By Sue Carrington
Planning a new website for your organization? Looking to freshen up your current one? Stock photos, thoughtfully chosen, can set your site to sail – and sales. Thoughtlessly used, they can sink it.
Here are five tips to avoid photo shipwreck and make the most of what’s in stock:
- Think carefully about your message. Be mindful in your image selection and sensitive to how your visuals will be perceived. Pictures should accurately mirror your business. Choose high-quality photos that are relevant to your organization’s core values, key offerings, and customer needs.
- Set a budget and shop around. The price of a stock photo ranges from no charge to several hundred dollars. Most expensive doesn’t mean most effective. Know what you can afford; then find the best value by comparing sites. I’m a fan of iStockphoto.com for its fresh selections and biggest “bang for buck.” Other good resources are photos.com, veer.com, gettyimages.com, shutterstock.com, fotosearch.com, and dreamstime.com.
- Avoid hackneyed images. You’ve probably seen – and cringed at – those overly staged, overly used pics. The clasping handshake: translation, “We’re your partner.” The high-watt light bulb: “We have great ideas.” The call center operator with the Cheshire cat grin: “We give friendly service.” Steer clear of these clichés. They’ll make your site look cornball.
- Think outside the frame. Go beyond literal interpretations. Search for photos by keywords, looking for images that put a new spin on an old idea. For example, in conveying teamwork, forget that shot of colleagues hand-stacking or high-fiving. Be creative. Show dolphins jumping, lions hunting, or geese flying in formation.
- Say it with your own people. Consider supplementing stock photos with actual pictures from your work environment: employees doing their jobs and customers benefiting from your company’s products or services (you’ll need their permission with a signed release). Reflect your commitment to diversity by varying age, gender, and ethnicity.
Long before the dawn of the web, rocker Rod Stewart rasped a timeless truth: “Every picture tells a story, don’t it?” By thoughtfully choosing your website photos, you’ll be sure the story told is the one you want to tell.
