Trend: Stock Photography

Whether you like using stock photos or not, their usage on websites, applications, and even print has been around for quite a long time. Personally my opinion changes as often as Russ Wilson gets his haircut (he’s a fancy man so that’s pretty much every other week or so). Ideally I think it’s best to hire a professional photographer with a nice camera, awesome lighting kit, and the skills to make even the most heinously grotesque person like myself look good – as long as you have access to the Scrooge Mcduck money bin to pay them their rightfully justified “expensive” fees. I do think stock photography allows you to quickly add professional looking images with somewhat of a limited budget. However, it is extremely easy to settle on tired overused somewhat ambiguous images (cliche handshakes, “strategizing” business people and towering skyscrapers) or even worse, duplicates of the same picture or people on different (potentially competitor) company branded information. See below!

Mom and son for Sheraton Same mom and son getting "in>volved" for Bristol-Myers Squibb
Look it’s us again plugging MetLife! Yet again in the Stages (Fidelity Insurance) magazine.

FYI: The lesson here is if you use stock photos make sure and include the lucky mom with curly hair and the kid with the orange shirt and you will make millions!

*Kudos to MultiCultClassics Blog for the images above.