Stock images are abundant in today’s digital landscape, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a business site or marketing material that doesn’t use stock photography in some way. There are some reasons for this: Stock photos are simple to find and execute, affordable for almost any business, and time-saving.
Unfortunately, stock photography isn’t the most eye-catching art form. Literally. A study by internet expert Jakob Nielsen showed that individuals gloss over or entirely ignore generic or stock pictures. But photos of people or merchandise in a setting garnered attention.
There are two main sources of photographs licensed for business use: stock photos and hired photographers. Stock photos are photos of places, individuals, and items available and licensed for usage. Hired photographers shoot unique photos that personalize a customer’s brand, business, and endeavors. So, what exactly does this imply? Should you get photos in your marketing materials?
Authenticity is Vital
While stock images can fill up space on a website, they can’t capture exactly what your business is all about. Most stock pictures feel fabricated or put up, and their environments are reflective of your workplace.
With habit photos, you pull clients in since they’re seeing your real team rather than a cookie pair of inventory models. This identifies your company as tangible and authentic. People might feel more comfortable doing business with you because they view you, your workers, and/or your products (in case you have products) in real settings.
There’s nothing more inauthentic than a professionally staged photograph of men and women who don’t work in the company. It places your business.
Stock photos are not original
One of the most obvious disadvantages of stock photos is they aren’t original. Many stock images provide generic scenes with backgrounds that you’ll find on almost every site.
There’s no guarantee that your competitor isn’t using the same stock picture you’re using on your website or within your marketing materials. Stock image businesses sell these pictures non-exclusively, which means that anyone can buy and utilize them.
Of course, the choice of using professional and personal photography ensures originality. You have the exclusive rights of any images. And you won’t have to worry about your opponents using the very same images on their site.
Creative control of pictures and branding Another downfall of stock photos is they provide you with no creative management. If you search for hours for the perfect picture, you picking somebody else’s work designed to vaguely fit in with a variety of businesses.
This, of course, may result in significant branding issues. The graphics, logos, colors, and text you use for your own company are all part of your brand. It is difficult for stock photos to accurately convey exactly what your brand is.
With custom pictures, you take back creative control, which consequently lets you guarantee your photos are on message. Imagine if a print ad for Coca-Cola used a picture of people holding cups of brownish liquid. It would be bizarrely off-brand you wouldn’t even recognize it with the business.
Working together with your team
A low-key photoshoot can improve morale and build camaraderie among your employees. With stock photos, a few models that are random represent your business; with habit photos, you may get your staff in on the act. What better way to show your workers are valued by you than by making them the face of the company.
Of course, not everyone wants to be contained in photographs, but for people who do, it could be a fun team-building exercise. If you’ve got a product or service that you can show in actions, this is especially true.
Taking your photos does not need to be a significant deal. You can snap a couple of shots. If you would like to devote time and cash to photos, you can always hire a professional in Beacon Media.
Benefits of Stock Photography
There’s no doubt about it, stock photos are attractive to a lot of small businesses because they fit tight budgets, are available fast if you are on a tight timeline, and they’re fantastic for references. But they have a dark side and also some cons that are critical.
Cons of Stock Photography:
1) REPUTATIONS AND BRAND RUINED
Stock photos aren’t such a great option as soon as your competitor is using exactly the very same photos. If you’re looking for stock photos using keywords like “happy customer”, or “satisfied clients”, odds are your competition is too.
Two leading computer firms discovered the hard way that resembles your competitors was a terrible thing. They bought the stock image to brand their ad campaign and ended up being ridiculed and humiliated in public. The photos may vary, but the article stays online making them a case study in what not to do.
It is not difficult for people to track what photos they see out of one website to another.
2) FALSE VALUE
Which you save money by using stock photography; but then you end up spending those savings on getting your designer to spend hours in front of a computer trying to design round accessible stock photos which don’t fit the vision, the message or the brand new When you examine the dollar sign or the line, you are able to save money and eliminate value. True worth is the value your customers see where it reveals to the world, and because you’ve invested your money wisely.
3) COMPROMISED CREATIVITY
When you hire a designer based in their portfolio, design, and vision, you hire them since you trust them to visually interpret your message and brand new. They can’t do that if they’re restricted by using stock photography.
· You wouldn’t hire a chef and restrict them and week-old vegetables and expect the best meal they were capable of creating.
· You would not hire a massage therapist and restrict the number of methods they could use to alleviate your pain.
· Don’t employ a designer and limit them to utilizing stock photos.
4) SENDING MIXED MESSAGES
Does some of your marketing copy state ‘customized’, ‘unique’,’trustworthy, ‘dating’? These are some of the power words businesses use to describe their relationship with their clients. Will these values have been interpreted when you pepper your site with canned stock photography? If you provide your client’s customized service with unique products, why don’t you treat yourself as well?
5) STOCK PHOTOS ARE GENERIC
Professional stock photographers try to reach the best number of buyers, not to create the best or most distinctive photo for any specific individual.
Stock photographers:
· Make their money by shooting and creating photos that appeal to the best number of buyers. The popular their photo, the more people buy it and the greater the saturation of that photo on the market.
· I would like to make sure their designs are not one-of-a-kind or unique. One-of-a-kind photos do not sell. Being generic and non-descript as possible they appeal to the most business because they “fit” a cliché, message or mood those businesses with tight budgets and no concern about branding wants.
