Stock photography could be damaging your business !
It has been around for about 100 years and has been useful to many businesses in that time & remains so in many cases.
I worked on a picture desk for many magazines that use stock photography, especially if there was not a budget for a photoshoot or if they were doing a small article about a medical or nutritional matter for which a generic image could work. It was extremely useful in these circumstances, however compared to an original photograph, stock photography does not give a clear, authentic message about your brand.
Your audience who you want to turn into clients can easily spot stock photography they want to know about your business and the services you offer so a stock photo can't truly represent this.Stock photography will not tell the story about your brand, consistency in your visual message is key and when you are using stop photography that consistency cannot be maintained we'll stop.
Recently I was talking to a client and they mentioned a local competitor was using the same stock imagery as they were. immediately, I pointed out that their brands could get confused for one another and this is why it is so important not to use stock photography.
Original photography has over 35% more engagement than stock photography. On a shoot I have already discussed with my clients about the photography we will be taking on the day but there are always moments where I'm keeping my eyes peeled to see if I can shoot any extras that can be used to save them opting for a stock photo.
