Ok! Ok! I know I’m the guy who said your images don’t sell.
And I still believe that. But I also think using images smarter can increase the visual aspects of your site without over-doing it.

Stock images are available everywhere shutter shock, stock photo, big stock photo, all provide stock images for use in web and print. And some stock images appear multiple times on each of these services. Available to everyone. So now the same guy with the blue polo smiling in an office is being used to promote toothpaste, a consulting firm, and treatment for warts.

I get it; not everyone is going to spend as much time surfing the web to notice it. But if this photo is generic enough to sell three different products or services, what impression do you think visitors now have about your business? Generic. Nothing exciting. The same as that other company.

Original photography will have a different effect. It not only says you care enough about your business to take actual photos and be transparent. It gives you a sense of realness, honesty, and uniqueness.

Using stock photos can also get just as expensive. Stock images come with usage rights and those cost money. For the exclusive use rights for stock photos, you might as well spring for an entire photo shoot with the precise images you need. Plus, you now OWN those pictures, meaning you’re free to use them any way you see fit.

At the end of the day, know your visitors are there for the content, not the images. However, original photographs showing what your company can do, or does can have a positive effect on perception. The perception is a more stable establish company. It gives a sense or feeling of friendliness and trust.

Here’s an example, I was searching the web for other design agencies. One company stood out with this novel site designed to look like a comic book. Now if I were in the business of comic books, this would be right up my ally. I’m not so, I search to see what else they can do. When I see the section ‘Meet The Team.’ I get some cool vector graphics of superheroes that may or may not be the actual team. My direct perception wasn’t that these guys where Superhero designers at all. I was that this was a big agency with tons of people working or outsourcing jobs. Not exactly the personal experience I was hoping to find.

Another example. I have a friend who owns a dental practice. He like many other businesses adopted the Carousel or Slider of Images for his Home Page. All three of the stock images used on his slider are images found on other dental websites. So can I trust that he does this type of work? He is my friend so of course I do, but what about people just stumbling onto his site looking for a first-time dental practice in the area? What is setting him apart from the rest?

Remember, design is about solutions. Images are about perception. Don’t let the images direct the design. Use them to enhance your understanding as trustworthy, unique and honest. Having original high-quality photography will do just that.