Clipping Paths

In photoshop, a path is a vector that you can use to select an area of the content you are working with.  It isn’t a raster selection representation, like when you use an opacity mask on a layer (see below).

The black/white opacity mask above represents the selection that the saturation layer is acting upon, and it is actually a black and white “image”, if you will.  And that isn’t what a clipping path is.

For the purposes of this discussion, I’m going to reference this recent file of mine on iStockphoto.com:

A clipping path is a vector path, as I mentioned, painstakingly drawn by hand around the object in the content, in this case a pumpkin.  I don’t normally provide clipping paths, because most of what I shoot doesn’t lend itself to the process.  Clipping paths are good for really hard edged objects, like a brick, or a pumpkin.  You cannot provide areas of feathering or opacity along the edges of a path.  It is what it is – a curve.  It is up to the designer using the curve to then feather and otherwise modify that selection to their uses.

To see a clipping path, in photoshop, open the “Paths” window.  If there is a clipping path, it should be there.  It will be named whatever the creator named it.  The .jpg format holds onto this information just fine.

In Photoshop, if you change to the selection tool, and click on the path, you can see the defining points.

If you right click on the path name, you will get the option to make a selection from the path.

In the next option box, you can modify the selection with several options, and then you have your selection to with as you will.

Here, I’ve made a thoroughly exciting example, by taking the path, and cutting out the pumpkin and putting it on it’s own layer.  I then added an orange layer behind it, some text, and then a white stroke around the now cut out pumpkin.

Clipping Paths on iStockphoto

There have been discussions on the forums about whether people should include clipping paths.  The impression I get, is that mostly, designers like to make their own selection paths.   As I mentioned, clipping paths are good for hard edged things, like blocks and pumpkins, not so good for things like hair, for example.

On iStockphoto in the past, clipping paths, if provided by the creator, were only in the largest file version.  The clipping path did not get translated down to the smaller versions when the resize happens.  So, if you wanted a clipping path on an image, you need to buy the largest version of the image. Apparently, this has changed recently, as smaller sizes of recent images now appear to have the paths translated. I do not know if this has been applied to earlier images or not.

So, how do you know if the image has a clipping path?  The designer will usually note it in the title and/or description – “Pumpkin with Clipping Path”.  Also, there is a keytag “clipping path” that you can use in searches, like: “clipping path” pumpkin .

Downloading an image that does not have a path, when you are led to believe it does, is probably good reason to contact support for a refund.

If you’re interested in making your own paths, check out this iStockphoto article on paths.

iStock Talk

We use all kind of funny acronyms on iStockphoto.com .  There was a thread this morning in the discussion forum requesting a dictionary of those terms.  I was going to write a whole article about them, but then, this afternoon, I discovered Ethan Myerson beat me to it, a while back.  Check out his post on such amusing acronyms as AOTW, H*ck and pimp, here:

http://www.myersonphoto.com/blog/2008/07/02/istockphoto-vocabulary/

I will however, point out my claim to acronym fame as the first person to use the term “BME” for “best month ever”, here:

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=36328&page=1

Really.  Here’s a google search for “BME“.  See if you can find a thread less than 36328.

Thank goodness I already had my 15 seconds of fame.  I wouldn’t want this to be it.

Can I Download My Own Imagery For Free?

Many times, iStockphoto contributors wish to download their own images.  Their hard drive crashed, they’re on location somewhere, etc.  So, can you download your contributed content for free?

The answer to the question, is no, and the answer to the unasked question, is no.  The unasked question, being, “Can I download my own images?”.  Not for free, mind you, but by paying for them.

Ok, to address the asked question, you cannot download your imagery for free.  iStockphoto is not a storage vault for valuables.  You can, however, contact support, and for a small fee, they will provide you with access to your portfolio for an amount of time to download your work.

For a small fee you can re-download your carefully-crafted portfolio or years of previously-purchased files bought from our site.

• $25 USD for fewer than 100 files
• $50 USD for 100-499 files
• $75 USD for 500 files or more

Just contact Customer Support via telephone, email or fax, providing your credit card number, expiry date, billing address and name on the card. We’ll activate the program and send you the steps required to complete the process.

