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Online Marketing

Things to Consider

When Using Stock Photography

By Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk

A

picture is worth a thousand words. We’ve all heard any photo you might want. As veterans of marketing, we have a

and probably used this adage. In many cases, this is few tips that might just help you make the impression you want

absolutely true. Photos can communicate messages and communicate the right 1000 words worth of information.

and feelings in a way that words can’t. I can sit here all day and You get what you pay for. Yes, there are quite a few free stock

describe a sunset to you, but with one well-shot photo, you photography websites out there and some of their images aren’t

immediately see what I’ve been yammering on about.
bad. here are even more reasonably priced sites that have more

However, I’m also here to point out that some photos aren’t selection and higher quality images. hen there are the really great

even worth a single word, and in some cases, they aren’t worth sites that have incredibly composed images taken by photographers

the change you ind in your couch cushions. A stock image of that really know their stuf. here is a time and a place for all of these

disembodied hands shaking or puzzle pieces coming together fall options. For something like a blog post, the free or inexpensive

into this category for me.
photos are a great option. he shelf life of a blog post is typically

With that admittedly rambling introduction, we’d like to share fairly short and you don’t necessarily want to spend a good deal of

our thoughts and a few tips for using photography on your site. your budget or time looking for images for that purpose. For your

In most cases, we recommend that you have a professional take website or other online communications, we recommend you stick

real photos of your real staf so when people visit your site or to the mid or high range of images. You don’t want to have the

pick up your brochure they see a proper representation of your same image as your competitor down the street or the billboard

business. It is nearly always the best way to go. But in some cases, selling Viagra, and I’ve seen both happen. Finally, for anything that

quality stock photography can be a good second option. It’s will be printed, go with higher quality images and make sure you

readily available and a well-phrased search can turn up nearly
purchase them in a size that will reproduce properly. Photos that

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