BY ALLISON LYLES

Imagine a woman—let’s call her Versa Tile—smiling brightly, dressed in business casual, possibly sitting at a desk. She may sound like an everywoman because she IS every woman: according to marketing campaigns across the internet, she’s a payor in healthcare, she’s a customer service rep, she’s in the process of earning some sort of professional certificate, and probably much more. 

Working in graphic design, we’re almost as familiar with stock photo models as we are with close colleagues. We see them everywhere and, eventually, so do consumers. In an increasingly digital world, our reliance on stock photos continues to grow, and for good reason. They’re inexpensive, easily accessible, and efficient, meaning that with the click of a button, we can instantly give a human face to our campaigns.

The market for stock photography is projected to double in size in the next decade. But while we’re buying up more and more imagery, we’re doing so from the same two or three libraries. Additionally, there can be a host of issues concerning a lack of diversity from a DEI perspective (or the awkward forced diversity of, say, a college brochure), hokey scenes, and a lack of visual variety.

To address some of these challenges, the digital design pendulum has swung from a dependence on stock photography to whimsical illustration. Illustrations provide freedom from the constraints of real-life photos. However, widely used illustrations present issues similar to those experienced with stock photos: a lack of ownability or meaning. Additionally, eye-tracking studies have found that users pay more attention to photos of real people than they do decorative, feel-good imagery. We all want this human touch in our brand, but we don’t always have the budget or time required for custom photography. Do we give up? No! We forge ahead with a new strategy and new tools.

Consistency Is Key

Just like any other element of your brand—logo, colors, typography—style and consistency are key in terms of choosing photography. Codifying style guidelines for stock photo selection allow photos to feel cohesive and branded. We can also use these guardrails when weaving original photography into our corporate libraries. When crafting these guidelines, consider the following:

Framing: Are subjects in the photo closely cropped, or is the photo zoomed out to showcase the environment or context as well? 

Subjects: Do the people in the photo look directly at the camera in the style of a portrait, or do they exist in the scene without acknowledging the camera? Are the subjects aspirational or realistic?

Level of realism: Are the images you employ of a real-life scene or place, or is your brand more whimsical or conceptual?

Color and tone: Are the colors and tones in the photos you use warmer or cooler?

Determining these guidelines will empower anyone on your team to search for and select marketing images that feel purposeful.

Customize to Build an Ownable Visual Identity

Establishing and following style guidelines for photo selection aids the buildout of a photo library. As we’ve established, though, we’re often pulling photos from the same two or three stock photo companies. Creating a more ownable visual library requires a bit more care.

Before we even get to customization, it’s a good idea to see just how frequently our favored images are already being used. Nothing squashes the idea that “we’re different from all the rest” than a stock photo that is identical to that of all your competitors. Tools like Google Image and TinEye Reverse Image Search show where and how often a photo appears online. If the internet is littered with “Call center agent using her laptop and headset in the office,” try another option.

Once you’ve collected a cache of vetted photos, there are endless ways to give them a more custom, branded feel. Two of our favorite are color overlays and graphic flourishes. These are relatively easy to execute, and they provide a big payoff.

Color overlays: Utilizing brand colors with overlays is just like adding a color filter to the photo. It instantly feels a little more unique.

Graphic motifs: Perhaps your brand has a distinct icon style or a graphic pattern. Look for ways to marry these elements with your stock photography. This could look like cutting subjects out of the original photos and framing them with graphic patterns, or cropping the photos in a stylized way. The photos will stand out in the market and feel more integrated with the rest of your branding.

What About AI-Generated Images?

While we’ve all witnessed ChatGPT blunders, AI image generators are tools to consider for singular imagery. Whether you need a simple photo that hasn’t been seen a thousand times before or you work in an industry that is underrepresented in stock photography, text-to-image tools can quickly provide endless image options for a relatively low cost. The key to using AI image generators effectively is to write clear and specific prompts, often using style guideline adjectives like those mentioned above. AI can generate anything from illustrations to photorealistic images.

The important thing to remember when using these generators is that AI isn’t perfect. Obvious blunders like ill-formed hands are easy to spot. There is also room for bias. The data that AI is trained with contains existing societal bias. The result is images that reflect this bias back. For example, HubSpot suggests that an AI image generator might create a photo of a White man if asked for a photo of a CEO due to the historical underrepresentation of other genders and ethnicities in this position. As we generate images, we should be on the lookout for assumptions made in the creation process. The internet is full of all kinds of ideas that could inform image creation, and not always for the better. 

As marketers, we understand the need for a unique, human touch in branding. While stock photography is sometimes our only resource, we don’t have to fall into the trap of sameness. Keep the tools of style and creativity at the ready.