References
Search the reference library by description, image or color, browse by category, find similar shots and add references to your board.
Reference Search is a curated library of still images inside your board. Find a look, a composition or a lighting setup, then add references to the canvas to use as generation inputs.
Searching, browsing and adding references is free.
NoteWho can use it
Every signed-in account on the web app. It's hidden when you're signed out and in demo mode.
Open Reference Search
Click Reference Search (the magnifier) in the top right of the board, next to the zoom controls. Press Esc to close it.
The window has three tabs:
- Images: the reference library.
- Video: the video library. See Video references.
- Collections: references collected earlier in this browser, if there are any. Reference Search itself has no collect button: to keep a reference, add it to the board with the plus on its card.
Search the library
- Describe an image…: type what you want, such as "backlit portrait in fog", and press Enter. Clear goes back to browsing.
- Custom Search (the image icon): drop, choose or paste a JPEG, PNG or WebP image to find similar references. Clear image stops.
- Color Search (the palette icon): pick a color or type a HEX value, then click Search.
Text, image and color searches cover the full library.
To search by a board image, select one still image on the board, then click Reference Search. Results are ranked by similarity and marked From the selected board image.
Browse by category
The rail on the left lists Industries. Expand one to see its tiers, for example T1 Canon to T4 Frontier, and click a tier to browse it. All industries clears the selection.
Styles and authors aren't listed in the rail. To find an industry, tier or author by name, type in Industry, tier, or author under the rail. Filters show as chips; click a chip's X to remove it.
Results load as you scroll. If they stop, click Load more.
Movie frames
If your account has it, Movies appears in the rail. Browse films by genre, director, cinematographer or decade, then pick a film to see its frames. Open a frame to see details such as Shot size, Angle, Time of day or Quality (under Lighting). Click a value to filter by it. Clear in the Movie filter bar removes the filter.
Look closer
- Hover a card to zoom in slightly on its image. The card itself stays the same size.
- Click a card to open Reference details, with zoom controls and the attribution or film details. Press Esc to close.
Find similar references
Hover a card to see its actions:
- Similar in library (scan icon): visually similar references. For a movie frame, this includes frames from other films.
- Color match (palette icon): references with a similar palette.
- Similar on Pinterest (Pinterest icon): similar Pins, when available.
In the similar panel, click Load more for more, or Clear to close it. If you see This selection expired, click Refresh results and select the reference again.
Similar on Pinterest opens its own view. Click a Pin to find Pins like it, or click the link under it to open it on Pinterest. Back to references returns.
NotePinterest search sends the image to Pinterest
Clicking Similar on Pinterest sends the reference image to Pinterest, with no extra confirmation. Other searches don't use Pinterest.
Add references to your board
Open the board you want
References are added to the open board.
Click the plus on a card
Hover a card and click Add to board (the plus in its top right). Wait for the check mark. Closing the window earlier stops the add.
Use it
Close the window. The reference is now a normal image on the board, ready to use as an input. Pins from Similar on Pinterest have the same plus button.
To add everything you collected, open Collections and click Add all to active board. Clear collection empties the list. The X on a reference removes it.
On a shared read-only board, Add to board is disabled. Open one of your own editable boards to add references.
Video references
Open the Video tab, or click Video references (the film icon) next to Reference Search. It's a library of short video shots with filters, a Screening view and Favorites.
Every signed-in account can browse and play video references. If the library can't load, you see Video references are unavailable. Wait a moment and open it again. If a thumbnail's hover preview can't play, its still image stays. Thumbnails that can't load at all show Media unavailable. Video references can't be added to the board.
Report a reference
Most accounts don't have a Report button. If a reference shouldn't be in the library, email support at the address in the site footer. See Resources.
Messages you may see
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Reference Search is unavailable. Please try again. | Click Retry, or reload the page. |
| Nothing in the catalog matches these filters. | Remove a filter, or click All industries. |
| Only JPEG, PNG and WebP images can be searched. | Convert the image, or take a screenshot of it. |
| This image could not be read. or This image could not be prepared for search. | Try a different or smaller image. |
| Preview unavailable., This reference expired. or Reference image unavailable. | The reference is no longer available, for example because the results were open for a long time. Click Refresh results, then try again. |
| Could not add the reference to the board. | Click Retry add. |
| Add is greyed out with This remote board is read-only | You can only view this shared board. Open one you can edit. |
| No similar Pins found. Try another reference. | Pick another reference, or click Retry Pinterest search after an error. |