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Stock Photos 101

2/22/2018

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Stock photos can help or hurt your brand. Learn how below, plus where to get some for free.
Stock Photos 101

STAY ON BRAND

In a previous entry, I talked about using mood boards to establish a brand style. If possible, use photos with a neutral palette or one that’s similar to your branding.

With a little editing, you can also change the hue of the photo so it goes better with your scheme. I edited the dog photo below to be a little bluer and more muted.
Bayley Mood Board
Stock photos can help illustrate your points and ideas, and even make concepts more clear. But don’t use stock photos just for the sake of it - make sure they mean something and serve a purpose.

WHAT TO AVOID

There’s a common style of stock photo that will instantly date your brand. I’m not sure how to describe this type of photo (faceless abomination is bewildered by cyberspace?), so I’ll show you what I mean.
Bad Stock Photo: Chat
Bad Stock Photo: Mouse
Bad Stock Photo: The Economy
Bad Stock Photo: THE ECONOMY
I could look at these all day. I think they’re extremely funny. If a graphic or illustration looks like it was created in the faceless man era or before, don’t use it.

FREE SOURCES

Many design platforms come with libraries of stock images and artwork. I also find myself using Pexels a lot for free photos. Their library isn’t the most robust, but most of the images are free and don’t require attribution.

Pixabay is another good source, along with sites geared towards academic presentations and projects. If you find one of these websites, make sure to check if the photos are fine to use for commercial purposes.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Important Dog
I found this on my bad stock photo hunt. Seems important.

❤ Bayley​​​​
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3 Apps to up Your Social Media Game

2/6/2018

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Here are three apps that I use to make social media posts stand out. Try these out for yourself - they’re all free!
3 Apps to up Your Social Media Game

Tile Pic

A while back, I posted an entry about tiling photos on Instagram. With this app, it’s so easy. Check out these tiles I created for Christine Marguerite Designs.
Tiled Instagram pics

Prisma

Almost everyone knows about Prisma by now, but it’s so cool! Make any picture look like a painting, poster, or sketch.
Prisma Example

Palette

Palette comes in handy for me a lot. Create color schemes based on pictures and post cool palette photos.
Palette Example

That’s it! Good luck!

❤ Bayley​​​
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A Cheap Photo Trick that Upgrades all Your PIctures

1/29/2018

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A photo trick to upgrade all your pictures
A short one this week. I just wanted to share a trick or a “hack” (ugh) that I use on photos to make them look sophisticated and on-trend.

It seems like every trendy Instagram photographer loves to take pictures of their breakfast, or their day planners on top of their nice marble countertops. But what if you don’t have nice marble countertops?
White marble Instagram
Well, those Instagrammers might not have them either, because there’s a whole industry of realistic looking photo backdrops. Sleek marble, rustic wood - you can create almost any atmosphere you want.

Just a quick search on Etsy brings up tons of results for backdrops of all sizes and patterns, like these.
I haven’t tried any of these backdrops, but I use something even cheaper: a marble patterned white board from Target. It has the right shiny finish and I love the way my minimal flatlay photos look on top of it. It was less than $10!
Eyeshadow Instagram with Target background
So there you go. Anyone can achieve this sophisticated look, in product photos or just for fun.

Stay tuned for another entry about flatlay photos.

❤ Bayley​​
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    BAYLEY MALTAS

    Aspiring Dog Parent
    Beauty/Fashion Hobbyist
    Owner: Effortless Social LLC

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