How to Choose Keywords When Attributing

For beginners, one of the challenging moments when uploading and attributing images on stock photo sites is the selection of keywords.

First, it’s difficult to determine which words will be key for a specific image; second, it’s challenging to choose the best-selling keywords from the entire list of possible words; and third, many simply don’t understand the purpose of keywords. I once got asked, “Isn’t it enough if I just write the name and description?” I want to emphasize that the process of creating keywords or attributing is an important aspect of working in stock photography.

So why do you need keywords for your images, and what is their ultimate purpose? It’s quite simple: buyers search for the photographs and illustrations they need using these words.

If you pay careful attention to selecting the right keywords for your image, this will significantly increase your sales in the future.

At the beginning of today’s article, I highlighted that this article is intended for beginner stock photographers. This is true, as difficulties in selecting keywords usually arise only at the start of working with stock photo sites.

Gradually, as you gain experience, these difficulties disappear, and creating a keyword list for an image will take only a short amount of time.

If you work in the same theme or direction, creating a keyword list for new photos and illustrations will become a simple task of copying keywords from one work to another with minor adjustments to a few keywords.

How to Properly Create a Keyword List

Let’s start exploring the process of creating a keyword list. First, you should know that keywords must be written exclusively in English and are usually separated by commas.

On average, the number of keywords ranges around 30, but it should never be fewer than 7 or exceed 50.

Before you begin to compile a relevant keyword list for your image, take a good look at your photograph or illustration, identify the main objects, closely examine the background, and answer questions like: “Who? What? How many? What is happening? What? What kind? Where? When? How?“.

When answering these questions, try to use words that provide precise answers but also include synonyms that can best describe the subject of your image.

Let’s consider an example:

Let’s try to answer the main questions:

– The main object (model):

• Who? person, female, women, people
• What kind? sensuality, beautiful, adult
• How many? One
• What is happening? sunburn, resting, sunbathing, relax, relaxation, tan

– Secondary objects in the photograph (only main):

• What? wave, cloud, beach, sea, water, body, rock, sky, sand
• When? traveling, travel, summer, vacations, journey.

As a result, the following combination of keywords is created for this photograph: sea, water, body, rock, wave, traveling, cloud, sky, women, person, human, female, people, beautiful, sensuality, sand, summer, vacations, adult, one, resting, relaxation, sunbathing, relax, sunburn, tan, beach, travel, journey.

Another example:

– The main object (model):

• Who? Woman, female, person
• How many? One
• What kind? Young, blond, beautiful, active, happy, Caucasian
• What is happening? Hiking, climbing, smiling, sport, lifestyle

– Secondary objects in the photograph (only main): nature, outdoors, mountain, sea, rock, summer, travel, holidays.

As a result, the following combination of keywords is created for the used photograph: woman, female, person, one, young, blond, beautiful, active, happy, Caucasian, hiking, climbing, smiling, sport, lifestyle, nature, outdoors, mountain, sea, rock, summer, travel, holidays.

If you have difficulties with the language or finding appropriate synonyms, you can use online thesauruses as well as online translators, which are plentiful on the internet.

By the way, there are also online keyword suggestion services, such as the convenient tool by renowned stock photographer Yuri Arcurs – arcurs.com/keywording/.

Another tip for compiling keywords is to analyze the keyword lists of images that are similar to yours. However, avoid the primitive copying of other people’s keywords.

Some authors abuse the inclusion of unrelated words in their lists. Yes, this may boost image sales, but stock photo sites will likely catch on very quickly, and the penalties will be severe.

Additionally, some authors use specific keywords to identify their images. Such words may not fit your image.

Therefore, when reviewing other people’s keywords, analyze and select only those that suit you.

Note that you should not describe everything in the keywords that are present in the image.

Focus only on the main objects and the background if it is sufficiently prominent. For example, if the photograph depicts a full-length person, there is no need to list all their body parts.

Also, keep in mind that stock sites like Fotolia give preference and more weight to keywords that appear at the beginning of the list during image indexing.

The Most Popular Keywords on Stock Photo Banks

Here is a list of the most commonly used keywords:

– If your photo or illustration features people, be sure to include these words: people, person

– If your image has multiple objects of the same type, indicate their quantity: two; three; …; group

– For people, it is recommended to specify their gender and age:

• adult – 18 years and older
• male – man
• female – woman
• woman – any adult female
• man – any adult male
• young – young
• senior adult – elderly person
• elderly – elderly
• teenager, teen – 13-17 years
• child, kid – 0-12 years
• boy – 0-12 years
• girl – 0-12 years
• baby – 0-2 years
• newborn – 0-1 month
• infant – 0-1 month
• toddler – 1-2 months

– Nationality of people is indicated with the following words:

• Caucasian – translates as “representative of the white Caucasian race”. For buyers, this means a photo with any white person.
• African – African
• Asian – Asian
• Chinese – Chinese

– It is also very important to indicate the degree of kinship between people in the image, if applicable:

• family – family
• couple – couple
• parent – parent
• mother – mother
• father – father
• son – son
• daughter – daughter
• sister – sister
• brother – brother
• spouse – spouse
• husband – husband
• wife – wife
• grandparent – grandparent
• grandmother – grandmother
• grandfather – grandfather
• grandchild – grandchild
• granddaughter – granddaughter
• grandson – grandson

– If you have animals in the image, be sure to mention their names: cat; dog; elephant; spider, etc…

For animals, it is also desirable to add the following keywords:

• animal – applies to any animal
• wild animal – if there is a wild animal
• domesticated animal – used for both pets and farm animals, for example, cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, etc.
• farm animal – if a farm animal is present
• pet – if the image features any domestic animal or pet. This keyword is used when the animal belongs to a person.

