Finding quality stock photography to integrate into web design can sometimes be a difficult task. While across the web there are plenty of places to find quality shots and vectors of anything ranging from cities to fish (yes, fish), finding a photo that encompasses the ability to “fit” into a layout is where the struggle begins. In this article/reading, I will offer tips and helpful hints on what to look for and how to plan the design of your layout when composing a web design containing a or multiple stock photos.

Start With The Photo (or Vector)

Yes, for many it all starts with off in Photoshop (or whatever you may use) but often times when dealing with integrating a photo or vector into a design it may not. In general, it’s best to choose a photo first before going face first into design; then defining your palette. This gives you unlimited options instead of defining a palette first (I realize the contradiction a few sentences back) and having to find a photo which correlates to a pre-defined palette.

For instance, on this website (DesignOutreach obviously), the vector used in the backdrop behind the content was chosen beforehand as to not limit my options when going into the layout design phase of this project. You will notice pieces of the vector stock are incorporated throughout the layout, supporting the backdrop and creating a visually fluid experience. It should also be evident that many of the colors and gradients used in this design take from the color scheme of the vector stock chosen.

While this website may be an easy example of a fully integrated stock, lets look at a somewhat different integration of photography in design to get a better understanding of why choice of photo or vector is important:

GOTOCHINA is a good example of a website that heavily depends on photos integrated into it’s design. Although these photos aren’t public stock, it shows how well chosen photos can be used within a design to create an effective presentation. The website’s backdrop changes to reflect the city in China selected, giving a birds eye view of such city. Here is another good example that is within context of this article:

Within Go Media’s portfolio, the website features a supporting background shot on each page along with their showcase shots/images from each selected identity/client that is a visual related to those shots. Good usage.

Benefits & Pitfalls

The “stock” web is vast, offering many free and paid options. In this day in age, finding a paid photo for a cheap price is very much so possible. However many are interested in free stock photography as many would like to save. If you are looking for free options, it may be beneficial to check out the market leaders like morguefile, sxc.hu, or imageafter. However you also may want to check out portfolios over at flickr or deviantart (resurgere for example) for pockets of high quality stock photography.

The great thing about free stock photography is that well, it’s free. However free usually doesn’t usually mean you’re going to get the best thing out there, which in this case is usually true. If you have time to scour the web through potentially millions of listings of free photography, then by all means have at it. But if you’re looking for plenty of high quality photos at your fingertips and are willing to give up a few dollars for them, then don’t hesitate to pay.

In fact, I would suggest and urge you to pay. Yes, I feel that paid websites offer a larger selection of rich photography and vectors; which is what one needs when composing a web design. And for fatigue’s sake, it’s probably best to spend your precious time searching through gold than silver, so to speak.

Paid options in general will offer a larger selection of premium photos when searching for one that’s suitable for design. Websites like istockphoto, jupterimages, and getty images will offer decent sized photos generally for a price under $20. This shouldn’t set ones pockets back a whole lot considering it will probably be all you will shell out for your design.