Why is searching for stock photos such a pain in the butt!?  If a survey was held asking designers and image buyers if they find looking for stock photos frustrating, I think that at least 95 percent would agree. What are some of the reasons for that?  Well, first of all, you’re digging through a sea of millions of images, in many of the collections. Credit download and subscription based royalty free stock agencies that used to have 1 million or less are now stocked with anywhere from 10-20 million with some growing as much as 100,000 images each and every week.  That makes the selection even more bountiful, but at the same time, there’s a lot more stuff you don’t need to dig through. Quality is also an issue. You may find overly basic or even poorly edited images mixed in with an assortment of high end, professional ones.  On top of all of this, you’re usually working with some pretty tight deadlines on these marketing materials you are trying to design and finalize.

There are some stock sites that yield even more search results when you use more keywords. How frustrating! It makes so sense, at all.  Those odd ducks need to fix their algorithms.  In my  honest and humble opinion, stock agencies should always automatically optimize their search engines so that more words yield more specific results. Less images, not more. The easiest stock agencies to search on, are the ones that already implemented this simple principle in their websites. Thankfully the majority of stock agencies will yield a smaller amount of images with more specific keyword combinations, or they will at least have the option to “match all keywords” in your query.  Then it just comes down to how well the image you are looking for is keyworded.

That’s the other issue that arises: photographers and image contributors sometimes are too lazy or too sloppy with keywords, using 10-15 generic keywords and leaving out the specifics that designers need to find what they’re looking for quickly (and to weed through the sea of crap they don’t need or want).  Image quality control aren’t going to add more words on their own initiative, and they don’t always catch unrelated or spammed words.  There could be an incredible photo that you would want to use in your company website, print and hang on your wall, show your friends, or even tattoo all over your forehead; but if that image isn’t keyed properly, you’re never going to be able to even find it.  It stinks, but that’s the reality of it.  When you go to a shopping mall or department store, the nicest looking products are usually displayed at a level where they are easy to spot.  Fancily decorated end caps or attractive point of purchase (POP) displays are used.  They don’t hide their best quality items at the top of a shelf in the middle of the store that you can’t even see or reach. Some stores even create paths through the different areas forcing you to have to cut through parts of the store you might not have even intended on browsing.  Sites that include more image search results, with the more keywords you type in, seem like they’re trying to do that.  Only it’s got FAIL written all over it.  Nobody looking for an adjustable torque wrench in SEARS gives a flying crap about buying pink lingerie (maybe a small majority do, but I digress).  If I type in “golfer swinging” I don’t want to even see an image of a monkey hanging on a vine, or a guy playing the sport of frolf (frisbee golf).

Searching for stock imagery is never going to be perfect.  Some sites have much higher standards than others.  There are even sites that regularly audit their collection, removing unnecessary keywords from unrelated images.  These types of things help a bit.  Overall if you are someone who needs to search through stock for their daily or weekly assignments, it’s pretty inevitable that you’re going to have to strategize your execution of “hunting” for stock.  Hopefully you can make it less of a wild goose chase, and more of a quickly executed covert operation.  It can sometimes help to use more advanced adjectives or synonyms in your searches, in order to find different images, if using basic words isn’t cutting it.  It will also narrow down your search results tremendously.  Check out this post to learn some searching tips on finding what you need, so that you can log in,  search, find, download, and get gone; onward with your project.

Our current finance situation in today’s economy is pretty much a huge mess.  Back in the day (around when I was a kid) you used to get 6% bank interest on CD’s, bank certificate of deposit accounts. Putting your money into bank CD’s isn’t the best investment when it comes to returns, but they are definitely the safest, as opposed to investing in stocks or mutual funds.  If you need to take the money out, you always have that option.  Sometimes there is a small penalty, but you really don’t lose anything more than a few month’s interest.  So let’s say you had 10 grand to deposit, that was $600 in your pocket just to let them hold your money for a year. Today the best you’re going to be able to find for a 1 year CD is probably 1.5%. That’s $150. Big difference… really good incentive to save your money. No wonder why so many people are in debt!  You’re almost better off putting your money into a jar, or spending it all.  So much for letting your money “work for you” through bank interest dividends anymore.

At the moment, mortgage interest rates are at an all time low.  Once these start to rise again, CD rates will start to climb back up.  The other day I saw some in the low 4′s and even high 3′s.  This is definitely a time homeowners might even want to consider refinancing, as it just might save you anywhere from $150-300 a month.  There are 360 months in your typical mortgage period of 30 years.  That’s anywhere from a $54,000 – $108,000 savings over that time period.  Real estate prices, and values, seem to have plummeted as well, as compared to 3-4 years ago.  This is definitely the time to get out of your apartment or rent and get into your own place, seeing that you might even be able to find a nicer place at the same or lesser cost than you are currently paying.  This wouldn’t be the time to sell your property, unless you absolutely needed to.  Even still, lateral moves are almost always possible when strategically planned.

No doubt, these are tough times we are facing.   This recession doesn’t make things any easier on any of us, regardless of our background or economic situation.  All we can do is try and be smart.  Think twice before you spend.  Make more out of less.  Try and decide between your needs and your wants.  Find simple alternatives to cut down on your monthly bills.  Be green and take simple steps to lower your energy costs.  Try to avoid living week to week, paycheck to paycheck by making the most of your earnings.

