
three, sometimes it’s ten. Finding an image that lives up to all search criteria
can be difficult because image seekers are limited by what is available. In
these cases, you have to choose which search criteria are the most important
together with the evaluator
INTRO
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4. 1.
DOES THE IMAGE FIT THE TEXT?
The most important criteria of all is that there is correspondence between
image and text. So if a reader is reading a blog post about ‘what to do in
Barcelona for free’ and one snippet is about watching free films on the beach,
then using an image of Sagrada Familia won’t meet the readers expectations.
It may be from Barcelona or taken in a manner that is on brand, but it doesn’t
correspond very well with the text.
But don’t take it too literally though: If you for example are illustrating a blog
post about ‘Things you didn’t know about Iran’ and illustrating a snippet about
cheetahs living in Iran’s vast desert, it is not incorrect to have an image of a
cheetah standing on a rock and not sand (plus finding an image of an Asiatic
cheetah can be hard enough as it is). The point is just that the image has to
reference to the text and not be misleading.
[ TIP ]
Think of image sourcing as the journalistic triangle:
Find out what is the most important part of the text
and then move downwards in the hierarchy with
alternative ideas for images if your first priority
fails - or your second, third etc.
Think outside the box.
[ EXAMPLE ]
People always look at the image before reading the text, so it is important that the
text makes sense after seeing the image. Here you see a guy who is clearly travelling
since he has a backpack on his back and is on his on his own out in the wilderness.
This image therefore clearly relates to the blog posts about solo traveler.
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5. 2.
WHERE AND HOW IS THE IMAGE
GOING TO BE USED?
Some images can only be used if you have a written permission from
the photographer, some images can only be used editorially and not
commercially, some images cannot be used for Social Media etc.
So before sourcing images you need to find out: What media channel(s) is it
for? Are there any restrictions on the use of the image? Is the image being
used in an editorial context or commercially for marketing? Can the image
be credited?
These questions will decide where you can source the image, if you need a
written permission from a photographer and which type of image you can
source (editorial or stock photos).
[ TIP ]
If in doubt, ask the photo editor if you have any
questions in regards to copyright and what images
one is allowed to use in which context
and for what purpose.
[ EXAMPLE ]
When searching for images for commercial purposes such as Facebook by Weekly,
banners or campaigns, then you can only search stock images and from sources
where the images don’t need to be credited, such as iStock, Alamy, Unsplash and
Bossfight.
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6. 3.
WHAT SIZE IS THE IMAGE?
An image may fit the brand but if the size of the image is so small that users
can’t decipher what is actually on the image, then whether or not it is on
brand is not the most important criteria.
Instead it is about choosing images or a section of an image that users can
actually see and interpret without having to use a magnifying glass. But even
if the images are in a relatively larger size such as in blog posts, then bear in
mind that people also view blog posts on mobile phones and therefore those
images has to work in a smaller size too. So this search criteria is increasingly
becoming one of the more important ones.
[ TIP ]
If you are operating with images in smaller sizes
such as Places, Social media, momondo.com etc.,
then it would be recommendable to either choose
a section of an image or especially avoid images
with lots of details on them. Instead, choose close-
up images because less is more in this case.
[ EXAMPLE ]
One of the places that uses images in a very small size is the Chinese social
media site, Weibo. The images that work best here are the ones where you can
see what is on the image immediately. Pictures taken from a distance and with a
lot going on in them are harder to decode. But once you click on the images, you
can view the image in a larger size though.
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7. 4.
WHAT ORIENTATION IS
THE IMAGE?
Is the image going to be horizontal, vertical, panorama or square? Does the
same image have to work in several different orientations such as TripFinder
or the monthly cover for Facebook, Google+ and Twitter? Discussing an
image motive wise before seeing whether it works in the specific orientation
and layout makes little sense. Therefore you should always see whether it
works in the specific orientation, before discussing other search criteria.
[ TIP ]
You can filter your search in terms of orientation
at Flickr and photo agencies by clicking on which
orientation you are after, typically under ‘advanced
search’. This feature is very user friendly and
timesaving.
[ EXAMPLE ]
Trip Finder is one of the places where the same image have to work in
three different orientations. Not always an easy task - not just because of
orientation but also because another search criteria is that images can’t be
credited so images availability can be slim.
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8. 5.
IS THE IMAGE GOING TO BE
IN A MONTAGE?
If you are on the outlook for several images for a newsletter, the website,
Social Media etc., it is important not to look or discuss images individually
and purely motive based, but look at it as a layout and discuss the image in
combination with the other images. When you find images for a montage,
then the most important criterion in order for it to be visually appealing is
that the images are aligned in terms of color scheme, tone, perspective,
variation in lines/shapes etc.
[ TIP ]
When you are doing layout, it is a good idea to mix
close-up images with images taken from further
away and play with the perspective.
