Getty Images Search Guide
How to search for images and videos
Quickly find the best images and videos for your next project using our search guide.
Getting started
Begin your search on the homepage for Creative content, Editorial coverage, and Videos.
- Click here to sign in.
- Enter keywords describing the content you need.
- Find inspiration for your searches by exploring the latest visual trends and by discovering curated imagery on our homepage.
- Create, edit, and manage Boards, which allow you to save, organize, and share content that you find in your searches.
- Use Search by Image to upload a photo to find visually similar Creative content.
- Select from Creative, Editorial, Video, or Music, or explore our blog and curated collections.
Explore search results
- Related searches show popular results similar to yours.
- Click an image or video to view a larger size and see additional details, as outlined below.
- See all results or filter for Photos, Illustrations, or Vectors.
- Choose a different display style when viewing search results.
- Click this box to download one or multiple assets, directly from the search results page.
- Hover to show actions: Save to Board, Add to Cart, or view Similar images.
Refining your results
Focus your results on content that fits your specific needs.
- Add or remove keywords to expand or narrow your search.
- Open the filters panel to explore all the ways you can refine your results.
- Sort by Best match, Newest, and Most popular to serve up the most relevant content.
- Filter by orientation, resolution, number of people, age, ethnicity, color, and more.
Picking your image
Open the details page for any image or video to see pricing, similar images, related keywords, and more.
- View similar images and videos, or more from the same series, if available.
- Explore keywords associated with the content.
- Choose your size and click Add to Cart to license and download your asset.
- Use the Asset ID Number to quickly find your image again and to view similar images and videos, as well as credit the asset.
Save images and videos with Boards
Collaborate with ease by saving content you love to Boards and sharing them with your team.
- Name your Boards to organize them, and edit the description as a reminder of why you’ve saved these images.
- Click the Share button to generate a link to your Board, for easy collaboration or a read‑only view.
- Reorder the images and videos on your Board by dragging and dropping content from one slot to another.
- Click the comment bubble icon to start a conversation thread about individual images and videos.
- Click on show notes to label content directly on a Board.
- Hover over the Boards icon to create new Boards or to view existing ones.
- Add content with an Asset ID Number saved from previous searches.
- Double‑click for a list of Asset ID Numbers of all the images and videos.
- Click these boxes to select images and videos to copy or move to other Boards, to download in bulk, or to add to your cart.
- Click this drop‑down menu to download one or multiple assets.
Creative search tips
Find what you need faster
Refine your search with these words:
- No/Not: exclude items with this keyword (Sky no Clouds)
- Or: include either of the keywords (Sky Night or Day)
- And/commas/dash: whether you use “and”, a comma, a dash/minus sign, or a space between two terms, you’ll get the same search results. (Sky and Clouds = Sky Clouds = Sky ‑ Clouds = Sky, Clouds)
Find similar images easily
Find images or videos with characteristics similar to the selected concept by exploring image tags and suggested similar images. Incorporate these tags into your search to serve up even more relevant imagery.
Get curated results
After you type in your keywords, use the term Bestpix (for Editorial) and Choicepix (for Creative) to see our Editorial and Creative team’s favorite images.
Find images or videos with characteristics similar to the selected concept by exploring image tags and suggested similar images. Incorporate these tags into your search to serve up even more relevant imagery.
Get curated results
After you type in your keywords, use the term Bestpix (for Editorial) and Choicepix (for Creative) to see our Editorial and Creative team’s favorite images.
Search by contributor and collection
Searching by photographer helps narrow down your search by focusing on content from the same set, series, models in use, and creative style. Search by collections to find similar styles within a collection across a breadth of photographers.
Searching by photographer helps narrow down your search by focusing on content from the same set, series, models in use, and creative style. Search by collections to find similar styles within a collection across a breadth of photographers.
Exclude images with nudity
By default, images with nudity are excluded from results. There is a setting in the filter panel to include or exclude this content.
Bookmark your results
Easily return to any search results page by bookmarking it in your browser.
Types of Creative search filters
- Agreement toggle to show what's available to you (such as Premium Access)
- Best match, Newest, or Most popular
- Orientation
- Image resolution
- Number of people
- Age of people
- Composition of people
- Ethnicity
- Image style
- Color picker or enter your own Hex color
- Locations in the current results
Style and composition
Abstract
Retro styled
Instagram filter
Personal perspective
Defocused
Blurred motion
Close‑up
Black and white
Double exposure
Lens flare
Aerial view
Wide angle
Conceptual
Abstract
Retro styled
Instagram filter
Personal perspective
Defocused
Blurred motion
Close‑up
Black and white
Double exposure
Lens flare
Aerial view
Wide angle
Conceptual
Emotions and actions
Affectionate
Shy
Sitting
Worried
Cheerful
Motivated
Working
Running
Swimming
Cooking
Dancing
Drinking
Reading
Affectionate
Shy
Sitting
Worried
Cheerful
Motivated
Working
Running
Swimming
Cooking
Dancing
Drinking
Reading
Creative keywords
Creative searches include professionally photographed and art‑directed images, videos, and illustrations for use in commercial or non‑commercial projects. Check out some Creative keywords below to expand your search vocabulary.
