Choosing Stock Photos

Let’s face it: you hate stock photos just like everyone else. Unless you are going to hire a photographer to take a bunch of pictures for your website or marketing materials, you’re going to need them.

Here are some tips on choosing and using stock photos:

1. Find something that represents your business, not a picture of your exact business. Especially if you’re a plumber. Don’t choose pictures of a toilet. Find pictures of a really nice bathroom or kitchen sink. If you’re a writer, choose a typewriter, laptop, or notebook picture.

2. Choose your people carefully. If you’re looking for happy people, make sure they actually look happy and they aren’t just smiling. That comes off as fake and it looks like a stock photo.

3. Get a second opinion. The sites below allow you to create a board that you can share with your team to get a second set of eyes on the photos before you use them.

4. GIVE PHOTOGRAPHERS CREDIT. Even free work deserves credit. Make sure you put a note somewhere who took the photo, all of the sites we’re getting ready to share mention who took the photo. Don’t steal. It’s not nice.

Here are 3 great (FREE) sites for finding stock photos.

1. iStock.com They have free and paid images, animated pictures, and video.

2. Pixabay.com. They also have Vector Art and Music on their site.

3. Unsplash.com. Tons of free, beautiful pictures.

Still need help? Let our marketing team help you! Contact us today!