Know Your Background

With ever increasing speeds and capabilities, web pages are more open to complex and creative design. Web designers no longer have to rely on solid, monochrome backgrounds. There has also been a trend towards making the background the main visual element.

The background sets the mood and the body delivers the message. So, the background can be a little more adventurous, while the content best remains simple and without too much visual distraction. Stock photography sites provide a plethora of backgrounds for web and graphic designers.

Below are some examples of stock backgrounds. Enjoy!

© Zefa RF. Image #42-17622892.

© InsideOutPix. Image #42-18839210.

© Corbis RF. Image #UTX063.

© Aflo Relax. Image #AFR-IJ-11905.

© Moodboard Premium. Image #15260011.

© Tips RM. Image #263LDG00935.

© Glowimages. Image #101-5699462.

Bodacious 80's Photos

This doesn't need a whole lot of explanation. Enjoy these "most non-heinous" (to quote Bill and Ted) stock images that pay homage to the raddest of decades, the 1980's.

© ImageZoo. Image #JRO0043.

© Corbis RF. Image #CB011929.

© Imagesource. Image #IE111-073.

© Superstock. Image #1195-301.

© Superstock. Image #200-1881B.

© Rubberball. Image #A03249.

© Radius. Image #600-00917105.

© Superstock. Image #172-6526C.

© Radius. Image #600-00917057.

© 81a. Image #81A-00003577-001.

Eyeing Over Poured Milk

Pour and splash shots are common stock photography images. They are exactly what the sound like. They are photos of a liquid being poured or splashed. It sounds simplistic, but it is a difficult moment to capture and the results are often intriguing and visually appealing. Photographing a liquid frozen in midair captures a moment that is normally so brief that our eyes barely process it.

These images can be almost hypnotizing to look at, especially the pour shot, smoother brother of the splash. In particular, the milk pour can be very appealing. Milk seems to have just the right consistency for the perfect pour. Below are stock photos of perfectly done milk pours. Get your cookies ready!

© Glowimages RF. Image #GWF108007.

© Radius. Image #600-01718151.

© Purestock. Image #1574R-011017.

© Imagebroker RF. Image #IBXKIM01170543.

© Stockfood. Image #683368.

Sweet kicks!

As promised, we are back with some more football images. This time we are focusing on soccer images. We don't discriminate. There's no reason American football and the rest of the world football can't coexist. Football harmony; believe in it.

Stock photography has generally done a better job of capturing genuine looking soccer images than it has with football. There is a very large selection of high quality soccer images. This is largely due in part to the global popularity of the game and the ever growing global thinking of photographers and stock photo websites.

Another reason for this wider selection is the fact that soccer is relatively uniform. Soccer exists at a variety of levels and looks very similar throughout. Whether you are a casual Sunday league player or the striker for an English Premiere team, you don't look that different. Sure, the pros may have a little on you in the skills department, but your equipment and uniform are not going to be far off.

Whatever the reason may be, there are some very realistic soccer images to choose from. We have selected a handful of our favorites soccer action shots.

© Blue Jean Images. Image #BJI0033_0016.

© Aflo Score. Image #SC-035033.

© Aflo Sport. Image #AFS-IB-04705.

© Imagesource. Image #IS004-043.

© Blend RF. Image #BLD072655.

 P.S. Good luck to Wigan this week vs. Manchester City!

Football Season is Back!

If you aren’t excited about football season yet, maybe this will get you going. Stock photos of sports, especially football, have not traditionally been that spectacular. They often looked too much like stock photography. The players didn’t look quite right. They had numbers or equipment that didn’t seem to match their position.

But things have changed. There is more of a focus on producing genuine looking images. Photographers are often using athletes instead of models. There are also a growing number of images of actual athletes in action. What better way to make it look real than to have it be real! Thankfully, this type of content is becoming more widespread and available.

Today, we will focus on American football. These are just a few examples of really good football stock images. Don’t worry, soccer fans. We haven’t forgotten you. You are next on the list.

© Corbis RF. Image #42-16674141.

© Stock Connection. Image #VAM05-1027.

© Visions of America RF. Image #VOA3-0255.

© Purestock. Image #1574R-36237.

© Old Visuals. Image #EV003557.