Editorial search tips
Browse your content by events
Discover photos from the latest news and event coverage. Click on Events on the top left of your Editorial results page to display your search results by events.
Refine your results
Use filters to refine your search, including:
- Locations
- Specific people
- Events covered
Search by specific dates
When searching Editorial, you can select a specific date range for the content that appears in your results.
Set Editorial coverage category
Editorial searches can be targeted to a specific area, such as:
- News
- Entertainment
- Sports
- Archival: This is included in all results, but you can specifically search the archives by selecting this coverage area.
For the most complete results, search all of the Editorial collection to see content from all categories.
Search by photographer, filmmaker, or collection
You can include a photographer, filmmaker, or collection name as part of your search, as well as click on the byline link to see all related content
Navigate to the Editorial tab > Archival > Calendar. Then, select a date to view archival photos and videos of past and present world events, anniversaries, and personalities—all handpicked by our editors
Editorial keywords
Editorial searches include professionally shot, exclusive‑access images and videos from world‑renowned events across news, sports, and entertainment. Discover useful keywords to refine your Editorial search results below.
Video search tips
Easily find the clips that bring your stories to life.
Get video‑only results
To only see video assets, enter keywords directly into the search bar and select “Video Creative” or “Video Editorial” or navigate to the “Video” tab.
Contextualize your search results
Narrow your search by knowing the story and context—such as the who, what, where, when, and why—of the video you need.
Refine your results with the Filter and Sort menu
- Change how your results are ordered based on what you want to see close to the top of the page by sorting your content using Best match, Newest, and Most popular
- Filter by formats, frame rates, events, viewpoints, and techniques
Want to see video search in action? Take a look at tips, tricks, and advice from one of our search experts below.
Video filters
- Locations
- Video resolution: 4K, HD, SD
- Date range
- License type*
- Frame rate
- Released for commercial use
- Film technique and viewpoint
*License type
- Royalty‑free (RF): Refers to purchased content that can be used without restriction—within the terms of your license.
- Rights‑Ready (RR): Refers to a license based on how, where, and for how long you intend to use the content. Since the license you're paying for only covers a specific use, you can't use these video clips in additional projects without purchasing additional licenses.
Searching offline video
“Offline” means that the program footage exists not on www.gettyimages.com but within the extensive analog archives of one of our Video Partners: BBC, NBC, ITN, or TVNZ.
- To search this Offline content, you must be logged in to your Getty Images account and you must also select the Editorial section of the Video page
- By selecting from within the filter options under Collections, either Offline only, or Online and Offline, you can return text‑based search results of what is available in the archives of our Offline Partners.
Offline results and previews
All text‑based search results include metadata such as program name where appropriate, transmission dates, synopsis of the footage, and people involved.
- When you find a Search result of interest, you can request a low‑resolution watermarked Preview file directly via the Request Preview button on the site details page or via our Service Team or your sales representative.
- Preview files have a modest fee to supply applied to them, which varies depending on the Partner, the content itself, and the urgency to supply.
- Your inquiry then becomes logged with our Product Specialist team, who will reach out regarding the offline clearance process.
Video FAQs
What codecs do you offer and what would be best for our social feed?
We offer our video in Apple ProRes and H.264 codecs—for social feeds, we’d recommend using one of the H.264 codec options. Additionally, all our clips are available in H.264
What do the terms ProRes, PhotoJPEG, and H.264 mean on a video asset?
Are all your video clips the same frame rate?
- 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, and 60 frames per second (fps)
- 25 and 50 fps for EMEA
What is aspect ratio and what options are your videos available in?
The majority of our videos are available in 16:9 aspect ratio.
What’s the difference between 4K/4K, UH/4K, DCI/4K 16:9 resolution?
How do I find footage from a specific time frame?
Is your video content color corrected?
What camera angles do you have available?
You can search for these by selecting the “Viewpoint” filter on the left‑hand side. Selecting a “Composition” filter will narrow your search even further.
What is b‑roll footage and what types do you have?
We have an incredible amount of b‑roll footage across a variety of locations, aerial, and ground‑level views.
Do your assets allow for offline and online editing?
Offline editing is part of the post‑production process in which the raw footage is copied and that copy only is then edited.
- If you’re in the offline stage, a low‑resolution version should be sufficient, such as a watermarked comp.
- If you’re in the online editing stage, you’ll likely need a high‑resolution version such as HD or 4K.
Are my download options for your videos restricted depending on what NLE I’m using?
What would I use an MP4 clip for?
Can we use your videos in our compositing software?
We want to use a video clip in a TV commercial, what compression level would you recommend?
