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Graphic Design vocabulary · Image Formats & Resolution

Stock photo

Meaning in graphic design, with examples

/ˈstɑːk ˌfoʊtoʊ/nounCore term

In graphic design, stock photo means: A ready-made photograph that you license from an online library instead of organising your own photo shoot. The licence controls how and where it can be used.

In Turkish: stok fotoğraf, hazır görsel

How it is used

Common in everyday studio work. You buy, license, search for or use stock photos; images can be royalty-free or rights-managed. Clients sometimes complain that stock images look generic.

Example sentences

  1. We don't have a budget for a shoot, so let's use stock photos for the first version.

  2. Check the stock photo licence; we can't use that image on packaging.

Common collocations

  • license a stock photo
  • stock photo site
  • royalty-free stock photos
  • generic stock photos
  • resolutionThe amount of detail in a digital image, shown by how many pixels it has or how many pixels or dots fit into one inch. Print usually needs about 300 dpi at final size.
  • raster imageA digital image made of a grid of tiny coloured squares called pixels, such as a photo. It has a fixed resolution, so it loses quality when enlarged too much.
  • JPEGA very common raster image format for photos that makes files small by removing some detail. It does not support transparency and loses quality if saved again and again.
  • mockupA realistic image or model that shows how a design will look in real life, for example a logo on a shop sign or a label on a bottle, used mainly in presentations.

More terms: Image Formats & Resolution

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