Stock photos are basically an Internet scam. You can tell this because it is so difficult to find articles on how much a scam they are, and there are so many things wrong once a little analysis is done.
The basic idea is not a bad one, save money and time on creating images for use in websites and marketing collateral. The outcomes are horrible.
- Note: we do this too by using CC-licensed images from Flickr, but we are not using this for branding but for the random image use fun factor.
They are Actually Ignored by Users
They are ignored by users, eye-tracking studies show. This means that they are a waste of bandwidth and cause meaningless clutter on a website.
They do not Communicate the Brand
The thing that makes stock photos good (lack of context, essentially no strong meaning) are the thing that makes that weak. They essentially do not communicate a brand or an offering except in the most generic way. Worse, your customers could swipe the photos (or pay a small fee) and use them for themselves, doh! This is clearly a high risk area, where an organization does not even own its own brand visuals.
- See More articles on Stock Photos from Rich Quindry.
They are Inauthentic in the Age of the Internet
Trends on the Internet are for transparency and authenticity. Having images which are highly unlikely to be realistic simply engenders some mistrust in communication with the organization which uses this kind of messaging.
They are Ubiquitous
The bad thing about stock photos also happens to be the good thing. They are used by many, many organizations. This is an actual opportunity to differentiate from those organizations and show what you really are about. The real you.
They are Awesomely Bad
Even Maddox takes a swipe at stock photos.
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