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The Good, Bad & Ugly of Stock Photography

Stock photography is a constant conversation point here at Three29. With each new project we try to determine if a client has the budget for custom photography or if we should spec using stock photography from sites like istockphoto.com, shutterstock.com or thinkstock.com. Whenever possible we recommend a photo shoot or use of pre-existing custom photography. However, that isn't always possible. Budgets, timelines and a clients business sometimes dictate that we have to use stock photography. In those cases we do our best to use stock photography in a way that doesn't look quite so "stock".

When should you spend the money on a photo shoot?

Simply put...when you can budget it. If you have the money a photo shoot is ALWAYS going to be better than using stock photography. When you take the time and money to organize a photo shoot you become more vested in the photography on the site and can take an active role in what your photos look like.

If you have a product or service that is exceptionally specific. When your product or service is very specific you may need to do a photo shoot because stock photography simply doesn't exist for your goods or services.

If you own a restaurant! This is a biggie at Three29. We do a lot of web design for restaurants in the Sacramento area and we always use a restaurants custom food photography. A restaurant is selling their food, not a stock hamburger, steak or salad and your customers want to see what you have to offer. Restaurant websites should feature your food photography as much as possible and very very rarely, if ever, use stock photography to represent your food.

Our Rules

When all esle fails and you have to turn to stock photography we make sure to follow a few rules.

1) Make sure the photo(s) represents your brand and image as close as possible. This sounds pretty basic but it's harder than you would think. Stock photography is, by it's very nature, bland and generic. The more generic a photo the larger the audience that is available to download it.

2) Try to avoid the "hot" downloads available on most stock photography sites. For example, the photo from istockphoto.com is one of their hottest downloaded photos in the business category. I have seen this photo on everything from websites to brochures, magazine ads and even a tv commercial. When an image is this popular it doesn't truly represent your business; it becomes generic and meaningless.

3) When using illustrations or icons, try to pick the same artist for all your resources. Stock photography websites give contributors acocunts so a user can browse all the artwork they have uploaded. This is especially useful for icons and illustrations because each artist has their own style or look. If you can find all the icons you need from one artist they will help create a more cohesive image to your final site.

4) Do your best to modify the image in one way or another. This helps to create a more unique visual experience in the design. Instead of simply plopping stock photography in a box we want to adjust the image, work it into the site or other images so it becomes part of the site, not an after thought.