One of the biggest areas where our clients struggle is with photo selection. It happens to the best of us—consider this low-stakes scenario:
You’re pulling together your annual holiday card and you’ve finally settled on a picture where your whole family is miraculously looking at the camera. You then realize the picture’s not the right orientation for your preferred card template, the cropping is off, or there are words covering little Sally’s face. Annoying, right? Any one or combination of these issues could throw a wrench in your design.
While AI is changing the way we do things, you need to know how to interact with AI to get the best output. The stakes tend to be higher when there’s business involved– whether you’re planning to launch a new website, issue an annual report, or create a new brochure, photo selection should be top of mind for your project. The problem is that it’s often underestimated and overlooked, causing your materials to miss the mark.
Stock photography is a common cost-effective approach to filling visual gaps in content, but the problem is that stock photography often looks like…stock photography. And so even when clients prefer to use stock photography, they don’t want it to feel so obviously generic or staged.
The fact is, photos aren’t just about aesthetics. You can have fantastic photos—but that doesn’t mean they’ll work well in your marketing materials. Photos are meant to complement and enhance your other content. Pictures are just part of your design, and when they are thoughtfully selected, they amplify the overall message. But when photos are selected as an afterthought—or worse, with no mind paid to them at all—it weakens the output.
If you feel in the dark about photo selection, these eight tips will help you get the picture:
- Choose relevant imagery. If the photo is unrelated to your overall message or inconsistent with your brand personality, leave it out.
- Grab attention (in a good way!). Avoid images that might distract or confuse the user. Focus instead on clear, compelling photos that create an emotional connection.
- Know your target audience. Think about what type of imagery might resonate with them. Incorporating diversity to reflect accurate representation will help with engagement.
- Consider where and how the photo will be used. Is it for a banner ad? A blog article? A social media post? You’ll want consistency within any particular media type. Additionally, you don’t want an image to appear distorted, so size and format should be optimized appropriately for the platform. Depending on the application (e.g. on social media, in banners, and/or in emails), the cropping should be intentional to maximize visual effect.
- Right-size the resolution. Everyone notices low-quality, blurry images. High-quality images cropped in the proper orientation are critical to convey professionalism.
- Think about how the image will interact with text. If text overlays the visual, it should not cover busy or important imagery. After all, if a picture says a thousand words, why are you covering it up with more words? Any text should be thoughtfully placed so as not to interfere with the imagery, and there should be enough color contrast for the message to be legible. If the image has variable coloring, then any text overlay will be challenging to read.
- Quality rules over quantity. Real estate is limited, so make sure each image adds value and visual interest, and you’re not simply repeating the same message. Too many photos can be a barrier to digital content, especially if page load times increase.
- Be picky about stock photos. Generic stock photos can be stinky without expert attention to detail for curated selection or customization. A designer can layer branded elements on top of stock photos to make them feel more custom.
Selecting the right images can be a complex task with so many factors involved, but it’s worth the time and effort to help you frame your marketing assets in the best light. If you need guidance to better align your visuals with your messaging, we can help you focus in the right way. Let’s connect!
