Visual additions to a web site or blog helps make it more interesting and attention-grabbing. Adding stock photos on your site can improve its visual impact, making it more enticing to read. But placing stock photos on your web site is not as straightforward as one may think. In fact, most web site owners or bloggers often commit mistakes when using stock photos on their web sites.
Below are some of the more common mistakes that people commit when using stock photos:
Cliché images
Probably the most common mistake when using stock photos are using images that are so obvious that it is already considered a cliché. For example, using a photo of a couple embracing to as an illustration on an article on love, or using the photo of two hands shaking to show friendship. These are considered very generic photos that will only make an interesting article look dull instead.
Try to use more interesting images by getting into the meat of the article and then getting the appropriate image or stock photo that will be a good illustration but not be so obvious.
Photos that do not relate to the content
You may be trying to avoid using cliché images but if your photo’s connection to the article is so obscure only you can make the connection then you’ve failed. This is a common mistake when using business and finance stock images because this is a topic that is not based on concrete and tangible things. Business and finance are generally ideas, thus using good and appropriate images can be tricky. If you’re planning on using photos for topics like finance, use a service that specializes on this topic so you can get more accurate image ideas. For example, Depositphotos stock images are a great resource for business and finance images.
Outdated photos
Yes, photos can get dated and you may not realize it. For example, there are certain vector graphics techniques or methods that were popular at some point in the past that will now look very old when used today. Using outdated images will only make your web site or article look older than it is. People may think that the ideas or information in that article are not relevant anymore.
Low resolution images
Using stock photos can be an expensive proposition. The licenses to use stock photos can cost a lot of money. Some people go around this problem by buying low resolution images, which are cheaper than their high resolution counterparts. But this solution is not really a good idea. A low resolution image will have limitations in the maximum size you could blow it up. If your plan is to use the stock photo for a large area, expanding a low resolution photo will only make it look horribly pixelated. If a photo you want is too expensive and you need a large photo for your article, do the next best thing – look for another photo. Stock photos have different prices so you can just look for a more affordable alternative.
Sloppy cropping
Stock photos are not shot to fit the exact space you’ve allotted for a photo on your web site. In order to make a stock photo fit, you’ll have to crop it. But sometimes, a photo is cropped without looking closely at how the final cropped image will look, resulting in a badly cropped photo that has an awkward composition. When cropping a photo don’t just worry about size, make sure that you compose the cropping so that the final photo actually makes sense. If you can’t make it work find another photo where you can crop with sense.
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