– Just like with people, indicate their quantity: one; two; three; …; group.

– Important keywords will be the attributes of the photo or illustration:

• close-up – the subject is shot in close-up
• wide-angle – the subject is shot at a wide angle
• backlit – the main light source is behind, details of the subject may or may not be shaded.
• toned – toned image, be sure to specify the color (red; blue; yellow; sepia)
• soft focus – soft glow effect
• copy space – if there is free space left in the photo for text insertion
• texture – backgrounds or other images where the structure of the object or material is shot in close-up
• vector – if this is a vector illustration

– For photos, be sure to specify the type:

• abstract – abstract content made of unclear forms, elements, and colors (can be used as a background)
• background – an image that can be used as a background for text or other small images. Usually, photos of this type are uniform, monochrome, and low-contrast
• cutout – the object is shot against a background without details, usually on a white background
• exterior – the appearance of buildings and other architectural forms
• interior – the interior view of buildings, rooms, spaces
• landscape – landscape
• portrait – portrait
  silhouette – silhouette, dark object on a lighter background
• skyline – horizon line, often used for city views with buildings against the sky
  vintage – for antique or aged photographs

– Be sure to mention the setting, background, or location of the shoot:

For example, keywords like beach; city; countryside; farm; field; forest; home; hospital; house; office; restaurant; rocky; sandy; school; skyline; studio shot; suburban; and subway can be included.

Also, frequently used to describe the setting are:

• indoor – inside buildings or transportation
• outdoor – outside
• inside – when the subject is located within another (not the main) object. For example, a dog peeking out of its house.
• outside – outside. For example, a person looking into a room through a window from outside.
• interior and exterior – analogous to inside and outside.
• seascape – used to indicate a beautiful view of the sea.
• waterscape – view of water objects, view of a river, marine landscape.
• underwater – underwater shooting.
• rural – this keyword is used in all cases related to rural areas or agriculture.
• urban – used to denote images related to urban life.

– keywords reflecting actions or activities of the main subject of the image.

Used with people, animals, and other objects. For example, cleaning; eating; exercising; falling; meeting; painting; relaxing; rock climbing; rolling; running; skiing; sleeping; swimming; talking; waiting; walking; and working.

– don’t forget about the events depicted in your photograph or illustration: party; holiday; Christmas; accident; wedding; Valentine’s Day; graduation; picnic; birthday.

– types of natural phenomena: day; night; morning; afternoon; twilight; dawn; dusk; sunset; sunrise; summer; winter; autumn; fall; spring; storm; flood; tornado. It makes sense to use seasonal keywords when your image indicates a connection to a particular season.

– it is very important to use the correct keyword to denote the theme of your image:

• business – business-themed. Typically used when the image features people in business suits, in an office, working, in negotiations, with paperwork, at a computer, in meetings, at presentations, etc.finance – images related to finance, pertaining to money, banking, investments, loans, payments, and other financial phenomena.
• money – any images of money, both paper and coins.
• food – food (cuisine) and the process of its preparation.
• medical – everything related to medicine.
• nature – everything that can thematically be related to nature, the natural world.
• sports – images containing sports scenes, whether professional or amateur.
• art – art, paintings, drawings, sculptures, artistic works, etc.
• architecture – architectural structures, especially those that stand out for their unique style or specific design.
• leisure – everything related to leisure activities (people relaxing, sunbathing, playing, socializing, reading, etc.)
• transportation – if the image contains any vehicle or pertains to vehicle
• lifestyle – used to highlight works themed around active leisure (aside from doing any work)
• agriculture – agriculture, and everything related to it: crop cultivation and livestock, land processing, irrigation, harvesting, etc.
• education – studying, learning, or teaching (schools, classrooms, objects related to education or learning)
• entertainment – entertainment, concerts, performances, and everything related to it.
• health – health, a healthy spirit, and body. This can also include vitamins, healthy food, and health-promoting activities (for example, jogging)
• healthcare – the healthcare system and everything related to it (for example, medical institutions, people in hospitals, close-ups of vessels with medications). The keyword healthcare is usually used alongside the keyword medical.
• industry – industry (types of factories, industrial pipes, various productions, etc.)
• recreation – rest, casual or sports games, hobbies, interests
• travel – photos and illustrations related to travel or tourism
• wildlife – use this keyword for all images whose subjects can be related to wildlife (for example, birds, animals, and vegetation in their natural habitat).

Attention! Here’s a little tip that will significantly simplify and speed up your work on attributing images. Always save keywords in the image file (EXIF/IPTC) directly in the graphics editor.

Almost all graphic editors available on the market allow you to do this.

Stop Words for Stock Images

In illustrations and photographs sold under a Royalty-free license, the use of images or names of trademarks is prohibited. Therefore, it is quite logical that a similar prohibition exists for keywords.

Using trademark names in the keyword list is not allowed (for example, Apple, Nokia, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Mercedes, Microsoft, and others will stop words that cannot be used).