To answer the unasked question, you used to be able to download your own imagery as you wished, for the normal credit cost.  However, this was changed officially with the start of the subscription credit plan, as someone buying a subscription, and then buying their own images would throw off the system.  Now, in most cases, you are not allowed to purchase your own imagery.  You are still allowed to buy your own images for “legitimate creative purposes” (see 9.b), and there is supposed to be some human oversight to the system, but there have been some problems with the clarity of how this exactly works.

Happy Holidays, 2008

Looking for some content for your 2008 design work?  I do my best to provide a variety of royalty free stock image content for the holiday season, and I’d sure appreciate it if you took a look.

All New 2008 Imagery

All of my holiday imagery this year is available in iStockphoto’s XXL size, and was shot with the Canon top of the line 1ds Mk3 21MP camera.

Halloween is my favorite time of year.  How about some children trick-or-treating?

Actually, I think I like Thanksgiving more, with all the delicious food.  I’ve got some new images of my favorite little girl dressed as a pilgrim (and some in casual wear as well).

However, Christmas is definitely the most fun, and the most festive.  I’ve got design elements, like borders and such.

As well, I have some new great people images, decorating cookies, wrapping gifts, shopping online, etc…

Need something you can easily add your elements or copy to?  Try out something in my holiday backgrounds series.

Happy New Year!  Don’t forget my 2009 Happy New Year Candle Series!

Getty Images

I also have a selection of holiday images on Getty Images, including some work with a great female model.

Holidays 2007

Lots of great content was uploaded last year, as well, including my warm Family Thanksgiving Dinner Set.

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas

So, if you’re on the lookout for holiday imagery, please take a look at my portfolio.  I think you’ll find something you can use.  In addition, I’ll be uploading more over the next month, so keep an eye out!

Minimum Image Dimensions

I’m going to expand what I’m doing on this blog a bit.  While it’s been said that contributors might benefit from reading some of my posts targeted towards iStockphoto.com buyers, buyers might benefit from some articles towards contributors.  So, I’m going to also be posting on some subjects that constantly come up in the iStock forums.

For example…

What are the minimum dimensions for M, L, XL and XXL images on iStockphoto?

In other words, what size is an XXL?  Will my camera shoot an XL?

• Medium 1600×1200
• Large 2560×1920
• XLarge 4200×2800
• XXLarge 4900×3300

These image sizes are based on some standards in the printing industry.  For example, an A3 sized page is around 11.7 x 16.5 inches.  Printing that at 300dpi requires a pixel sized image of  3510 x 4962, an XXL image.

Keep in mind that the aspect ratio is not set in stone.  A medium can be 1600×1200.  It can be 1920×1000.  It can be 384000 x 5 .  The important thing is the final pixel count, ie. 1600×1200 = 1920000.

Note, that iStockphoto creates the smaller sizes for you.  The S and XS are generated by the server, if you upload a medium.  If you upload an XXL, all the lower sizes are created.

iStockphoto creates the S and XS sizes at 72 dpi, and the higher sizes at 300 dpi.  Remember, dpi is a setting that relates to the output device you are using (like a printer).  The pixel size is still the pixel size, regardless of if you change the dpi setting in Photoshop, or wherever.  For more information on adjusting the output resolution, please read this iStockphoto article on resolution.

This information can also be found in the iStockphoto FAQ.

More “Which License Do I Need” ?

This posting is sort of a follow up to my article “Do I need an extended license?“.  I’ve seen some recent queries in the iStockphoto.com forums, and I’m going to review them here, and post some more when they come up.  I’m going to post my rationale behind the answers, which, from experience, seems to be pretty in line with the iStock support thinking.

E-Cards for a Client

I’m doing some e-cards for a web-based company. Do I need the extended license for istock files on this work?

The regular license clearly states you may use content for “advertising and promotional projects”.  What the original poster above terms “e-card” could probably be thought of as just a  “promotional email design”.  In this sense, the use falls within regular usage.  iStock is very clear on “e-cards” in the license as being prohibited, and they are referring to a website or such where  users send ‘greeting-type’ cards from the web based company’s site.

VERDICT: Regular License

Jewelry Design

I design and sell jewellery (pendants in particular) and use patterned paper, wrapping paper etc as the design features on the pendants. I’ve noticed that some of my competition use some istockphoto images in the same way. I wanted to ask whether this was actually allowed under the standard license? Can I use files on istockphoto for this purpose?

