What Is Stock Photography? Stock Photo Sites (And How to Use Them Right) — post content
Do you remember the time you showed the fourth of your ethnically diverse, model-warm friends on a computer screen and laughed as if it were the time of your life? No? What about you and your unrealistically attractive other friends, eating salad in a vague but well-lit restaurant, giggling about nothing? Don't remember that either? Maybe it's because real people don't do such things. Still, these hokey moments seem to make up the better part of stock images.
In general, stock photos and stock images have a bad reputation, like something from LOLNEIN's shoots. But the truth is, a small amount of ready-made imagery exists, and it is incredibly useful for both designers and companies. To start with, they are cheaper and easier to use than custom photographs. The trick is to use them correctly. But how exactly do you do that?
In this article, we will explain how to use stock photos and, more importantly, how not to use them.
The Fog Seller's "custom" cover is actually three combined stock photos. Does this make it more authentic or less so? By Proi.[/caption]
If you know your way around image editing software, you can handle these changes yourself by following our photo editing guide. If you don't have a tool to grasp Photoshop, consider hiring a professional. Getting a designer's help is like a shortcut for creating custom imagery without a photographer, but it still takes time and effort. Depending on what kind of project you are doing (poster, website, etc.), you can even hire a designer to handle everything for you.
What is a stock image?
Stock images are generic photographs, illustrations, and icons created without a specific project in mind. They are then licensed, usually for a fee, to individuals or organizations for use in marketing materials, websites, packaging, book covers, and more. A wide range of stock photos and more realistic, natural stock images have begun to specialize in certain styles and types of stock photography. If you are a photographer who wants to start a full-time photography business, stock photography is a great way to sell your work and can help boost your income.Are stock images effective?
They can be. If you alter and personalize them, stock images become even more versatile. The truth is, stock images are most effective when they don't look like stock images. A few years ago, the Marketing Experiments blog tested the performance of stock and custom photographs. When they replaced a generic stock image with a photograph of an actual founder of a woman (and a header naming her), they saw a 35% increase in conversions. The Nielsen Norman Group supports this data. Eye-tracking studies reveal that stock photos are largely ignored compared to photos of real people, and that modern people have developed a kind of "sixth sense" for distinguishing stock from custom imagery. However, stock photos have considerable advantages over custom imagery, such as price and ease of use. You can browse all the stock photos you need, download them in a few hours, and pay very little if anything. Compare this to custom photography, which requires professional photographers and scheduled photo shoots, and sometimes even models. The amount of time, money, and effort required for custom photo shoots adds up quite quickly. Therefore, the best way to use stock photos is to choose photos that look real. This gives you the best of both worlds: fast and easy photos without the price tag of custom photos.How many types of stock licenses are there?
A bunch! Ready-made images can have various license types, including special allowances for commercial use and modification. Designers primarily find themselves dealing with three main types: Royalty-free: The user does not have to pay any royalties and can use the image for free, but anyone can. These include Public Domain (content whose intellectual rights have expired) and Creative Commons (artists choose that their works are royalty-free), but these may require special attributions. Rights-managed: Images are for use and can be licensed by individual project, a specific period, or a geographic location. Extended or enhanced: This provides additional freedoms to a standard license, including multiple uses of the image and permissions for resale and commercial use (such as on a t-shirt). Ready-made images are priced differently depending on where you get them from, and if you have a budget, there are always plenty of free stock images. Some stock image sites allow you to pay per image, while others offer a membership fee that allows you to download a certain amount per cycle. Keep in mind that certain usage rights require certain attributions; this is especially true for Creative Commons images. This means that only the artist/creator will be credited. Common usage licenses include: Standard Attribution: Free use of the image, as long as the artist is credited. Attribution Share Alike: Same rules as standard attribution, but any new use, commercial use, or modified use must also be registered as Creative Commons. Attribution No Derivatives: You can redistribute the image even commercially, but you cannot modify or edit the image. Attribution Non-Commercial: You cannot use or resell the image for commercial purposes. Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike: You can use the image for personal use, but any modifications or edits must also be Creative Commons. Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives: You can use the image for personal use and cannot modify or edit it. Despite its appearance, Creative Commons has a lot of legal bureaucracy depending on the type of attribution. Make sure you fully follow the guidelines, otherwise your "free" stock image could lead to more legal fees instead.Where can you find stock images?
Stock images appear everywhere, but some sources are better than others. The first step is to understand your budget and needs: if you need a lot of stock images or if you regularly need new ones over time, it may be worth looking at paid stock image services. You may already recognize these names: Adobe Stock: Adobe Stock is known for its breadth and variety. It is so useful that we even wrote a 6-step guide to finding the perfect image on it. Getty Images: One of the most well-known names in stock imagery, Getty offers stock photos, illustrations, video, and even music. Getty offers price quotes for packs of 5 and 10, which can save hundreds if you are using large HD photos or videos. Shutterstock: Another popular name in ready-made images, you may already know Shutterstock from its watermark. Occasional users can take advantage of price breaks at 5 or 25, but regular users or companies prefer an ongoing subscription plan. Moose: Moose is a stock photography site operated by Icons8. The images are free for personal and commercial use as long as you link back to their websites. You can also purchase a license that does not require a link. However, since part of the appeal of stock images is that they are affordable, you may be better off downloading free stock images. Just be careful to follow the usage guide so that you don't accidentally violate the agreement. After finding a stock image site/database you like, you are ready to look for real photos. But first, one final piece of technical advice before you start! Make sure to double-check the status of your stock image to ensure that using it is harmless. You want to verify two main points:- Check the license agreement. If you are planning to take photos or even use them commercially, you must make sure that it complies with the license. Some jobs are different from others, and when it comes to legal damages, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
- Do a reverse image search to see who else is using the image. The problem with stock images is that anyone can use them. Unless you have purchased exclusive rights to an image, do a reverse image search to see who else is using the same photo.
2 important tips for using stock images
Making stock images work for you is easier than it looks, but there are a few basic tips that will guarantee a quality product. 1. Mix your stock photos with custom photos so that they all appear custom (e.g., avoid using stock photos for every photo) Stock photos are like a powerful spice: the best are seasoned along with the best, but if they use too much at once, it becomes the only thing everyone tastes (or sees). Stock images work best when interspersed with custom images to create a balance between authenticity and price. Photo montages are the best way to incorporate stock photos into your own, as long as you do them right. Here are a few tips:- Use custom photos for your primary image and stock photos for secondary photos. Eye-catching custom photos at the front create a pattern that suggests the photos below are also custom. For web design, this works particularly well in photo carousels.
- Add text to your photos like the clothing retailers above you. Free, easy, and always custom, easy text is a smart alternative to real photos.
- Display your logo mostly on custom photos to prove they are not stock. You can even manually add your logo to stock photos, but explain it later.
- Combine all photos with a visual theme. This can be a dominant color or something more abstract like smiling people. While custom themes are easier to create with your own photos, you can also filter stock image results when searching to see what fits your model.
The Fog Seller's "custom" cover is actually three combined stock photos. Does this make it more authentic or less so? By Proi.[/caption]
If you know your way around image editing software, you can handle these changes yourself by following our photo editing guide. If you don't have a tool to grasp Photoshop, consider hiring a professional. Getting a designer's help is like a shortcut for creating custom imagery without a photographer, but it still takes time and effort. Depending on what kind of project you are doing (poster, website, etc.), you can even hire a designer to handle everything for you.
