I think it’s time we talked about stock imagery. Imagery is a true opportunity to define a professional services visual identity. But so many firms fail to grasp its power. Instead, they settle for photography that feels comfortable and familiar.
That means most firms choose not to differentiate themselves visually. They choose to blend in.
And that’s just not smart marketing.
We are highly visual creatures. The picture superiority effect, a well-studied psychological phenomenon, demonstrates that people are more likely to recognize and recall pictures than words. And they do it faster.
But if the pictures you associate with your firm are little different from those your competitors use, there is more room for confusion—and forgetting.
The fault isn’t all on the firms. Finding photos that are both differentiated and relevant isn’t easy. And stock photo services sometimes compound the problem. As a proxy for whatever business problem you may solve, I searched our Getty Images account for the term “business performance.” Here’s a representative sample of what I got:
The first thing I noticed is that most of the images are blue. Blue-toned imagery is endemic on business websites. There is also a lot of Minority Report-style projection magic going on, with fingers, hands and styluses hocus-pocusing fantastical charts. In one image, two people high-five at a conference table. Almost every image feels stale, awkward or cliché.
This is not to say that stock agencies like Getty don’t have great images. They do. But you sometimes have to use a little imagination to find something that will capture attention (more on this in a moment).
Capture attention. That’s the primary goal of imagery. It’s really that simple.
But many marketers have a different idea. They approach image search with a set of fuzzy, unstated goals. Often, they hope to find an image that will literally represent the topic or theme. If that doesn’t work, it should at least convey the vibe of the topic. But it can’t be too “out there” or it might invite uncomfortable questions from leadership. They find themselves on a quest for the perfect image with only the vaguest understanding of what they are looking for and a lot of uncertainty. That’s a tough mission. And what they end up with often feels like a disappointing compromise.
Now, I have no problem with images that address a topic directly or express a vibe. But keep in mind the main objective is to capture people’s attention so you can pull them into the text on the page.
That means your imagery has to be different from what’s on your competitors’ websites and marketing materials. Like all branding decisions, image direction rolls down from the top. Leadership needs to understand that to stand out means to be a little unconventional or uncomfortable. You don’t have to be weird or controversial. You just have to be different enough.
Here are a few tips to pick better imagery:
- Seek out colorful photos. Color is the key to successful photography. Look for vibrant hues and rich, saturated images, if that look fits your brand. You can even search for images that contain your brand colors to create a cohesive look.
- Refine your search terms. To get past the most cliché images, try adding one or more of these terms to your search queries: “candid,” “natural light,” “reportage,” “shadow play,” “high contrast,” “mid-action,” “shallow depth of field,” “high angle,” “low angle,” “dramatic,” “motion blur,” “lens flare.” Be creative. Think up your own.
- Think conceptually. There are times when literally showing what you do just makes sense. If you design buildings, for instance, you want to show off your work. But if what you do is a bit abstract, you may be better served by looking for a metaphor that expresses some aspect of your business or positioning. For example, instead of showing a globe to represent your international reach, you might depict a closeup of a transaction in foreign currency at a street market.
- Go abstract. Avoid the headache of finding the perfect image for each situation and develop a library of complementary abstract images. As long as they are colorful and interesting, they will draw people’s eyes. (Bain & Company takes this approach.)
- Spend more on premium images. If you have a subscription to a stock agency you may not have free access to the entire collection. Budget for a few premium images and expand your search (or search on other stock sites) to get access to higher quality photos and illustrations.
- Try AI. In our experience, AI images are a bit of a crapshoot. Sometimes they produce exciting results, while other times you spin your wheels—and burn a lot of credits—and never get what you want. You can also use AI to modify existing images (check your image license first). Keep in mind that you can’t own the copyright to most AI-generated images.
- Use illustration. Illustration, once a common approach to brand imagery, has largely gone out of fashion. That means it represents an opportunity to do something different. The gold standard is to work with an illustrator who can carry a consistent style through your pieces, but a great deal of strong stock illustration is available online, too.
- Invest in custom photography. If you want to feature your people and locations, nothing beats hiring a professional photographer. If you have multiple locations, the investment can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars. But the value of beautifully showcasing real employees in their workplace is incalculable in industries where trust and personal connections matter.
- Don’t use images at all. A handful of professional services brands avoid images altogether, which certainly simplifies the issue. (See an example here.) Instead, they rely heavily on typography and color to define their brand identities. This approach is rare, so it is a real opportunity to differentiate your firm. The tradeoff, of course, is that you lose the psychological advantages of imagery.
With apologies to the Beatles, in the end, the images you choose are equal to the brand image you make.
