I was asked by a client recently to seek out new stock images to “spruce up” their website. The branding brain kicked in and so I asked

“What do you want the website to say about your company?”

 

It’s all about the imagery! Well it is for me anyway. It’s so pretty!

I received the list of keywords to describe what they wanted to portray. Business, calmness, feelings/emotions, direction, leadership, team spirit.

Now they immediately conjure up images in the ol’ thinker, but what if you’re wanting more ideas or any (sometimes the thinking machine gets tired and stops working as well).

What do you do!?!

Do you tell the client to see someone else?

Well obviously no, because guess what! We live in the wonderful age of Google (shortening discussions in the pub since 1998, yes that’s right it’s been going that long). We can now type in words like “Business” into the image search and Google cleverly brings up a wealth of shaking hands, severe looking buildings and charts showing profit. Of course these are all business related but are they related to your business? Are you going to stand out from the crowd with these standard images? Or are they going to go to the next company that uses pictures of less severe buildings and charts showing bigger profit.

 

This is where stock footage websites come in. This isn’t one of those posts where you get a list of “25 awesome stock websites!”. I use 3 websites commonly and would like to share them with you, because they’re great!

 

1. Unsplash (Free)

Absolutely stunning images and completely free. It’s handy having the option to not attribute credit to the artist. As nice as it would be to do that everytime, sometimes, in commercial projects it isn’t feasible. Also if you’re struggling for ideas its search feature helps you out with a variety of ideas you may not have thought of.

 

 

2. Pixabay (Free)

Again lovely photographs but also a great selection of vector images. These are always handy for infographics, logo starting points and sprucing up reports. You have to be careful not to go into the dreaded clipart territory but hey each to their own! They also have a limited stock video selection too.

 

 

3. Dreamstime (Paid)

If you’re wanting something a bit special for your client but don’t want to break the bank this is perfect. With a very reasonable subscription price and photographs that are a bit different you’re sure to find something to wow the client! They also have video, audio and public domain images.

 

 

There are plenty more out there which are fantastic. But as a starting point these are top bananas! Good luck on your hunt for the perfect imagery or just enjoy looking at the vast amount of talent and beauty out there. Or you could just contact us to do it for you…

 

 

 

 

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