How to source beautiful, cohesive stock photography for your website, without hiring a photographer
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Now, let’s cut to the chase. There really is nothing worse than landing on someone’s website only to be hit with a sea of pixelated images or seriously cheesy stock photos. It doesn’t exactly scream professional or credible does it?! I cannot stress enough how sourcing good quality, professional looking photos that reflect your brand image could literally make or break your website.
One thing I’ve learnt over the years as a designer is that photography is probably in the top 3 biggest struggles for most businesses. I get it, hiring a professional photographer is £££ and you just don’t have the time or the skills to take photos yourself. Although I would say the investment you’d put in to hire a photographer for just a few hours would pay for itself over and over, I also don’t think it’s essential if you’re a service based business, and there are plenty of other amazing resources available to us that can make our websites and branding look professional, eye-catching and totes LEGIT. God bless the internet!
Luckily for all us biz owners, there is now a wide selection of online image libraries that offer incredible stock photography, some of which are completely free of charge!!! One thing I will say right off the bat, is that you do have to be really careful with license agreements when downloading stock images, you should always check before using anything on your website. Some sites will require you to credit the author, others may only be suitable for personal use (meaning you can’t really use it for business purposes or to make a profit), but then some you can use however you like!
Today, I’m going to be giving you a list of my absolute no.1 faves - most of which are totally free to use however you like, can I get a HELL YEAH?!?
But first things first, let’s start with a little bit of strategy…
Now, before you get too over excited and start searching through all these amazing resources and collecting hundreds of pretty images, it’s always really important to keep your ideal clients (aka your dream clients) and your brand front of mind at all times.
Try this simple exercise before getting started to keep you on track. Grab a pen and answer the following:
If your brand had human personality traits what would they be?
Example: smart, charming, friendly, funny
What adjectives best describe your brand?
These words will cultivate the emotion that people get when interacting with your brand. Example - bold, quirky, playful, vibrant
What Feeling Do You Want Your Site To Give Off?
When customers interact with your site, how do you want them to feel?
Right, good work! Just from answering these three questions, you should start to see some patterns emerging and hopefully get a feel for what direction, mood and general vibe of the photography on your site should be.
When I work with my clients, I cover all of this stuff and much more in order to lay solid foundations for building a super effective website. You can get a taster of the prep work by downloading my brand discovery workbook below. 👇
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Next up, list out the pages of your site and the key themes and images you’d like to include.
There are thousands upon thousands of stock images out there for us to search through which is AMAZING, but can also be a bit overwhelming at times. By taking this simple step and listing things out clearly, you’ll have a head start when it comes to beginning your search.
I would recommend a mix of lifestyle shots, with closeups, patterns/textures and I would ALWAYS insist on you including at least one image of you (yes, YOU!) on your about page and on your homepage. This doesn’t have to be anything super slick or fancy, just a good quality image that shows your personality a little bit. If you’re reading this post, I’m willing to bet you’re either a solopreneur or part of a small team. You’re a small business and you should absolutely be celebrating and showcasing this fact on your website. Show your people the human behind the business, people connect with people.
This has got to be up there with my top ten tips for driving more engagement and increasing conversions on your website.
I speak to so many solopreneurs who are convinced they need to be hiding the fact that they’re a one woman show from their customers, as though it’s going to make them appear less credible or professional in some way. Does this remind you of yourself?! Well then stop right now, thank you very much! (I need somebody with a human touchhhh) Please, please don’t let these thoughts creep into your head.
Anyway, I digress, let’s get back to stock photography shall we?!
Here’s a list of my fave FREE stock photography sites:
Unsplash - my absolute fave!
Seriously great stock image website with a handy search feature. I would say Unsplash is the most comprehensive free stock library out there, and not a cheesy, stereotypical stock image in sight. YAS!
LICENSE DEETSBurst
Burst is created by Shopify so has a focus around ecommerce businesses. They have a really great ‘business ideas’ feature where they’ve curated image collections according to the types of products/services you’re selling.
LICENSE DEETSPexels -
Another amazing free image source with a huge range of beautiful stock images to use. Whoop!