The regular license states you may not “use the Content in any … items for resale, license or other distribution for profit” (without an Extended License).  To clarify this point a bit more, in the section about permitted uses, it says:

For clarity, you may not use the Content in products for resale … unless … the original Content has been fundamentally modified or transformed … and where the primary value of such transformed or derivative work is not recognizable as the Content

While there is certainly value in the jewelry design and construction, it can be said that merely putting the content on the jewelry does not modify or transform it enough, and it also adds significant value.  Much like a calendar that showcases the content.  Also, as you can read in this linked thread, the official word from support is:

You may also create these unique pieces for personal use, however, if you wish to resell the final product then each image which you have installed within the design must have been purchased with an Items for Resale – limited run of 2 000 pieces of artwork Extended License.”

VERDICT: Extended License – Items for Resale

Icons in a Software Application

Does the license agreement for iStockphoto purchases allow me to embed an icon created from a purchased image inside an iPhone application that is sold on the Apple App Store?

So, we have a designed application, that someone wishes to sell.  Does using iStock content (icons) in this case require an Extended License for “Electronic Items for Resale”?  The answer is no.  The regular license states:

You may also purchase the option to resell the Content in an unlimited number of electronic templates for e-greeting or similar cards, electronic templates for web or applications development, PowerPoint or Keynote templates, screensavers, and email or brochure templates.

This, however, does not apply here.  The poster is not creating a template for applications development.  He is actually creating an application.  Two different things.  In addition, the icons are not the primary content in the application, like you might find in a screensaver application.  Removing the content from this application would not greatly affect the value of the application.  And iStockphoto legal agrees:

…the consensus was that it would be ok provided it’s not a main selling feature

VERDICT: Regular License

Campus Cookbook

We are creating a campus cookbook that is going to be available to faculty and staff. However, we are considering selling it in our campus bookstore at cost (it will not make a profit). We would just like a way for our students to have access to the cookbook. Will I need an extended license for any images I may use in the cookbook?

The poster mentions “it will not make a profit”.  That is not a determining factor in whether an extended license is needed.  What is important, is that the regular license clearly allows books (in general): “entertainment applications, such as books and book covers”.

It also prohibits using the content in “items for resale, license or other distribution for profit”, though.  Here, one can infer that the statement is discussing items for resale where the primary value is derived from the content.  For example, a book consisting of only full page iStock photos derives its value from the content and would probably not fall under the regular license, while a cookbook’s value comes primarily from its recipes and text.

VERDICT: Regular License

The Adult Content Filter

You may work in an office or location, where … questionable … imagery on your screen might raise eyebrows or get questions asked.  The answer to this problem, at iStockphoto.com lies in your Control Panel – the Adult Content Filter.

As far as I understand it, when imagery is being inspected, the inspector can check off a box that marks the image as “adult content”.  While iStockphoto is very tame when it comes to the level of explicitness it allows in content, it does allow various levels of nudity depending on context.  The adult content filter tends to disallow anything from showing up that you would expect to get mostly covered by a small bathing suit, ie., no female nipples, genetalia, etc.

To be very obvious, a search for “naked female” with the filter on, returns 10488 images as of the writing of this.  With the filter off, 16251 images appear.

You can look under “Advanced Search” link in the page upper right, to enable/disable the content filter, but all you’ll find there is whether the filter is on or off, and a link to open up your Control Panel, which is where the checkbox lives.

I suggest checking (or unchecking) the box, and then clicking on the iStock logo home page link in the upper left of the page.  This seems to “cement” the choice.  You can open up the Advanced Search now and see if your choice took.  If you still end up getting the same search results back, check/uncheck the box again and then visit the home page.  It’s one of those funky UI things you have to fiddle with a bit, but since you usually end up with a setting and leave it there, it isn’t too big a hassle.

This knowledge can help you surf for stock imagery without getting in trouble at work.  Useful knowledge!

Searching the Forums

On iStockphoto.com, there is a forum discussion board. We’ve talked about everything under the sun, or at least everything under the site. It is very likely that at some point, you’ll have a question that has already been answered. Searching the forum may bring you an answer quicker than making a new post, and if it something that is asked daily, searching will avoid posting the repetitive question.

At the bottom of the main forum list, and each forum’s list of threads (discussion topics), there is a search bar.

It’s easy enough to type in some words, pick the forum you want (including all forums), and hit search. Unfortunately, the search is not that great in it’s user friendliness.

