Choosing the Perfect Stock Images for Your Website
Blog / Article
So you’re thinking about starting a website or re-vamping the one you already have? How do you choose images that not only fit your brand aesthetic but also appeal to your industry? Finding images for your website is not just a simple Google search and download. In fact, designers can spend hours searching for images that correlate perfectly with the project they are working on. Here are a few things to consider when choosing images for your own website:
Maintaining a Consistent Color Palette
It’s important that the photos you chose follow a consistent color palette, this is when your brand guidelines can come in handy. Remember, brand consistency is key to brand recognition. Look at your brand’s color palette and ask yourself, are these colors cool or warm? Search for images that reflect your brand’s warm or cool tones in order to create a clean and aesthetic look for your website.A. Calvin Design is excited to celebrate over half a decade of helping our clients embrace and promote their businesses with confidence. We’ve grown from a solo freelancing venture into a boutique agency with a core team of freelancers collaborating on identity design, website design, animation, illustration, and graphic design projects. We’ve had the pleasure to design for translators, interpreters, photographers, actors, non-profit organizations, and even dog trainers!
Keeping It Relevant
No matter what industry you’re in, it’s important that the images you select are relevant to your services or products. You’ll want to search for images that correlate directly or indirectly to your business. A photo depicting someone with papers and a red pen is an example of a direct representation of editing. Whereas a picture of a keyboard, pen, and paper is an indirect representation of editing services. Whether you prefer direct or indirect depictions, images like these can be the quickest way to reveal to your audience what you do.
Allow the Image to do the Talking
Did you know images exude powerful emotions that can make viewers feel a certain way? You can use this to your advantage when choosing photos for your website. If your company is very professional and serious then it is important to find images of people that set that tone. On the other hand, if your company is very bubbly and friendly you’ll want to include images of smiling people with bright tones of color. Be very mindful of the emotions emitting from your photos. Are these emotions in line with your brand’s identity?
Resources for Finding Images
Not sure where to start looking for images? Well, google images should not be your first stop. Google Images will often display imagery that is subject to copyright and may open you up to a lawsuit if you decide to download and use it without an appropriate licensing agreement in place. Instead, we recommend these two amazing resources: Pexels and Unsplash. These two websites give you access to thousands of royalty-free images to scroll through and choose from all for free (that’s right, for free!). Looking for images that are less ubiquitous and feel more unique to you? You may want to explore some paid imagery options. Our favorite sources for paid images are: Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, and Getty Images.
Editing Images
So you found some images that are almost exactly what you are looking for but are missing one thing. Don’t freight, there are free resources available to you that offer retouching and filter options. A popular resource for making these edits is Canva. Canva allows you to alter your images in a variety of ways to get the right tone for your brand.
Not finding the perfect photos? We can help with that.