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Centre for Extended Learning Open Resource Repository

Getty Images: Premium Access Guest Preview

Introduction

CEL currently uses Getty Images to source stock imagery. CEL's License Agreement with Getty Images includes millions of photographs and illustrations but is limited to specific collections. We don't have access to editorial and rights managed images, so you can't simply visit gettyimages.ca and do a search. If you did, the search would return images that are not included in our agreement and often cost hundreds of dollars each to download.

To search for images that can be used in CEL projects we use Getty’s Premium Access Guest Preview. Guest Preview allows you to search for images available under our specific agreement, even if you’re not CEL staff.

On this page you'll find:

Screenshot of Getty Images website homepage

CEL's Premium Access Guest Preview URL

The following URL will grant you access to CEL's Premium Access Guest Preview at Getty Images.

Premium Access Guest Preview: Video tutorial (~6 min)

uwaterloo. (2023, June 14). Getty Images: Premium Access Guest Preview. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhVP8HLGAm4

Premium Access Guest Preview: Online tutorial

 This online tutorial will explain the following:

  1. How to search Getty Images correctly using the Premium Access Guest Preview feature 
  2. How to create a Board to store the images you like
  3. How to share your Board with your CEL project team

How to search for images using Guest Preview

After clicking on the Premium Access Guest Preview URL you will notice a purple horizontal bar at the bottom of the Getty Images website that says “You are currently in a Premium Access Guest Preview.” This bar should be in view on every Getty page you access, indicating that you are only viewing search results available through Guest Preview. Now you can start your searching. You can also filter the results of any search by toggling on additions fields related to people, image style, color, and locations. These can be incredibly useful when searching for specific content or to simply narrow down the results.

The purple horizontal bar at the bottom of the Getty Images website that indicates you are using Premium Access Guest Preview

How to create a Board to store the images you like

Using Guest Preview, you have the ability to create and share Boards (a collection of images you’ve saved). These images may be examples of what you’re looking for (e.g., a theme or ‘feeling’), or specifically-chosen images that you wish to use in a project.

With Boards you can do the following:

  • Create a Board and name it according to your project (i.e., CODE 123)
  • Save your curated images to the Board
  • Add specific comments under each image, as needed (e.g., inspiration for a banner graphic)
  • Share your Board (Note: others would have read-only access)
  • Collaborate with others on a Board (Note: requires all parties to create a free Getty Images login)

Creating a Board

  1. After performing a search, simply hover over an image and +Save will appear in the lower right corner
  2. Click +Save and then Save to Board. This will prompt you to create a Board or save to an existing Board if you’ve previous created one (Note: 

    You can save to a Board from both the search results page and from an image details page)

  3. Name and describe your Board, (using the course code or module number is very useful information to include), then click Save
  4. Continue your search using +SAVE to add additional images to your Board
You can save to a Board from both the search results page and from an image details page.

Viewing and managing your Board

  1. To view your Board, click on the BOARDS link located on the top right side of the navigation bar
  2. Click on your Board name and it will open to display your collection

Note: If you need to refer a specific image to your CEL project team, note the stock number (ID)  that can be found in the image details below each image. 

The BOARDS link on Getty Images website
stock numbers

Adding notes to images saved on a Board

Toggling on the Show Notes radio button will open up note boxes under each image on your Board. Notes can be useful to indicate why you selected a particular image and how/where you envision it being used in a project. To create a note,

  1. Click inside the notes box under an image to open a pop-up editor box and type in your note
  2. Click SAVE & CLOSE to exit the editor or SAVE & NEXT to advance to the notes section for the next image in your Board
  3. To flip back to image details again, toggle on the Show Details radio button
A screenshot of the 'Show details' and 'Show notes' ratio buttons along with a screenshot of the notes pop-up editor box.

How to share your Board with your CEL Project Team

Once your Board is compiled, you’re ready to share it with CEL:

  1. Click on the SHARE button on the top left
  2. In the pop-up window under Share this Board is a URL
  3. Copy and paste this unique URL into an email to your CEL project team member and we'll take care of the rest!

Note: Boards are not saved indefinitely unless you’ve created a Getty login and saved it to your account. That said, it’s best to share your Board with your CEL development team as soon as possible.  

Collaborating with Others (Adding/Removing Images, Notes, Editing Boards)

If you want to add to your Board over time, share it with other individuals outside of CEL, and allow people to have read/write access to your Board, each party will need to create a Getty Images login so that the Board can be saved. There's no charge to create an account. 

A screenshot of the 'Share this Board' pop-up window on the Getty Images website