For one thing, results from the search are non-sortable. They come back in a quasi-newest-to-oldest list, but it’s a bit mangled. The date of last post is listed however.

Also, the search does not really like searches that are more than one word. So you could type in “how to find lost image”, but you’re not going to like the results. What you need to do, is pick the most important word that could be used in what you’re looking for, like “lost”. Well, it didn’t find what we were looking for, but at least all the threads returned seem to be about something lost.

In addition, the search does not particularly like numbers, or words less than three letters.

So, what to do, if you can’t get the forum search to do what you want? Use Google!

It’s easy enough to restrict Google to searching just the iStock forum, and then you can enter the search you’re looking for. Your search of the forums at google would look like this:

site:www.istockphoto.com inurl:forum_messages.php ( your search terms here)

For example, to find the posts in the forum where I have mentioned my buyer tip blog, you could search on this:

site:www.istockphoto.com inurl:forum_messages.php sjlocke “buyer tip” blog

Although the returns aren’t sortable by date, the functionality of multiple words works wonders. I hope this helps you to find your answers quickly!

RM vs. RF

iStockphoto.com is a Royalty Free stock photo site.  It does not sell imagery Rights Managed.  You may have heard these terms before, but what do they mean, and what is the difference between the two?

To start, they both refer to licensing agreements.  When you purchase an image at iStockphoto, what you are actually buying is a license that gives you certain rights to use a specific piece of content, here a digital image, movie clip, flash composition or audio clip.  The license gives certain rights to you, the buyer, and withholds certain rights, some of which can be purchased with an extended license.  You may think of the iStockphoto license as Royalty Free with a touch of Rights Managed built in.

I recently update some online documentation about these licenses, and I’m going to include that text here.

Royalty Free

Royalty Free refers to a type of contract between a two entities (the licensor and licensee), that is employed when licensing the rights to use content, such as photographs. The term Royalty Free means that that once the content is licensed under a set of guidelines, the licensee is normally free to use it in perpetuity without paying additional royalty charges.

The Royalty Free license contrasts with the Rights Managed license, wherein the buyer usually receives the right to use the content in very specific ways, with restrictions placed on things like period of time used, geographic region, industry, size published, etc. Rights Managed because the licensor is specifically managing the publishing rights for the content.

For an image that has been licensed as Royalty Free, the licensor is unable to provide a history of usage to a prospective licensee. This may negatively affect the licensee, because they cannot be assured specific content is not being used in a certain geographical region by a competitor, for example. There are examples of the same Royalty Free content being used in large promotional advertising campaigns by competitors, one notable such incident involves EverywhereGirl.

The concept of Royalty Free comes from copyright, a statute that allows authors and publishers of works to be the sole arbiter of the exploitation of that work, and to set fees associated with that work. The economic incentives afforded by copyright give artists one way to make a living through their creative works.

Typically, the royalty charged for content under a Royalty Free license is based on the physical attributes of the content. For example, the larger pixel size of a digital image, the larger the fee, since the licensee gains more benefit from an image with more resolution. The typical charge for an image that reproduces well at a two page magazine spread size may incur a charge of up to $500, wheras a blog-sized image may run much less. Likewise, a longer piece of music, or a more complex Flash work could command higher prices.

Royalty Free does not mean a user is free to take and use whatever content they find available to them. It only refers to a specific licensing contract between two entities. The licensor, usually the content creator, always retains all copyright to the content, including the ability to distribute it, or allow redistribution. Each licensing contract is different. Some may allow reselling of items that include that content, such as a t-shirt or calendar with an image, and others do not. The terms of the license should be researched, to be assured if the license includes the rights desired by the licensee.

Rights Managed

Rights Managed refers to a type of contract between a two entities (the licensor and licensee), that is employed when licensing the rights to use content, such as photographs. The term Rights Managed means that the seller of the license is specifically giving permission to the buyer to use the content in a certain way. This typically includes restrictions on the length of time, the medium, the size, the format and the location the content can be used (in). The more flexible, or beneficial rights one purchases, the more expensive the license.

The Rights Managed license contrasts with the royalty-free license, wherein the buyer usually receives the right to use the content in perpetuity, with much more flexible restrictions. Royalty Free because they normally do not need to come back to pay more royalties for additional rights for other uses.

