Curious about source of images

[Kyjan]

Greetings,

I wanted to take a quick poll because I'm curious - being web developers, where do most of you guys come up with the images for your websites? The reason I'm asking is...well, I can program no problem, but images (or graphics) have always eluded me.

Do you guys use image repositories and put together stuff, outsource, come up with the images on your own, or some other method?

Forgive me for bothering you, but...this is a personal rock that I'm trying to overcome.

Kyjan

[Tweak4]

Speaking for myself, photographs and simple graphics I mostly do myself. Anything that I need that is more complicated, I usually call my sister or brother-in-law, since they're both freelance graphic designers.

[drallab]

Simple generic images, I search on google; unique images, I take myself; images that I just can't find to suit my taste, I create as long as they're not too complex that would take hours upon hours.

If you have a camera, the world is your image; if not, google images does the trick. If you have an graphics program like Photoshop, you could create them yourself.

Just depends on the mood. :)

[zygh]

http://www.sxc.hu/ is a really good source for stock photos... but for the most part like, the peeps above me... i take my own photos...

zygh

[Kyjan]

So for layout graphics, etc., you use photos that you have taken? (Layout meaning header, side graphics, so on...)

Kyjan

[stacywacy]

I also use pictures I take with my digital camera for some of my banners and wallpaper. Or, I just find some photos over the Internet and manipulate them myself.
.

[Kyjan]

First, let me thank everyone for their response... I think I see what needs to happen...

Layout images (borders, etc.) are simply drawn, and anything that needs to be added to the images can come from stock images.

Well, at the risk of derailing the thread, allow me to ask a question. Would GIMP suffice for manipulation of the images in a way that would be comparable to Photoshop, etc? Can I get some decent looking graphics from stock images with GIMP that could be used for websites?

Kyjan

[WebJoel]

GIMP? -Most assuredly yes!

Answering your question late, -digital camera, open-source graphics, create my own in PaintPro or PhotoShop (I prefer PaintPro).
Not skilled with GIMP, but from what I've seen of it, it is awesome.

[mastermemei]

I use my own camera, find open source graphics in the net ( be aware of the copyright issues) or create my own in Photoshop

[WebJoel]

For a potential client about a year ago, I needed some 'tiling background images' that were suggestive of inner-city dwellings, -brickface, etc. I looked for open-source as this was just a casual inquiry into my possibly making a site for client.
Well, I found dozens, -hundreds of places that had images. Most wanted a dollar ot two for use of image (affordable, -but I'm cheap and didn't want to pay even that for a project that had no signing agreement yet).
I found FREE images, -all too often though they came with the obligatory 'leave a link back to my site' clause... I felt uncomfortable with even that. I wasted a day or more trying to find something that I could use and satisfy the potential client. Little success.

So I got out my digital camera and spent an afternoon walking around downtown Toronto taking photographs of brick wall buildings, and using PaintPro, made my own 'tiling background images' of brickwalls and stonewalls, etc.

The client deal never materialized (mostly, I backed out because we couldn't commit to a design and I was wasting hours that I'd never recoup for the actual price I had quoted. I had submitted 3 or 4 'templates' snapshots for approval, -all of which were casually dismissed...), but inspired by the frustration I had gone through with not having the required images on-hand, I made a very small & modest FREE for use repository of my day's efforts, and built a page that loads these small images directly into the background on-click (for IE & Opera. Doesn't work in Moz/Firefox however but degrades well). Free for use by anyone, no need to ask or anything. Just right-click & copy (don't link to them, please).

http://ca.geocities.com/tiling_background_images/

But lesson here, -be prepared. If you have a digital camera, use it and have stock images on-hand. Birds, sandy beaches, sunsets.... if even just one image you use in a web page for-hire, you could save your a hundred dollars (alot of really good stock images start at around $50.oo and go endlessly upwards..)

[natsegal]

Whenever possible, I create the images myself. I have a wide variety of tools to choose from, such as 3D, photography, models, painting, etc. If you're looking for images, stock photography is one option. If you have 3D software, you can build the components you want or make use of 3D image libraries and texture, light and position the elements as necessary.

Nathan