26 / 02 / 2015

Is stock photography making us lazy?

Author

Mark Holland

Category

Blogs

Share

First thing’s first. I’ll freely admit that I’ve used my fair share of stock photography in the past. I’m not about to suggest that it’s all about pictures of men in suits jumping over hurdles. That would be as short-sighted as saying that Twitter is just for people posting pictures of their dinner.

There is a lot of rubbish to sift through, but more often than not, you’ll find something that’s pretty good and fits your requirements. But therein lies the problem. "It’s a half-decent image. It fits my purpose. It’s cheap. It will do". Hardly an inspiring thought process.

 

Take the above image for example.

It’s ok. It’s well exposed, natural, down-to-earth and friendly. Even the colours are nice. The photographer has done a good job.

These people thought it was good enough to use as image five in their carousel: http://www.physio4everybody.com.au/

But here it is elsewhere, as image three in a carousel: http://tmfulfillment.com/

It got into the gallery here: http://www.kavaikoltoztetes.hu/en/gallery/

And here: http://www.ehow.com/about_6388102_logistical-assistant-job-description.html

And here: http://www.sintecologistics.com/art_english-65/consultancy_65#prettyPhoto

Is that really what you want for your brand? An image that has been used time and time again by anyone who used the same search terms as you did?

Whilst stock photography might have become 'pretty decent’ and is less hassle than organising a photoshoot it will never truly represent your brand. If you put the above image on your website, the most you can hope to convey is that you have people to answer phones and they might be able to help if the information you require is in a rolodex. On the other hand, if you invest a little time and effort into organising your own photoshoot, your image could be saying, “When you ring up, this is the person you will be speaking to. You can see we have a large office, it’s a little messy, but only because we’re busy. Our employees are friendly and engaging. Perhaps not as good looking as the models on Getty, but they’re much better at operating a rolodex”.

Photography is a brand tool that is worth investing in. It is the window into your business and the most immediate and effective tool in informing your customers who you are and what you do. No brand is ‘generic’. Every business has been built on the hard work and dedication of its employees, so why not shout about them? Put them front and centre in your marketing campaigns. Spend some time crafting the photography that really says something about you and your business. In a world that’s becoming increasingly content heavy, your photography could be the difference between engaging a new customer, or having them return to their Google search results to find somebody else.

But don’t just take my word for it. Take a look at James Chudley’s thoughts on the Usability of Web Photos and what yours are saying about you.