LICENSE DEETS
Death to Stock -
I love Death to Stock as they provide truly unique, creative sets and multiple images that have a cohesive aesthetic, which is super helpful if you’re trying to source a collection of images that match a certain vibe. Plus, you can sign up to their mailing list and they’ll send you free monthly photo sets. Just save these emails for later and before you know it, you’ve got yourself a great resource. They also offer a 14 day free trial where you can download as many images as you like, so make the most of it and stockpile a load to save for later! If you fall in love with their collections, membership options are amazing value for money too (around £12 per month)
LICENSE DEETS
Some tips for searching on stock image sites:
Now, you’ve found your stock site of choice, now it’s time to get searching for some pics which will totally elevate your brand! It can be easy to get carried away as there are so many beautiful images available, but it’s really important to stay focussed with your brand and dream client in mind. Here are my top tips for picking the right stock images for your site:
Stick to the same photographer:
It’s really important to keep your images looking cohesive so they all tie in with your brand aesthetic. This can be tricky when you’re using stock image sites as there are thousands of images available all taken by different photographers who all have completely different styles.
Once you’ve found one image you love, then click on the author. This should bring up their profile, along with all the other images they have available on the site, which will most likely be taken in the same style so they’ll all work together as a collection - BOOM!
Search by categories:
Another great way to curate your collection of images is to think of the key image types you’d like across your site - let’s say you’re a wellness coach and you’re looking for a selection of healthy food, plants, outdoor/nature and close up shots. Most of the sites listed above have a wide range of categories to choose from so you can easily search according to the type of images you need - this can help you avoid the risk of plunging down the 5 hour stock image library rabbit hole and getting distracted by beautifully curated lifestyle or fashion shots that you personally love, but don’t necessarily suit your business or brand.
Search by collection
Like the category search option, a lot of stock image sites have a range of collections that have been put together by photographers and other public collections created by the people who have accounts and made their collections available publicly. These can be a great place to find images where essentially, someone else has already done the work for you! These collections tend to be grouped together in similar themes/vibes, so find one you love, then voila, you’re good to go!
Try to find images with different layouts
The more variety the better here. As you’ll be using images throughout your site and on different pages with a range of layouts. Some pages you may want a banner image spanning the width of the page, with title text over the top. In this situation, you would want to find landscape images with plenty of space to the left or right for you to add text over the top, but still see the main focus of the image.
Here’s an example of a landscape image that would work well for a banner image:
However, on your other pages, you may want a smaller square image, or maybe you want to add an image into a circular shape, so you’d want the main subject to be in the middle with more space around the edges of the image for easier cropping.
As a general rule of thumb, landscape images with plenty of background space will be much more flexible to work with as it can always be cropped down to different shapes and sizes later on.
Anddd finally, let’s wrap things up with three of my fave paid for stock image sources:
Creative Market*
This site is seriously amazing, it’s a great place to go just to get some inspiration. On Creative Market you’ll find an extensive library of beautiful fonts, patterns, graphics, mockups and stock photography. It really is your one stop shop and has everything you could ever need to achieve a professional, high quality brand image.
Floral Deco*
These guys have a huge range of stock image bundles ranging from lifestyle photography, to seasonal themed images. Their style is gorgeous, and by purchasing a bundle, you can rest assured, your images will have a cohesive style throughout your website.
These guys are my absolute all time favourites!! They have a shop over on Creative Market where you can find a wide range of lifestyle and flat lay bundles as well as mockups if you’re a designer or a creative entrepreneur who wants to showcase your services or offerings in a creative way. Their style is quite luxurious and high-end and the quality of all of their images are incredible for the price you pay. On their main website they also have subscriptions and membership options available too.
Key takeaways:
If you’re a service-based biz, you don’t need to spend £££ on hiring a professional photographer when you’re new to business, you can source high quality, professional stock photography online
Get clear on your brand style and the key themes/mood/vibe you’d like to communicate through your images before starting your search
List out the pages of your site and the types of images needed
ALWAYS include at least one image of yourself or your team on your about page and homepage
My fave stock image sites:
Unsplash (free)
Burst (free)
Pexels (free)
Death To Stock (paid and free)
Creative Market (paid)
Floral Deco (paid)
Moyo Studio (paid)
Always check the licensing agreements before using any image on your website
Try searching by collections, categories and authors to keep a cohesive style and feel to your images
Focus on landscape images with plenty of space to the left or right of you image subject for maximum flexibility
However, there’s one exception to the rule here…If you’re a product based business, it’s super important to have professional images showcasing your products from the get-go. There are some great alternatives to hiring a professional photographer if budgets are tight, but if you plan for a shoot the right way and maximise your time with your photographer - you might be surprised with how much you can get done. Butttt…that’s a blog post for another day!
So there you have it, my guide to sourcing stock photography for your website. Images really can make or break the whole website experience for your customers, so it’s super important to put some time into sourcing high quality images that reflect your brand.
Are you struggling to connect with your dream clients or looking for more guidance around what to put where on your website? Then my anatomy of a dream client converting homepage is made for you! Grab yours now!
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