How to Select Perfect Stock Photos for Your Brand /
Maybe hiring a professional photographer isn’t an option for you right now? Or you need a few more photos in addition to your current ones? The importance of photography shouldn’t be undervalued by businesses, as it’s not only useful for capturing the attention of consumers, but also to deliver a message without the need for words.
We know how difficult it can be to find enough imagery that is consistent and complementary to your brand, so consider this a guide to finding and making the most out of the stock images available to you.
WHERE CAN I FIND STOCK PHOTOS?
Thankfully for us business owners, there are numerous sources of high-quality stock photos you can find on the internet. One of our favourite places is Unsplash, which has an impressive collection of 100% free stock photos which can be used for commercial purposes. There are endless other online sources which can be found with a very quick search, such as Pixabay or iStock. We’d recommend using a more generic term when searching for photos, rather than a detailed phrase, to generate a broader range of photos to browse from.
OUR TOP TIPS FOR USING STOCK PHOTOS:
Avoid the cliché, overused and outdated stock photos. You probably know the ones we mean - the smiling, immaculately presented employees giving each other a high five across the board room table. They tend to make your brand seem faceless and unidentifiable.
Only select images with a high resolution, and completely avoid photos that look pixelated or out of focus. Otherwise this could impact the perception consumers have on the quality of your brand.
Crop and edit stock photos so they better represent the characteristics of your brand and look harmonious on your social media pages and website. We like to use Lightroom to achieve this, and you can even access a 7-day free trial of the premium tools to see whether you like it!
You can have a play around with the light, colour and effects, and even use the healing brush if you’d like to remove something from the image to enhance it even more. Once you’re happy with the changes you can save the edit as a ‘preset’ to use on other stock photos which you’d like to give the same feel. Alternatively, Lightroom supplies pre-made presets, some of which may suit your brand and will help keep your imagery consistent.
Below is just an example of how making a simple edit, such as removing the saturation, can create such a different feel. How would you have edited it to represent your brand?
Or here is an example where we’ve cropped a stock photo to create two different images…
And finally; consider hiring a professional photographer. If you still can’t find suitable photographs, or you’d like a more personal touch to your brand, it may be worth considering this option. Would you like to learn more about the photography and video services we have to offer? Contact Christine for a friendly chat.
