Stock Photos vs. Photography in Web Design

You’re probably here because you’ve decided to create a new website. Congratulations! One of the next important steps in web design involves choosing the right photos to display. People are visual beings and want to be guided by the imagery on your website in addition to the copy. Think of what the end user needs to be able to go to your website, find what they are looking for, complete an action, and move on.

In the world of digital marketing, it’s too busy to dilly-dally!

Stock photos

Stock photos are a great resource to use when you need high-quality, cheap photos. They are a more cost-effective and less time-consuming option than an actual photoshoot. However, stock photos tend to be viewed as less personal, less authentic, or fake to the consumer. When researching a company that requests the use of stock photography, I typically search to see what others are doing and choose stock photos that best match the field. Results can vary depending on your industry.

Industries that I’ve found struggle with stock photography include:

• Medical
• Technology
• Business/Corporate/Consulting
• Financial
• Real Estate
• Construction

So why these industries specifically? Most of the images in the stock photo world tend to be as generic as possible so that they can relate to a broad industry. Due to the nature of these industries, most of these end up looking the same and come off inauthentic. They are photos taken with models using props from people who don’t know what it’s like to work in the industry.

As a web designer, it’s surprising how many sites I notice have the same images or stock photography models. While there are many stock photography sites, they all pretty much have the same content just at different prices. There are free options for stock photography, too; however, these resources are becoming more and more difficult to come by and are used by many others.

My Recommendations

If you want the best bang for your buck I’d go with the following sites:

• AdobeStock
• DepositPhotos
• Shutterstock

I would not go with these sites:

(Though these sites have great and unique imagery, they are ridiculously expensive. Might as well have a photoshoot!)

• iStock
• Bigstock
• Offset

Professional photography

Appearance is everything. You want your website to convey a message to the user and tell a story about who you are, what your company does, and how they can benefit from your services. Your website is often the first impression that people have of your business and first impressions are everything! For some, professional photos give people the security they need to choose your business instead of competitors. You want to make sure that your online presence is appealing and welcoming to any potential customers.

So why is getting with a local photographer important? They can help you build your brand, edit images (sizing, file types, etc.), and relay this imagery across all media platforms (Print designers, web designers, marketing teams) to make sure that your audience receives your brand’s image in a crisp, consistent, and clear manner. By establishing a personal and consistent theme for your website, your business will grow.

It all comes down to budget

Ultimately, pricing is the deciding factor here in choosing stock photos or professional photography. But it doesn’t have to be just one or the other. I have found that sometimes a great and budget-friendly option is to use a combination of both photography and stock photos. I will always recommend photography because it gives the designer more to work with instead of spending hours looking on stock photo sites, sifting through hundreds of photos, attempting to follow your branding with unrelated work.

Contact Atilus today to begin your project!