How To Search Google Images by Size

Jamie Read more May 9, 2021

Google Images is an excellent way to find inspiration, cure boredom or just explore the internet for a while. I use it all the time to find ideas for things and it is a rich source of media of all kinds. Randomly searching only gets you so far though. It is much more productive to have a plan, like searching Google Images by size, phrases or other filters. Fortunately, the Google Advanced Image Search engine allows you to do just that.

You are probably all familiar with Google Image Search and will likely have used it extensively in the past. I am only familiar with it in passing but a photographer friend of mine uses it daily. First, to find inspiration for shoots and second, to check his own images to make sure nobody else is using them. That second use is a relatively recent phenomenon and one my buddy says he spends way too much time doing because people now think everything online is fair game.

Regardless of why you want to search Google Images, here’s how to get the most out of it.

Search Google Images

The main Google Images console is accessible here. It looks, feels and works the same as normal Google search does. You enter your search criteria and hit Search. The results are shown in the window as per usual. Where Image Search differs is that the results are all images. You can also upload your own image to perform reverse image searches.

Perform a Google Image Search

If you haven’t used Google Images before, open the page as above and type anything into the search box. Hit Search and the results will appear in image form. You can scroll through the results to find what you’re looking for. Select an image and you will have the option to visit the web page the image is hosted on.

The process is fundamentally the same as normal Google Search and uses the same algorithm, the results are just restricted to images rather than pages.

Search Google Images by Size

If you have a better idea of what you’re looking for, you can add filters to your image search the same as you would in a normal search. One key criteria for images is size. For example, if you’re looking for new desktop wallpaper you’re going to want a minimum image size for it to work. Rather than scrolling through images to find one, you can specify image size.

Go to Google Images, click on Settings in the bottom, right-corner of the screen and select Advanced search.
Add your primary search criteria in the top box.
Next, click on the image size dropdown menu, select the size you want, and then any other criteria you might need.
When finished specifying your image requirements, click the blue Advanced Search button.

The returns should appear in the same results window as Google Images but the results will be refined to what you added in the Image Size box.

Perform a Reverse Image Search in Google

A reverse image search in Google takes an image you have and looks for others like it. It’s a neat feature that lets you find similar images with ease. I know reverse image searches are used for finding wallpaper, wall art and other things as well as checking for copyright infringement.

Here’s how to perform a reverse image search in Google:

Open Google Images and select the camera icon.
Upload an image or paste the URL where it is hosted and then select Search by Image.

The results will be displayed much like standard search. You can also drag and drop the image from your computer into the search box and run the reverse image search from there. You can do this on desktop or mobile. The URL works the same on all devices, as does all image searches.

There is another way to search Google Images that is less well known. You can right click on many images within websites and select Search Google for Image from the dialog box that appears. Depending on how that web page is built and whether images are protected by code or not, Google can take the image and perform a reverse image search. It’s another useful tool if you work a lot with imagery.

Using Operators in Google Images

Adding operators to search to filter results also works the same as it does in normal search. For example, if you’re looking for an image that was tweeted, you can add ‘@twitter’ into the search bar to filter only results on Twitter. You can also use hashtags with ‘#’, exclude common results with ‘-keyword’ or combine criteria with ‘keyword OR keyword2’.