Hold the cheese:
How to choose authentic stock photos

You’ve probably seen an unnatural-looking stock image on a sign or website. Maybe the nuclear family was overly giddy about a delivery. Or you didn’t get why businesspeople were giving high fives in the boardroom.

How did you feel when you saw that strange stock photo? Did you lose respect or trust for the brand? Or were you so distracted by the image that you didn’t notice the company?

Here’s an example. I was in a Toronto airport when a familiar stock-photo model caught my eye. She was grinning on the signage for Booster Juice, a Canadian smoothie chain. From language-school brochures to dental-clinic websites, this ethnically ambiguous model is everywhere! There are articles about her popularity. There’s even a Facebook page for global sightings.

Credit source: Facebook.com

To choose a model who’s so overexposed is lazy. She becomes a part of your brand identity. She distracts from the message you’re trying to send. Granted, I still bought a drink, because I can’t resist a Tropical Tornado.

So, if using a bad stock photo doesn’t always keep customers away, what’s the harm? Well, it won’t help you stand out or create excitement about your product. Vague, generic stock photos are forgettable — just like your brand will be.

Credit source: Facebook.com

Let’s get real about stock images for a moment.

Royalty-free images are an affordable (or free) and accessible marketing tool. Forty percent of marketers stated that they use stock photography more than any other type of imagery. Even huge corporations do it — and huge celebrities.

In 2015, Vince Vaughn and his Unfinished Business costars did a hilarious stock photo shoot. You could even download the images from iStock. Groan-worthy stock photos have become a pop-culture joke that everybody gets.

All laughs aside, nothing beats using real pictures. Eye-tracking studies show that non-stock photos of real people tend to be “treated as important content and scrutinized.” Original images bring humanity and believability to a brand. They help you connect emotionally with people, and emotion drives buying behavior.

Use authentic images whenever possible, especially in your most important marketing materials. For example, investing in a professional photographer for your website photos is worth it. It’s not just about getting the best angles and lighting. An expert’s creativity and knowledge will ensure that images align with your brand and marketing objectives.

And think beyond today. Anticipate your future needs and build a robust image library. Maybe that means doing a big photo shoot a few times a year to stock up on a variety of pics.

Now, for something like your weekly social media posts, you may lean on stock photos. And fortunately, there are plenty of artistic and authentic ones out there. It’s all about learning how to pick the ones that send the right message. Let’s start by avoiding tired and corny stock photos.

I’m not sure why there are so many women laughing alone with salad.

There are lots of stock-photo sites. The biggest one, Shutterstock, has a library of 200 million images! That means it’s easy to find such classics as:

• A smiling customer-service rep wearing a headset.
• Words such as “SUCCESS” on puzzle pieces, light bulbs, or road signs.
• A woman laughing alone with salad. These photos became a Tumblr compilation that went viral. The images are absurd, yet many health and nutrition companies use them.
• Businesspeople shaking hands in a fake meeting.
• A man in a suit running track or opening his shirt like Superman.
• 3D guy. Enough said.

I could go on and on. It’s quite entertaining to look for silly pictures. But the point of the article is to share how to avoid stock-photo clichés, so I’ll stop.

If a photo is worth a thousand words, it should have a message strategy.

Now you know how to weed out some of the worst offenders. It’s time to talk message strategy! Whether it’s a headline, image, or in-person interaction, everything you do sends a message.

As our Senior Designer Jeff puts it, “An image shouldn’t be for decoration or to fill a space. It should go a step further and reinforce the emotion you want people to feel.”

Here’s how to make your audience feel things:

Make your message shine. Or even sparkle.

At Counterpart, we talk about the four enemies of message strategy. They are vain, vague, dull, and undisciplined messaging. I think that using poor stock photos really hits on two of those: vague and dull. Here’s why:

1. Vague images = murky messaging. Say I’m driving past a billboard with a smiling person at a desk. I have no idea that you’re selling home insurance. I want to see the benefits. Am I covered if my house floods? Show me a family enjoying a movie while a storm rages outside.
2. Dull images tell me your brand is boring. Get creative! Don’t be too literal when you’re searching for images. For example, instead of typing in “office meeting,” how about “working in a coffee shop?” But beware: There are plenty of cheesy photos of people on laptops drinking coffee. Look for people behaving in a believable way.

If you’d like some help crafting a message strategy, let’s chat. We love creating communication that’s customer-centric, clear, compelling, and controlled. Because we know that’s what makes a message effective.

Show your target audience some love.

A staggering number of stock photos feature young and slim white people. But there’s a good chance that’s not your target audience. By using these types of images, you’re not sending a customer-centric message. You may even be offending people.

Research shows 61% of women and 67% of ethnic minorities are more trusting of brands that represent them in their ads. Seventy percent of Gen Z consumers have more trust for brands that show diversity.

If you’re not sure who your audience is, start with your Google Analytics data. It will show you the age, gender, and interests of your audience. To get more detailed information, you can send out customer surveys and analyze competitors. Developing your brand-positioning statement can also help you get to know your customers. Learn more about our Position X^® process for building positioning statements.

Go beyond the big names.

If you must use a stock photo instead of a real image, take a detour from higher-traffic sites such as iStock and Shutterstock. One example is the free stock-photo site Unsplash. While it’s owned by the giant Getty Images, Unsplash is known for its unique pics from photographers around the world. There are also paid sites such as JumpStory, which promises “No cliché stock photos.”

When you do use a larger site, skip the “most popular” or “most downloaded” images. Opt for curated content that matches your brand and purpose. For example, iStock has a Signature collection of “authentic, on-trend images you won’t find anywhere else.”

Not only will this look good, but it will help keep your messaging controlled. Your images will fit your brand guidelines and answer to your business goals.

No matter which paid or free stock-photo site you use, check the licensing rights. Some stock images are only for non-commercial use. Make sure you’re searching images that are licensed for marketing purposes.

Your brand is better with no added cheese.

Going with real photos is the best way to represent your brand. But when you can’t, a stock photo can be a solid stand-in. I hope this article helps you go cliché-free when choosing stock images. Leave the exaggerated expressions, overused models, and staged setups behind. Your message will be much more impactful.

Related:
A cliché-free mission statement: Is it mission impossible?