Stock Photos Don't Have to be Ugly and Costly

This post is to mainly let you know that I have an additional set of stock photos available in my Etsy shop. But I also wanted to take this moment to talk about using stock photography and the stigma around it.

I think stock photography has had a poor reputation for far too long. Look, I have preconceived notions about stock photography too. Stock photography I have seen in my lifetime is far too cheesy, not relatable, and frankly just unimaginative. Let’s use stock photography to make our Instagram feeds and blogs creative again.

I also think Instagram feeds and stock photos are going down a strange and trendy path where everyone is looking the same. White backgrounds, neutral or blush tones and pink everywhere! Why do we want to all look the same in business and personality? Let’s get creative, let’s get different and make whatever you use stock photography for stand out, especially for your business.
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The most common comment I get about stock photography is “stock for are ugly and I can never find anything decent.”

​Stock images traditionally are ugly, but usually the ugly stock photos belong to large stock photo websites. What most people don’t know is that Shutterstock and iStockphoto are not the only websites anymore to offer stock photography. Many photographers now offer their own membership sites or sell on markets on Etsy. Find out who these photographers are and use their stock directly from them.
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Often when you buy stock from individual photographers, the images are at affordable prices. You are also supporting a small business, which always is a good thing. So why is stock photography more affordable through small businesses? Stock photography with bigger companies has a higher overhead cost. Think about all the website maintenance, people they have to pay and photographers associated with larger companies. With small businesses, you don’t have to spend a fortune to use their stock images, plus individual photographers will have curated content. With larger websites, you must sift through the images to find images that play well together.

Speaking of curated content, buying stock from one particular photographer makes your visual brand look more cohesive. This is because that photographer has a specific style which shows up in their stock photos repeatedly. As stated above you don’t have to search a large website for images that feel cohesive. Most photographers/small business sell their photography as bundles, giving you full access to a group of photos for multiple posts on blogs, social media, etc.

Stock photography is not just for social feeds, websites and blogs. It also makes for great DIY projects too (check out the poster I made for my kitchen here using my herb stock photos). You can make these photos into affordable art prints, collages and more!
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So have I convinced you yet that stock photography isn’t all that bad. Save time coming up with content images by finding a photographer you like and buy their stock images. Get free ones (updated monthly, sometimes weekly) by joining my email list here. Or check out my Etsy shop for larger bundles to purchase.