The Hindu Images is a web-based online catalogue cum storefront for The Hindu's rights managed photo stock.

The images are classified across 4 categories viz.

1.News
2.Creative
3.Historic
4.Sports

Users can choose the pictures that suit their requirements through the search utility.

Image Search:
To find the images there are two search options available. Search (a quick search) or the Advanced search.

Search:

To perform a quick search

• Go to our homepage. Enter the keyword(s) of the images or the photo id of the specific image.
  
• Click 'Go' and images matching your search criteria will be shown on a search results page.

Advanced Search:

Advanced search contains more options for searching images. Link to 'Advanced Search' is available in the top panel of our homepage and all other pages in the site.The search options are grouped into 5 heads. They are

1.Photo Description
2.Photo Caption
3.Event Details
4.Photographer Name
5.Search Result options

1.Photo Description:
This group contains fields for entering Keywords, Photo Web Category, Photo Category, Sub-category. Every image in The Hindu Images is assigned with Keyword(s)

Images are classified into 4 web categories viz. News, Creative, Historic, Sports. Images are also given a Category and Sub-category. Multiple Keywords are separated by commas or spaces. Usage of comma implies an boolean OR operation and usage of space implies an boolean AND operation. Keywords with more than one word i.e. Phrases should be given within quotes either single quote (') of double quote ("). Boolean operators like AND, OR can be explicitly given instead of commas and spaces.

2.Photo Caption:
Every image has a caption associated with it. Users give terms appearing in caption if required. Boolean operators can also be used here. To do a exact phrase search enclose words in single or double quotes.

Keywords and Caption can be combined in 2 different ways to perform a search using the boolean operator option provided in between Photo Description and Photo Caption heads. To narrow down search use 'AND' option and to widen the search use 'OR' option.

3.Event Details:
This option is given to narrow down search for a image using its event date range, location which includes city, state and country.

4.Photographer Name:
If you are seraching the photos of a particular photographer then you can choose his name from the drop down list.

5.Search Result Options:
The view of the search results page can be controlled using these options. You can choose Horizontal or Verticla display with the no of images to appear in each page. Also there are different sort options available to choose from.

Results Page:

This page lists the search results with a thumbnail view of the images matching the search criteria. A detailed view of the image can be seen by either clicking on the thumbnail or by using the 'Show Details' link available below each image. The image can be added to your 'Wishlist' for purchasing at a later time. The pricing of the image can be calculated using the 'Calculate Price' link and the image can be added to shopping cart after calculating the price. Navigation to search result pages is provided at the top and bottom of each result pages.

Wishlist:

You can add images to wishlist for purchase at later time. Images stored in wishlist can be added to the cart or removed. This feature is available only for registered users of The Hindu Images.

Price Calculation:

Pricing of images in The Hindu Images depends on purpose and licence required. You choose the purpose that is required. Licences / Usage of the images for a Single Use, 3, 6 and 12 months licensing. You can use the images for the specified usage period. There is also a provison for requesting for exclusive usage of a image. On clicking 'Exclusive Usage' you will be directed to a page where you can give the details of the usage.We will inform you the price and we will provide you with reference number which you can use for purchase using 'Quick Purchase' option. This will be processed in 2 Business days.

If your purpose does not fit against anything listed in the page, then you can use 'Other Usage' and give your usage details there. On confirmation you will be given a 'Purchase Reference ID' by us. You can use the id in the 'Quick Purcase' option available in the right panel of our pages. Type the reference id and you will be taken to the 'Order Payment' page where you can make the order.

Shopping Cart:

Shopping Cart page contains the list of images added by you for purchase on the current session. It shows the price of each selected image and the purpose, usage details selected, so that you can decide on recalculating the price.From here you can recalculate the price, remove the image from order, reomve the image and add it it wishlist. The page also shows For checking out you can use 'Order Payment'. You will be taken to the Order Payment Page. You can continue shopping after adding a image to the cart using 'Continue Shopping' link.

Order Payment:

This page confirms your order. You can adjust any available gift certificates against the order amount. Use 'Update Gift Certificate' to update the gift certificates information against your order. Click on 'Make Payment' to make the payment. Now you will be taken to the Secure Payment Gateway page, where you can give your credit card information for processing. Depending on the response from the bank, you will be redirected either back to order page or if successful, you will be redirected to download images page. From here you can download the pictures you have purcahsed. You can download the images within 10 days of purchase. Your purchase history is maintained under 'Account Details'. From here you can redownload pictures.

Purchase Gift Certificates:

You can purcahse gift certificates from The Hindu Images which you can send to your friend. Your credit card is charged for the amount of gift certificate. For purchasing a gift certificate, you should be a member.