Having images on your website is a key component of a good design. In fact, 60% of people are likely to work with a business that has photos on its website.
In an ideal world, every creative entrepreneur would get brand photos taken for their website starting from the moment they start their business. BUT that’s not always realistic. That’s where stock photos and videos come into the picture (*pun intended*).
If you’re stuck looking for stock imagery for your website and don’t know where to start—don’t worry, you’re in the right place.
Stock photos and videos have come a long way, especially in the last 2-3 years. Stock photos still tend to have the reputation of being cheesy or inauthentic. But let me tell you that if your stock imagery is looking cheesy it’s just the wrong type of stock photo or video and you just need to find different ones to make it work on your website.
How to Choose Stock Photos & Videos for Your Website
Get at Least One Nice Headshot of Yourself
When it comes to 95% of your website imagery it can be made of stock photos and/or videos. BUT you still need to supplement with at least 1-2 headshots of yourself. As much as I’d like to avoid having my face on the internet entirely people aren’t going to work with a business that doesn’t have a least one photo of the solopreneur or team behind the business.
Avoid Free Stock Photos & Videos at All Costs
Even though free stock imagery websites like Unsplash, Pexels or Pixabay are very popular you should avoid downloading images from them like the plague. If you don’t want to take my word for it listen to this podcast episode and look at this Instagram post and it’ll change your mind.
Grab Stock Photos & Videos from a Paid Membership
I highly recommend downloading all of your stock imagery from a paid membership like Social Squares, The Make Membership or Haute Stock. There are quite a few others to choose from but these three allow for unlimited downloads per month of images. Other memberships that I’ve run across cap the amount downloads per month and I personally don’t like having a limit. Also make sure that you can use all of the stock photos and videos on your website, social media pages and newsletter freebies. Some stock imagery memberships have restrictions in place regarding this.
Social Squares
The Make Membership
Haute Stock
2 Kinds of Stock Photos & Videos You Need on Your Website
Once you’ve joined a paid stock imagery membership there a two different types of photos and videos you want to look for to fit your brand.
Imagery that Represents What You Do
This is the type of imagery that simulates the exact service that you offer. For example, an image of a laptop would be good if you’re a website designer. Or if you’re a fine artist an image of a paintbrush would make sense. Or if you have a podcast an image of a mic would fit.
Imagery that Matches Your Brand Vibe
In addition to literary imagery, you can also add photos and videos that match the essence of your brand. For example, let’s say that your brand has a very beachy vibe and you’re a fine artist. A photo of a pineapple might not be an exact example of what your offer is—but it might capture the vibe of the type of artwork that you produce. Or if your brand generally has a lot of yellow in it the photo of a pineapple could also work.
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