[ EXAMPLE ]
This is an example of a montage that could work a wee better. The reasons for
this are both colours and cropping, but also because some of the images, such as
the Royal Library Garden, are hard to decipher in this size and should have been
replaced. Furthermore, the combination of close-up images and images taken from
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9. 6.
IS THERE GOING TO BE TEXT,
LOGOS OR OTHER VISUAL
ELEMENTS ON THE IMAGE?
Quite often you have to find images where there has to be a logo, text or
other visual elements on the image such as for momondo.pro, momondo
iPad, newsletters etc. If this is the case then the most important criterion
is that there are clean space where these elements will be placed - you
don’t want a banner where the logo or text is placed on someone’s head
for example or having the heads cropped off etc. Furthermore, if the font is
white, then you also have to take this into account and find images that are
not too bright or will work with shading or filters, so it enables you to read
the text.
[ TIP ]
At some photo agencies such as iStock or Corbis
you can filter the image search so you only see
images that have clean space various places on
the image depending on where you want the space
to be. Furthermore Unsplash or Bossfight can be
recommended for breakers because they feature
images that are graphically ‘clean’ and perfect for
this purpose.
[ EXAMPLE ]
This image is used as a background for the iPad version of the app. It works because
the motif isn’t centered, it has lots of clean space in the middle, and the couple
kissing are not covered by the purple box. This means that the viewer won’t feel
that he is missing out on anything when looking at the layout.
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10. 7.
IS THE IMAGE GOING
TO BE CROPPED?
More and more people are viewing things on their mobiles rather than
their computer, which means that images in general are viewed in a smaller
size. This means that it can be beneficial to crop the image, so that all the
unnecessary ‘clutter’ is removed, and focus is instead placed on the central
motif. Also some images are cropped automatically on certain platforms
like Facebook, Weibo or on momondo.com. In these cases you should be
aware of how the image is being cropped and take that into consideration
when seeking images, so you don’t end up with images being cropped in an
unprofessional or messy manner.
[ TIP ]
If the image is for example, being automatically
cropped for sites such as Weibo, then a search
criterion is that you can only search for images
where the motif is fairly entered.
[ EXAMPLE ]
On Inspiration, our blog, images are also automatically cropped and placed
together. Unfortunately it doesn’t always work as intended, not only because of the
size, which makes it hard to decipher what is on the image, but also because of the
cropping. Here are some examples of bad cropping.
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11. 8.
IS THE IMAGE ON BRAND?
In many cases when finding images of fx. specific places, you are often lucky
if you can get your hands on just one decent image. But if you do have
more images to choose from, then these questions should be asked: Is the
image colorful with natural colours? Is the perspective surprising, quirky or
unique? Does the image have real people on it, social interaction or human
storytelling? If you can answer yes to these questions, then you have a true
momondo winner!
If you are evaluating images, please note that there is often a discrepancy
between what you want and want you can get, as image seekers will know. A
good example is that 99% of destination images don’t have people on them
and look like postcards, hence not on brand. This is due to the fact that
travel photography traditionally has been about identifying ‘markers’ for the
tourists of either the unique (e.g. the Eiffel Tower), or what is ‘typical’ (e.g.
French cafes).
[ TIP ]
In the overview of places to source images guideline
you can see which photo databases are more likely
to have images that fit our brand such as from
Places, Flickr, Panos and Polfoto. Bear in mind
though that images that are on brand typically
are editorial images which only can be used in
an editorial context such as blog posts and not
commercially for banners, campaigns etc.
[ EXAMPLE ]
Finding examples of images that are not on-brand is extremely easy. Finding images
that are on-brand is a different matter - especially if the image has to be used
commercially. An example of an image that comes close could be this because
it dosen’t look too staged but has an authentic feel to it even though it is a stock
photo, it is colourful, have (real) people in it and are open for interpretation in
terms of storytelling etc.
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12. 9.
IS THE IMAGE EYE-CATCHING
AND CLICKABLE?
One of the most important criteria is that an image is well composed and
visually appealing. We want to find and use the most eye-catching images
and/or the ones that get clicked on, especially for feature images for blog
posts and marketing. So which ones are those? Those are the ones where
motif, composition, lines, light – everything just fits perfect and the images
stand out! For some these images are easy to spot, for others it requires
more training in eye tracking, basic rules for layout, font, golden ratio, rule of
third etc.
[ TIP ]
If anyone is interested, we can set up a session
where we speak about what components make
up a good image and evaluate some of our use of
images, in order to get a better understanding of
what components make up a good image.
[ EXAMPLE ]
This demon is certainly eye-catching and clickable but it doesn’t mean it necessarily
is on brand. The demon was a potential feature for a blog post about ‘Weird and
wonderful Christmas traditions around the world’, including Krampus in Austria
where this image is from. However, it was deemed too jarring and not Christmassy
enough, so another feature was chosen.
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