Keywording Tips for Stock Photographers, Part 5: Synonyms are Your Friend

Posted on 02. Aug, 2010 by in Keywording Tips, Recent Posts, Stock Photography News

Another week, another keywording tip for all you stock photographers out there.  If you haven’t already, make sure to check out our previous installments (entries, parts, chapters).

Which leads me to this week’s topic (theme, subject, focus).  When it comes to keywording stock images, synonyms are your friend (pal, buddy, mate).  There are hundreds of things out there that can be referred to by more than one word.  As a stock photographer, you have no way of knowing which word your customers will use in their searches.

© Glowimages RF. Image #GWW33166171.

This problem (quandary, dilemma, obstacle) is magnified when you think about the international stock photography market.  Even nations that speak the same language don’t always use the same words (Are your potential buyers looking for a truck or a lorry?).

This doesn’t mean that you need to spend hours keywording a stock image (photo, photograph, picture) with every possible word variation.  But it is a good idea to include some common synonyms in your keywords lists, especially for stock images of popular subjects (think cell phone, cellular phone, mobile phone).

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5 Responses to “Keywording Tips for Stock Photographers, Part 5: Synonyms are Your Friend”

  1. Tweets that mention Keywording Tips for Stock Photographers, Part 5: Synonyms are Your Friend | Glow Images Blog -- Topsy.com

    02. Aug, 2010

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Glow Images, Glow Images. Glow Images said: Here's yet another installment of our tips for key wording; this time we're talking about synonyms! Check it out at http://bit.ly/by2VG7 [...]

  2. Molly

    02. Aug, 2010

    This is so true. I’ve been keywording stock photography for 3 years, and a grasp (understanding, knowledge, LOL) of synonyms is integral to the field. It’s not the most interesting grammar research in the world, but a thesaurus does help to get unstuck if you’re dealing with a particularly pesky image or the keywords are less than obvious. For the adventurous, one can always check out the blog found at http://thinkersthesaurus.com It gives an interesting synonym a day and is not just your run-of-the-mill “happy=joyous” either. It’s all based on the reference book “The Thinker’s Thesaurus”- Sophisticated Alternatives to Common Words by Peter E. Meltzer which contains not so ordinary synonyms for ordinary words, and puts them in context by using excerpts from modern writings (newpapers, magazines, etc)! Anyway, for someone like me who works with finding that ‘perfect word’ for stock photography, it’s important to have fun with it. =)

    Thanks for the post!

  3. Glow Images

    03. Aug, 2010

    Thanks, Molly! It’s always good to hear from a fellow keyworder. And thanks for the tip (advice, guidance, hint)! That site has already taught me a new synonym.

  4. Stock images philippines

    08. Aug, 2010

    In generating keywords for an image database we are looking for ways to describe an image in as broad a sense as possible. Since we will most likely be dealing with a large group of clients from varied backgrounds, it’s important to realize that the terms you use and those of your clients may not be the same.

  5. Keywording Tips for Stock Photographers, Part 6: Think Outside the Box | Glow Images Blog

    12. Aug, 2010

    [...] and eco-friendly.  Synonyms of these terms are also common search terms (check out last week’s Keywording Tips Blog for more about how synonyms can help your [...]

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