Typically, for an image that has always been licensed as Rights Managed, the licensor is able to provide a history of usage to a prospective licensee. This can benefit the licensee, because they can be assured specific content is not being used in a certain geographical region by a competitor, for example. The history can also provide the licensor with the opportunity to make additional income from offering the licensee an option such as exclusivity within a specific region or industry. If the image does not have a recorded history (it may have initially been sold Royalty Free, for example), the licensor would not be able to provide such an opportunity. Again, the Rights Managed license is merely a set of restrictions placed on the content’s use. At its base, it is not a guarantee of exclusivity in any sense.

The concept of Rights Managed comes from copyright, a statute that allows authors and publishers of works to be the sole arbiter of the exploitation of that work, and to set fees associated with that work. The economic incentives afforded by copyright give artists one way to make a living through their creative works.

An example of how Rights Managed works benefit you and the content’s publisher might be that you simply have a local business’ newsletter which is printed monthly, and which prints 400 copies. A fee for this small use might be $100, because the benefit the business receives from the use is small, so the fee is comparable. This same image, used editorially in a national publication, reaching 15 million people might have a fee of between $500 and $1000, for the same image. The concept here is that when the benefit to the organization increases, so too does the fee paid to the publisher.

Some standards exist for the royalty charges for the various restrictions. Fotoquote is a piece of software that can provide sample royalty charges for photography content based on any number of category restrictions.

More Free iStockphoto Content

Aside from the “Free ___ of the ___” content that I discussed yesterday, there are also some partner promotions out there that can be a source for free content.  These may, or may not have a regular license like content downloaded from iStockphoto in the usual manner.  I’ll try to cover that in each case.

Free Content

Microsoft Office

If you’re a Microsoft product user, you may have access to hundreds of free images.  Does the following apply to you?

You must have a valid license to a Microsoft Office suite or any of its programs or a software product that includes Microsoft Clip Gallery or Microsoft Clip Organizer to download this content.

If so, head on over to the Microsoft Clip Art Collection.  The images here are easy to go through, easy to select, and easy to download to your Clip Organizer.

License: The images in the Microsoft Clip Art collection are for your personal use, only!  Microsoft bought special extended licenses from the contributors to this collection.  If you need a regular license to use for business purposes or a higher resolution version, each image has a link to the iStockphoto regular image download page.  For more details on the Clip Art license, see: http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/permissions/default.mspx#E4

HP Promotion

Logging in, and going to the following site link allows you to download 30 out of 52 free images: http://www.istockphoto.com/imageoffer.php?lpid=hpfree

These images come with the standard iStockphoto license.

Caldera Imaging

Like HP, if you are logged in and go to the following link, you can download 10 out of the 15 images provided: http://www.istockphoto.com/calderaoffer

Again, normal iStockphoto license.

Free Credits

Here is a link to sign up with a the code “5EDUFREE” for 5 free credits, and 20 free image downloads from a pre-selected group: http://www.istockphoto.com/educationaloffer

If anyone wants 10 free credits when signing up a new buyers account, just get in email contact with me, or leave a comment with your contact here, and I will send you a code.

Discounts

The following codes all say they work on your first purchase, but it couldn’t hurt to try to use them on subsequent purchases as well.

The code “TWIP” will give you 20% off of your first purchase price of $60 or more.

Use the code “5COOPT” during your credit purchase, and get 20% off your first purchase.  Plus, when logged in, you’ll be able to download 30 out of 60 pre-selected images, here: http://www.istockphoto.com/scoopt

Use “TWITSTOCK” when purchasing, to get 20% off of your first $60 or more Pay-as-you-go credit purchase, or get 20% off your first 30 credits/day Subscription with “TWITSUB”.  More info here: http://istockphoto.com/twitstock

Courtesy of HP Training, get a first purchase 20% discount on Pay-as-you-go credit packages over $60, plus 20 out of 50 free images here: http://www.istockphoto.com/hptraining.php?code=hpcd_en

From StockLayouts.com, get a first purchase discount of 20% on a $25 minimum PAYG order, when you enter “5TOCK1AYOUT5″ and 20 out of 50 free images here: http://www.istockphoto.com/stocklayout.php

Conclusion

Those “X out of Y” content download areas seem to have differing images, so pick your favorite and download away.  I hope some of this will be able to save you some money and make you a longtime customer.