Here are a few tips to stop the bleeding of your income that you might not have previously heard or even considered:

- Cancel your cable, use a $40 digital converted box to receive free 1080p HD programming, or simply watch full episodes of your favorite tv shows online.  Or, stick to basic cable if you cannot receive good over the air signal where you live.

- Instead of having an expensive home phone bundle, stick to only your cell phone.

- Leave your curtains and blinds open during the daytime to let in the sunlight during the colder months.  The amount of free heat the sun radiates through your window panes is huge.

- Make sure your windows and doors are properly caulked and sealed to stop drafts.

- Set your electric water heater on a timer, so that it doesn’t keep running during the times you aren’t home or available to use the hot water.

- Change out all of your standard light bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs.  There are even dimmable CF bulbs now, for all of you hopeless romantics!

- Why rent movies or subscribe to a movie service when you can go to your local library and take out movies and tv shows for free?  Or, as earlier stated, just watch them online.

- Avoid the temptation to charge things on your credit card that you don’t already have the cash for.  Viewing your credit card like it is cash, and paying it off monthly, will keep you out of a lot of trouble (and a lot of debt).  This is huge.  Don’t even let yourself thing that because you have a credit card, that you have money.  You don’t.  Think about your credit card like it is a debit card, and that the money is instant coming out of your account when you swipe.

- Try and avoid carrying around a debit card, if you have a problem of using it a lot.  Take out cash weekly, instead, to limit your spending.

- Switch to generic brand store foods, products and prescriptions.  You may be pleasantly surprised that the quality is almost always the same, if not better.

- Never buy anything on impulse.  Be a smart consumer.  Research prices and quality reviews before you make any purchase (especially on larger ticket items).

- Set your washing machine on short cycle, and only use cold water.  Dry your clothes in the dryer one load after the other.  The dryer stays warm and works more efficiently.  Also make sure you don’t over-dry, because this is one of the most energy sucking appliances you own.

- Run your dishwasher on the light cycle, as to save water and energy.

- Consider upgrading to energy efficient products like refrigerators, doors, even newer windows

- Add extra layers of insulation in your attic.  There are even tax write offs and deductions for these types of home improvements.

- Simple things like turning off lights and turning off the TV when you leave the room can add up to a huge monthly electricity savings

- Now that electricity is de-regulated in certain areas, you may be able to save on your monthly bill by switching energy providers

- Call around for the best prices on fuel oil for heating your home, and buy when you notice that gas prices are presently low.  Sometimes you’re better off buying it in the middle of the summer, when you might not even need the oil.

- Instead of buying bottled water, filter your own and use reusable stainless surgical steel containers that are safer for your health, such as Kleen Kanteens.

- Don’t buy lunch more than once a week, or at all if you can.  You’ll not only cut calories but you will also save tons of dough.  Brewing your own coffee is also another thing you can save hundreds of dollars are year on.  Yes, hundreds.  Water is free, and a can of coffee for $2 on sale will brew enough for probably 2-4 weeks (depending on your intake).  Its quicker and easier to make it yourself than to wait in line at a drive through.

- Limit yourself on things like eating dinner our, shows, concerts, movies, and travel.  These are easy ways to drop a lot of cash and quickly.  Don’t cut these things off completely – we all need to enjoy ourselves once in a while, but be more selective about what you spend on.  Make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.  Splurge on something more extravagant occasionally; not daily or weekly.

- Can you live without a data plan or texting package on your cell phone?  I personally have a job where I’m in front of a computer at least 8-10 hours a day, so to me, paying for these types of things are just not worth the extra $40/month.

Some of these tips might be a little extreme for you.  Not everyone can live without cable tv, or their subscription to netflix.  A lot of these things are SMALL changes.  Little things that might seem penny pinchingly cheap and tite-woddish.  It’s all simple math, though.  If you know how to add and subtract, you can properly budget, and save way more money than you might think you could.  Make a chart or a spreadsheet and add up your actual monthly expenses.  It takes just 15 minutes of your time.  In the long run, these savings of $10 here and $5 there add up to thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars.  You don’t have to feel like you are neglecting or depriving yourself of anything, either.  In the long run, even if you put just a few of these tips into practice in your life, to some degree, you will definitely be glad you did.  There is an old saying, “If you want what you have, then you’ll have what you want.”  Ask yourself, “Do I really need this?” before buying anything.  If you live within your means, then you’ll have the means to live.

Have any more tips I might have left out?  Feel free to comment below.

When it comes to searching for the right stock photos, I know from personal experience as a past image buyer that it can be a huge hassle.  You can many times get lost or even sidetracked very easily when browsing through the ocean of stock photos and graphics.  The sooner you find what you need, the sooner you will get your work done, nailing those time sensitive deadlines.  Searching for stock photos can be pretty annoying if you’re not going about it the right way.  Here are some tips and advice I can offer that might just make your next “hunt” a little more successful, or at least maybe a little less time consuming.

Be Specific

Let’s face it, there is a sea of images out there for royalty free licensing.  You can sometimes search for “cat” and get “dog”.  Unfortunately, image keywords are prone to mistakes, spamming, and more.  You don’t want to have to dig through a sea of crap before finding the types of images you’re looking for.  Read the rest of this entry »