ValTurpin307
出典: くみこみックス
Choosing Stock Photos For Your Header - An internet Designer's View
If you're thinking of creating your own header for the Site, you are able to really benefit from knowing how a Web designer thinks when choosing photos.
Stock photos can be found from the number of Web sites and services. The price and quality vary considerably, however for most of us, inexpensive stock photos are we'll ever need. Two typical stock photo sites are Dreamstime.com and BigStockPhoto.com, but there are lots of more.
Incidentally, recently I was browsing a well-known, glossy magazine and recognized a stock photo I'd seen the day before on Dreamstime.com. So, it's not necessary to stress about the caliber of inexpensive stock photos; even the big magazines rely on them!
Why don't we observe how I would approach finding suitable photos for my client's header...
First, I'll ask my client about their business: their typical audience, as well as their market's gender and age bracket. I'll should also know about the mood or feeling my client wants for the Site. Using the answers to these questions I can choose photos with the appropriate colours and ambience.
For instance, a spa will want tranquil colours, usually light blues and pale greens, and photos of blissed-out people (typically women) getting a massage or facial. They might use smooth stones, a leaf or a flower to convey a Zen atmosphere.
A children's daycare however, will need primary colours (red, yellow, blue) and photos of energetic, happy kids. They might use clipart balloons, crayons or building blocks within the header or the navigation.
Note: Clipart objects, people, backgrounds, buttons, badges, icons, cartoons along with other images are also available on stock photo sites.
Now I'll visit 2 or 3 stock photo sites and choose photos based on my client's criteria and my own requirements for the header. (The net designer's requirements are simply as essential as the client's requirements.)
To locate appropriate photos, I'll enter keywords in to the search box. This really is almost a skill by itself. For a spa site, I would start with the most general term "spa," and end up with phrases like "happy woman massage," "massage stones," "tranquility, "wellness," "candles," "spa products," etc.
When I'm choosing photos, I'm automatically running them through my internal filter:
1. Does this photo have the right colours? Or am i going to need to modify them in Photoshop?
While colours could be changed in Photoshop, I will try to find photos using the right colours. However, if I find the perfect photo, but the shirt is wrong, I'll definitely consider changing the colours in Photoshop.
When the colours for that Site haven't yet been determined, I might base the colours for the header (and also the site) on the photo. Designers often do this, especially if they are only using one photo in the header. Pulling the shades from the photo will almost always guarantee the Site will look pulled together.
2. Would be the people in this photo facing the direction I would like them to face within the header? People (and objects having a "front" just like a car or even a teapot) should face toward the middle of the header or straight ahead. Note: Flipping on the photo can lead to a strange looking image because of the play of light and shadow.
3. Can I crop this photo to concentrate it better about them? Many photos have more potential when they are cropped in tight towards the subject, sometimes even some of the subject: a ladies eyes, the stitching on a baseball, half a golf club on the tee, the bow of a canoe, brightly coloured rain slickers hanging on hooks, a rustic mailbox. Look at art magazines or book covers for ideas.
4. Is this photo portrait or landscape style? Portrait style is tall, rather than wide. Landscape style may be the opposite. Inside a shallow header, landscape-style photos will fit better. A portrait-style photo will have to be reduced considerably in size to suit a shallow header and could not work at all. However it might work if cropped in close to the subject (see #3 above).
5. Can I make use of this photo because the entire header? To utilize a photo for the whole header, you will need to be able to have a slice of the image that tells a tale: a lone tree inside a field, a mountain climber with arms upraised on a mountain vista, a runner on the stretch of deserted beach.
6. Will I need to find several photos to tell the storyline? Basically use multiple photos can they look great together? Will the photos blend well into a montage or will they look better as a row of individual photos? In either case, I'll be searching for photos that complement each other and also have basic colours (unless I'm planning to deliberately emphasize some aspect in the photos).
Finally, if I look for a photo close to things i want, but not quite right, I'll perform a few things. I'll locate the photographer's portfolio and appearance to see if he or she has taken similar photos, maybe using the same model or scene. Often this will open up an entire arena of photos that I may have overlooked.
I'll also use the "similar photos" tool that brings up a batch of photos concentrating on the same keywords towards the one chosen. Not the keywords I entered to find the photo originally, but keywords the photographer gave when they uploaded the photograph to the site. This could open yet another realm of photos. Sometimes these paths lead nowhere, but they're always worth an attempt once the photo is near to, although not quite, right.
I still won't buy any photos at this point. I'll simply add the photos I've chosen to some lightbox and email it to my client to provide them a chance to comment on the photos and veto ones that do not fit their vision for the header. After my client has finished evaluating the photos, hopefully I'll still have some really good ones for the header.
I still won't buy any photos. Instead I'll use the "comp" versions from the photos to create the header. These versions are big enough to make use of within the header, but they possess a watermark in it. Basically intend to slice or crop the photo I'm able to still see what which will look like around the comp. Basically intend to use the whole photo as the header, I'll make use of the comp to create a miniature header, in order to observe how it'll look.
I will buy the photos once I'm satisfied I have the very best photo or even the right mixture of photos for the header.
You've now learned a few of the thought processes a graphic designer much like me experiences while choosing photos. Hopefully, you should use these ideas to choose good photos for your own header.
