While it’s always best to have you own selection of bespoke brand photography to pick from, we know that it’s not always something that time or budget will allow for. Stock photography can be a great alternative, however it’s often quite difficult to know which image to go for.

With this in mind, here are couple of tips to help you along the way…

Natural Poses

One of the most important things with stock photography is to make sure that your imagery looks natural and not staged. Whilst this can sound a little tricky, it’ll help to make your brand appear more approachable and your marketing materials look more professional.

Shots of people mid-movement can look great, and ensuring that people’s emotions look realistic (and in some cases, not too dramatic!) can make a real difference.

Composition

Whilst static, centralized images can look great, choosing photography with an unusual angle or crop can help to make your marketing material look much more interesting to your audience.

Colour & Lighting

Sometimes lighting can be a little too perfect, instead look for imagery with a bit of shadow and contrast to avoid the photos looking too staged. Likewise, imagery with heavy filters and dramatic bursts of sunlight may not be suitable for you company image.

Standing out from the crowd

With stock imagery there’s always the risk that 5 other companies are using the same image. Try to make sure that your photography differs from the rest. This can be achieved by considering your search terms carefully when looking through stock sites. See below for some more ideas…

Search Terms

The quality of the selection of photographs you can choose from varies greatly depending on which search terms you use to filter the photograph results. There are many filters including orientation, type of image to name a few. Try thinking carefully about the search terms you use to find your desired image.

Customers may only be viewing your website, brochure or marketing material for a few seconds so it’s important your photography stands out to the your audience. It is worth taking the time to select images that reflect your company values and that add to your brand image.
Got a question about anything you’ve read in this article? Why not give us a call on 0161 941 4615 or send an email to info@theagencycreative.co.uk.