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Basic search topics:

• Search by keyword
• Keyword Tips

Advanced search topics:

• Search by Member
• Search by file collection
• Search by file sizes and prices
• Show/hide file details
• More filters
• Search by Categories
• Best match sort
• Search by Color
• Search by CopySpace™
• Search for audio by genre, tempo, key and time signature
• Keyword Tips

Basic search tips

Search by keyword

For keyword searches, enter a term in the left-hand box. Apply any of the additional search options (such as file types like 'Photo', 'Illustrations', 'Flash' and 'Video') before you click Search. To further specify how your results are ordered, choose the sort drop down. The options of 'Best Match', 'Age', 'Downloads', 'Contributor', 'Rating', 'Size' and 'Title' will appear.

Click Advanced Search to see a more detailed set of search options. Check any desired box and execute your search.

Keyword Tips

The Controlled Vocabulary organizes and standardizes the search terms used at iStockphoto.

You may be asked to clarify ambiguous terms. For example, when you search for orange, you will be asked whether you mean the color, or the fruit.

You can use several modifiers to narrow down your searches.

• Separate several terms with 'AND' to include all results for those terms. A space between terms will be understood as an AND.
• Use quotation marks around several terms to find a phrase.
• If your multi-term search already exists in the Controlled Vocabulary as a phrase, those search results will be returned, with the option available to see other results as well.
• Use "or" to expand your results. For example, red or blue would find red OR blue.
• Use "not" keyword to exclude certain results. For example, wagons not red should find wagons that are NOT red.
• You may combine quotations and other modifiers to find phrases along with other terms. For example, to find a woman holding a water bottle, search "water bottle" AND woman.

Advanced search tips

Search by Member

If you've been hearing great things about an iStock member and want to go take a closer look at his or her portfolio, leave the 'Keywords' field blank and use only the 'Member Name' field. You can also search for keywords within an artist's portfolio by entering a term in 'Keywords' and entering his or her name in the 'Member Name' boxes.

Search by file sizes and prices

You can search by any combination of file sizes and prices. It's your call. You can do a sweeping search, or zoom right in on the exact size and price you're after.

Photographs - If you need images for online use, you can specify XSmall sizes. If you're looking for something with plenty of detail for print, you'll want to move up to XXLarge. You can also choose the shape of the image. By default, all shapes are selected. If you want to exclude any of the shapes, click on it to grey it out. You can test drive it by toggling through, selecting and unselecting shapes. Check out the diagram below:



Illustrations - You can search for illustrations based on the number of credits you want to spend. For example, If '5 credits' is selected, the only vector illustration files that are returned are those selling for 5 credits. No more, no less.

Flash - You can search for flash files based on the number of credits desired. If '6 credits' is selected, the only flash files that are returned are those selling at the rate of 6 credits.

Videos - You can search for videos by SD Formats (PAL, DV, NTSC) and HD Sizes (720 and 1080).

Audio - Search for audio tracks by genre, tempo, key and time signature. Search for royalty-free tracks in the Standard Audio collection or full-length Pump Audio tracks by indie artists. Pump Audio tracks are licensed on a single-production basis and the number of times you can broadcast the production is unlimited. So one download will cover a single web use, movie, or television show. You may need a cue sheet.

Show/hide file details

These affect the way results are displayed. For example, if 'Titles', 'Contributor', 'File Numbers, 'Downloads' and 'Loupe' are checked, the results will display as shown here.

More Filters

People - files that have people in them.
Print Available - files where their owners have allowed their images to be available to order as a print.
Exclusive Artists - files only owned by Exlusive Artists to iStockphoto.
Extended License - files in which owners have provided extended licenses available for purchase.
Adult Content - you can set or unset the 'Adult Content Filter' by checking / unchecking the box.

Search by Categories

You can use:
to expand the categories.
to add categories to your search.
to remove categories from your search.

Best match sort

Best match is our default search sort. The algorithm takes many factors into account. One of these, keyword relevance, rates the prominence of the particular keyword in the files.

You can customize your sort order by raising or lowering the degree of keyword relevance. The higher the relevance, the more the sort will focus exclusively on that keyword.

Search by Color

Everybody has their favorite color model. Some folks prefer RGB, while others swear by HSV. Whatever your needs, we've got you covered. H*ck, you can even enter your hex color in the handy field provided. After entering your color, you can search through our library and the average color in the image will match the color you choose. How cool is that? If that's not awesome enough, you may want to take CopySpace for a spin.

Search by CopySpace™

For designers, the location and size of empty space in an image is often just as important as the image itself. Too bad there isn't a search engine that can sort images based on where you could place text or a logo.

There is now. We built it. Presenting CopySpace™ by iStockphoto.

The Idea

The advanced search page now includes the CopySpace™ grid: a 3x3 grid that's going to solve your text layout problems. Click on a square once and turn it green. This means you want that area of the image to be open for copy. Click the image again to turn it red. This means you want the area occupied, or containing part of an image. A third click turns the square grey, meaning you have no preference for that area (squares you don't click are grey by default).

In Action

You can still use all your normal Search options. Find people shots, sort by rating or download, specify colors, and get as particular with keywords as you like. With CopySpace™, the search engine looks for all those things knowing exactly where you want them positioned on the page.

So imagine you want an image of a woman's face in the top left corner, with room for copy along the right hand side. Enter "woman" and "face" in your keywords. Then click the top left hand corner of the CopySpace™ grid twice to turn it red. Click all three of the right hand boxes once and turn them green. Now hit Search.

The Results

The iStockphoto search engine does it's magic, and you get images with subject and space for copy exactly where you want them. It's that easy. Go ahead, try it out. Try our sample search

CopySpace™ search - it's real, it works, and it's only on iStockphoto.

Copyright 2005 iStockphoto LP. CopySpace™ (Patent Pending) and iStockphoto® are trademarks of iStockphoto LP.

NOTE: This symbol, indicates that the filter choice will affect your search results. So, for example if you choose 'XXLarge' Photographs and you enter a member name in the 'Member Name' box, you will only be returned XXLarge Photographs within that member's portfolio, rather than ALL files for that member's portfolio.

Search for audio by genre, tempo, key and time signature

Find the audio track you want by searching within the categories you desire. Choose a musical genre, pick a tempo, choose a musical key or select a time signature.

Keyword Tips

The Controlled Vocabulary organizes and standardizes the search terms used at iStockphoto.

You may be asked to clarify ambiguous terms. For example, when you search for orange, you will be asked whether you mean the color, or the fruit.

You can use several modifiers to narrow down your searches.

• Separate several terms with 'AND' to include all results for those terms. A space between terms will be understood as an AND.
• Use quotation marks around several terms to find a phrase.
• If your multi-term search already exists in the Controlled Vocabulary as a phrase, those search results will be returned, with the option available to see other results as well.
• Use "or" to expand your results. For example, red or blue would find red OR blue.
• Use "not" keyword to exclude certain results. For example, wagons not red should find wagons that are NOT red.
• You may combine quotations and other modifiers to find phrases along with other terms. For example, to find a woman holding a water bottle, search "water bottle" AND woman.