Commercial Aircraft Photo Gallery Key Terms

Find the best aircraft photos for your business by getting a grasp of the terminology
By Yvette Pryce, Freelance Writer When you’re seeking photos of commercial aircraft to use in marketing or promotional materials, you’ll find hundreds of galleries offering thousands of photos. Clearly, you need to be able to narrow your search to find the images that are right for your company. Knowing some of the basic terminology of commercial airplane photo galleries, such as “general aviation” and “operator,” will allow you to better browse through images to find what best meets your company’s needs. With grounding in the lingo, you’ll also be able to contact aircraft photo gallery websites and request images.

Commercial aircraft

Photo galleries that feature commercial aircraft include images of commercial passenger, freighter and transport aircraft, in contrast to private or military aircraft. These galleries include images of some of the most recognizable names in commercial aircraft, such as Boeing and McDonnell Douglas.
Try:  View images of all types of commercial aircraft at Boeing.

General aviation

Whereas galleries focusing just on commercial aircraft may only have images of aircraft, general aviation galleries have a range of image types. In these galleries, you can find shots of all sorts of aircraft and a range of approaches-from shots taken within the cockpit to shots taken of aircraft from the ground or air.
Try:  See the general aviation gallery at PhotoVault.

Operator vs. aircraft

If you want to feature a specific airline or a specific type of airplane, you need to know the difference between "operator" and "aircraft," two terms commercial aircraft photo galleries often use to help narrow your search results. Searching by operator will lead you to a list of airlines, while searching by aircraft will lead you to a list of airplane models.
Try:  Browse the extensive range of airlines that Airplane-Pictures.net represents in its photo gallery. You can also browse by aircraft by using the navigation bar on the left of the website.

Air to air photography

An air to air photograph is one taken of an aircraft in flight by a photographer in a second aircraft in flight. These images offer drama and excitement to your promotional materials, especially since this is such a rare perspective of an aircraft.
Try:  See air to air photography at Airliners.net. This website features air to air photographs of military, private and commercial aircraft.

Airplane stock photography

If you want to purchase the use of an already-existing photograph, seek out airplane stock photography. Because the owner licenses the image for use by multiple clients, stock photography is an affordable way to include images of commercial aircraft in your marketing materials.
Try:  See the various airplane stock photography galleries offered by Aeronautic Pictures.

Royalty-free airplane photography

For multiple use of a specific image, an affordable option is to locate royalty-free airplane photography. With this type of photo, you'll pay a flat fee for the image and can then reproduce it as many times as you'd like. The only downfall to this approach is that other companies can use the image at the same time you do.
Try:  Read about royalty-free photography at Sam Chui Photography, and learn about obtaining an exclusive license, if you’d rather not share the image with another.