I remember sitting at my computer, dreading what I was about to type into the computer. I had a feeling about what I was about to see, what the results page would look like, and I only hoped that no one in my office was paying attention.

“Children,” I typed. “Black,” I cringed. “Poor,” I held my breath–then I hit the enter key.

There they were, the horrible, terrible photos, and none of them were what I wanted. I needed inner-city kids that were a little rough around the edges. But, I got a 90s era Save the Children ad, complete with biting flies and teary eyes.

This was a complete stock photo search failure, and I should have known what I was walking into before hitting the enter key.

This monstrosity of a search should have been avoided. 

Searching for the right stock photos takes practice and a lot more effort than most people think. 

Here are my five tips for finding the right images.

1: Try NOT to use stock photos

It is a misconception to think that using stock images is the least expensive option for graphics and photography. It can actually be costly. Some stock images in a niche area can cost hundreds of dollars. It can also take a lot of time to find a quality stock image that is inexpensive, adding many hours to tight project budgets. 

Before choosing stock, you should assess whether it is the right choice. Many photographers offer packages with affordable costs making it the better option. Sometimes images are not needed. Always take a moment to access the best option.

Special Note: Using your own photos will almost always increase the legitimacy of your business and increase the trust your clients have in you.

2: Define what you want

It seems obvious, but I have seen too many people grab the first image in the search results regardless of if it helps support the purpose of the product. Always remember the image should help tell the story. It should either be replacing words or expanding upon them–if it isn’t doing anything, it shouldn’t be there. 

When using stock images is the right choice, it is crucial to have a clear idea of what you need and how it will be used.

• What size should it be? (landscape or portrait? Only look for photos once you know where you will put them.)
• