Stock Up: How (and when) to use Stock Photography

Swap old, pixelated pictures for high-quality (even free) stock photos. I sometimes wonder if our clients think we’re photography grinches.

So often we’ll be sent old, grainy, low-res photos to use on the homepage. We tell them no, it won’t work. They ask why not.

If this has happened to you, we’re sorry. It’s not because we like to be killjoys. It’s because there are certain best practices - and laws - photos must follow to be on your website. So if you send us a picture that’s too small, too pixelated, or not your property, we will say no because we want to make sure you look good online!

What size/resolution do websites require?

Our rule of thumb is: the bigger the better! You can always shrink a photo, but you can’t make it bigger without making it look awful. Here’s what we advise:

• If you want the photo to take up the width of the screen on desktop, it should be at least 1920 pixels wide.

• If you want the image to take up the whole screen it needs to be at least 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels tall.

• If you have the original files or photographs from your camera - that’s the biggest version of the image you can get - that’s usually your best bet!

• For web, 72 DPI will be fine. For print, 300 DPI is recommended.

To check the size of an image, right click on the image and select “Properties.” The click the “Details” tab and scroll to the Image section. You’ll see Dimensions and Resolution.

If you’re having trouble finding good, high quality photos to use on your website or marketing, here’s the answer: stock photos.

While stock photos often get a bad rap for being generic, you’d be amazed at how many of the beautiful, unique photos you see online are actually stock. Stock photos are taken by professional photographers with professional-grade equipment, and are available in web-friendly formats. What’s not to love?

Paid Stock Photos

If you can dedicate $3-33 per photo, you’ll get access to perfect, high-quality photos. Search for anything (seriously, anything) and you’ll be able to find a large, high-resolution photo (or hundreds to choose from).

Use paid stock when you’re looking for something really specific, really perfect, or you don’t want to see it being used on many other sites. Our favorite paid stock sites include:

Adobe Stock
iStock
Shutterstock

Free Stock Photos

We often start our website builds using free stock. Free stock photos are high quality, full resolution… but don’t cost a cent. There are thousands of free photos of houses, living rooms, bedrooms, backyards, etc. that might be perfect for your website or graphic design project. They’re also a great go-to if you just need a placeholder image.

Free stock photos rarely include people, though, so you sacrifice the personal feel. And they tend to be pretty simple. You might not find exactly the right photo from the right angle with the right season… but you’ll probably find something close. Also be aware that you’re more likely to see a free stock photo on multiple sites than a paid stock photo.

Here are the free stock sites we love:
Pixabay
Pexels
Unsplash

Heads up: make sure the photo you choose says “no attribution required.” Otherwise, you will be required to credit the photographer on your website.

Free-to-use Images on Google

Google has a filter to let you see images labeled with different usage rights, including “free to use commercially.” Here’s how:

• Go to Advanced Image Search for images.

• In the "all these words" box, type what you want to search.

• In the "Usage rights" section, use the drop-down to “free to use or share, even commercially.” You can also select, “free to use, share or modify, even commercially” if you plan to personalize the image, although this will return fewer results.

Before using an image, make sure that the license is legitimate by contacting the author/owner. They may ask that you give attribution to them on your site in exchange for using the image.

DO NOT USE these image types on your website or marketing

Images you don’t have explicit rights to use

This applies to both photography and artwork/graphics. You could get sued! Unless you took the photo yourself or you actually see that it is labeled “Free For Commercial Reuse” you cannot use it.

If you’re friends with a photographer, you must ask them for usage rights (and get it in writing). 

They may ask for a fee or attribution in exchange for using their artwork.

Fair use does not apply to commercial use of copyrighted images, photos or graphics. It’s just safer to assume that every image you find is owned by someone with a legal team. And with so many free stock photos available, it’s much easier to search for beautiful, free stock images or take your own!

Photos of photos
More than likely, this will just look bad. You’ll have glare and shadows and people will know it’s a photo of a photo. If you need to use a vintage photo, scan it instead (although it may still be pixelated).

Cellphone photos
These are usually fine if you are using the photo for a blog image or a small side-page image. But cellphone photos will be too small to use if a) you have an older camera phone or b) you’re trying to use it for a large homepage hero image.

Stock photos that misrepresent your listings or community
Of course you shouldn’t use stock or borrowed photos on a listing. And don’t use photos in a way that could be interpreted as false advertising. Use your best judgement.

Bottom Line

For website and marketing use, photos and graphics must meet three criteria: size, quality, and rights. If they fail in any of those three areas, your online sense of professionalism may suffer. Let stock photography take the worry out of what you can, cannot, should or should not use on your website or marketing.