The value of on-brand photography

We’ve already looked into the best file format for images, so it was about time we tackled Stock photography and how (and why) getting your own photos taken can be the difference between ‘A Website’ and ‘Your Website’. Of course, these points can be taken into many different aspects of your business, from printed collateral to social media posts.

Starter for ten - we’re caveating this entire blog with this: ‘I’m not saying you should never use stock photography’. It can be a really helpful resource, both in terms of paid-for stock photography and free stock photography, and there are plenty of reputable sites which can provide you with either.

Here are just a few of the sites the team has used in the past:

• Pexels
• Unsplash
• Shutterstock
• Adobe
• iStock
• Pixabay

Now, let’s look at the benefits of using both options, starting with Stock photography.

The benefits of using stock photography

Stock photography often gets a bad rep, but when used well and with purpose, it’s genuinely one of the quickest ways to make a website (or brochure, or campaign) feel polished.

Stock imagery can earn its place because it’s quick, cost-effective, and easy to use at scale, especially when you need to get a page live or a social campaign running and don’t have the time (or budget) to organise a photoshoot. It’s also great at filling the gaps, whether that’s seasonal content, industry ‘scene setting’, or something a little more abstract.

What to watch out for… stock is available to everyone. So if you’re not a little careful with your choices, you can end up looking a little like your competitors, and not standing out as an individual.

How to use stock photography without looking a little too much like everyone else

Stock photography works best when it supports the message you’re trying to portray, not when it’s the first thing people see and think “I’ve seen this before”.

To keep it feeling on-brand, focus on the feel of the image. Could it work alongside your existing branding? What does it say to the reader? Be consistent with your choices so your site looks joined-up. If an image feels like it could belong to anyone, it probably does.

And if you want to make stock feel more “yours”, pair it with your own brand elements - a consistent crop style, colour blocks, or a few illustrated details, so the overall look is recognisably on brand.

No shoot? No problem?

Illustration is where things can get really fun. It’s a chance to show a bit more personality, simplify complex ideas, and build a visual style that’s unmistakably yours - without solely relying on the same stock images everyone else is using.

Even small illustrated touches (icons, patterns, line drawings, little supporting graphics) used alongside or on top of stock photography can make any visual outputs feel more consistent, more considered, and much more like your brand.

The benefits of using your own photography

This is where things really start to feel like you.

Your own photography builds trust quickly, because it shows what’s actually behind the business… your people, your place, your product, your process. And for a lot of customers, that’s the reassurance they need, because at the end of the day, they’re not just buying what you do, they’re buying into who you are and potentially what it feels like to work with you, or buy from you.

It also tells your story pretty quickly. Before someone reads your headline, they’ve already picked up cues about your quality, your personality, your attention to detail, and whether you ‘feel like’ the right fit. That’s really hard to replicate with generic visuals, especially in the world of AI, when so much content online looks polished, but not particularly real.

When your photos are planned with your branding in mind, they’ll work harder for you. You can shoot in a way that complements your brand’s colour palette, gives you the right crops for your website layouts, and creates a consistent look with everything from your social media channels to your website and newsletters.

The bonus here really is that you don’t just get a few images for one page, but you get a bank of imagery you can use across everything.

If you’re going to take one thing from this, make it this: do a quick scroll of your own website and ask, ‘Does this look and feel like us?’ If the answer’s a bit ‘meh’ across the board, commissioning an intentional set of visuals could be the answer.

That could be curating stock a little more carefully, bringing in illustration to add personality and consistency, or building up your own photography over time. Start small, keep it joined-up, and you’ll very quickly feel the difference.

Think of it as adding a lil somethin’ somethin’ to your brand.