Nonprofits: Stock Photography
As a small business or nonprofit organization serving conscious consumers, budgeting can be a quick and frequent challenge. However, there are many resources available to help you. The challenge is finding what all is out there. Understanding how to use stock photography will help you to optimize your impact, serve the world better and make positive change. Through The Good Camp’s nonprofit series, we hope to share some resources and advice that will allow you to do more – starting with stock photography!
Stock, But Unique
We’ve all seen stock photography one place or another, whether on a website or in a photo frame at a store. What do you first think when you hear those words? I wouldn’t be surprised if cheesy, traditional or dramatic are the words on your mind. That said, in my professional experience I’ve learned stock photography can be anything but – it just needs to be used correctly.
Images connect the dots in stories and help audiences to relate and react to the information you’re sharing. They’re an essential part and as such photos must be selected with care. Like anything on your website, in your materials or representing your organization, be sure that images represent your brand and communicate a consistent message.
Photography can be a large business expense in terms of time and money. Fortunately, many stock photos are available with every type of content for free or low expense. The trick is to make sure they align with one another and any other images you have. Do not select an image only because it relates to text if it is not aligned with the rest of your style. Your stock images must be cohesive and compliment, you don’t want them to stand out in a bad way. That said, use your computer’s built-in photo editing software or tools like the Adobe Suite to adjust colors and lighting. Check out this group of photos I curated from Unsplash as a sample:
Curating An Image
Curate a collection of photos that looks like they were from similar shoots. They should be shot in the same style. To cultivate this, create a list of brand and photo style traits and make sure those items are met in all images you select. If you’re looking for a photo and can’t find a match but see something else that looks like your organization, download it and save it for later.
Here are a few traits to consider:
Light - Do brighter or darker photos better serve your brand?
Colors - Are there any brand colors you want to see in every photo? Do you want hot or cool overtones?
Detail - Are up close or distance shots a better match for your organization? Will you look for effects like blurs or vignettes?
People - Who are your clients and are they reflected in your images?
Theme - What emotion, energy or message do you hope to convey through your brand? Are your photos clean? Aspirational? Modern?
For more inspiration in setting your image style traits, look at photo editing elements. Any way you can change an image or style is likely something you could specify in search. Images you choose to include should be consistent across these traits, however, like I said, your stock photo is not the end. Especially when using free photos as a creator you have the ability to edit the light, style images or even add consistent filters. This is another way to provide a consistent look across your brand.
Selecting The Best
As always, you want to select images that compliment your text. What’s the best way to do that? First, read the text and pay attention to what you picture in your mind. What you want to show with your words should be manifested in the actual visual. Second, look for keywords in your article. For reader or audience comprehension, the words and images you use must work together. Images should be natural and expected based on the story surrounding. Also, for SEO, image titles and descriptions that relate to keywords will serve you well. The more authentic and organic, the better.
When I’m looking for an image to add to a blog post, I follow these two steps and brainstorm a list of 3-5 potential words to search for images on. You can always add more to start, too. With these terms in mind, I visit at least one stock image collection and start looking for the perfect match.
Source: Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash
Where To Search
Here are my three favorite (and free) stock image sources:
Unsplash: Photos for everyone from creators everywhere, Unsplash is a great resource with search tools and easily navigable categories to start your photo exploration.
Pexels: Pexels offers excellent free stock photos and videos. Whether you search on the home page or dive into the “discover” section, there will be something for you.
Pixabay: For free and royalty-free stock photos, illustrations, vectors, videos and music, Pixabay has millions of options to explore.
You might see some overlap in images as creators may publish to more than one platform. If you’re interested, you can share your photos on these platforms, too. While you may not see a return, it’s possible your brand or assets could get exposure through other people.
Pro Tip: In the business of making the world a better place, give some love to creators by including a source link or credit line if you use their image – even when it’s not required. It’s the little things that add up, but make it work with your design.
Last, if you use free design tools like Canva, you’ll have access to free stock photos, illustrations and icons through the design studio. You can easily add text overlays and filters through the app as well.
Picture Success
Stock photos are underrated and are incredible resources for your marketing, social media and other materials. The most engaging content has more than words alone so find the visuals that pop without breaking the bank. By curating a consistent and styled brand through your photos and icons, using smart search strategies and checking a variety of platforms, you’ll find your perfect image in no time.
If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about marketing or stock photography, contact our team! We love to educate and help conscious brands and nonprofits doing great work in the world.
