17. How to choose the best stock photos for my brand
Choose your stock photos
Stock photos, everyone uses them, let’s be honest, I use them too! Sparingly that is!
Although it is proven that images showing YOU as the face of your BRAND are indispensable to develop the KNOW-LIKE-TRUST factor needed to convert fans into clients, it is from time to time necessary to have a mix of other generic photos on your feed.
I still prefer to use photos I have taken myself where I can include my own elements and make them my own and on-brand, however, I recognize that not everyone can do that or can afford it.
So, how to choose images that give you visual consistency and keep you on brand?
Here are a few steps I suggest you follow:
Create a mood board using your brand colors to start with. If you don’t have any yet, check out point 4.
2. Add images that relate to your business, for example, if you are a yoga teacher, it could be a yoga mat, meditation pillow, yoga block, etc.. If you are a nutritionist, it could be vegetables, fruits, a scale, kitchen utensils, cooking recipes, and so on. If you are an artist, it would be paint materials, brushes, you get it!
3. Now add images that represent or relate to your brand, in a more intangible way, in my case, for example, I use a lot of elements of nature, others might use mountains or an ocean theme.
4. If you don’t have yet a Branding Guide for your business, make sure to also include a color palette. Color is very important to keep your branding consistent and recognizable.
My favorite tool is Adobe Color to extract colors from a photo that you particularly like and create color palettes from it.
Now you have a good visual representation of what your news feed should look like.
This is your guideline to choose other images when you need to use stock photos to use online for your Social Media or Website.
Make sure they are visually appealing, harmonize with each other, are relevant to your brand, and have good quality.
WORD OF CAUTION: use only images for which you have the rights or license for. Even when you download them from the internet as “license-free” make sure to read the requirements and conditions for using them. Sometimes it is license-free but only for personal use.
When you reach a certain level in your business in which you want to stay TOP OF MIND and DIFFERENTIATE from the competition and show up with PROFESSIONALITY you will want to invest in creating content that is unique to you. But in the meantime, I hope this guideline can help.
If you want to learn to create your own, unique BRANDED STOCK PHOTOS, with only your phone, join the waiting list for my SMARTPHONE PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE FOR SOLOPRENEURS
Hi! I’m Blanca!
I’m a Brand Photographer and Personal Branding Coach, helping female entrepreneurs to create a Personal Brand online that STANDS OUT.
I bring your vision to life, help you come up with one and take you by the hand into the online World if you need me to.