Stock Photos 101

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

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.

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.

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

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

❤ Bayley​​​​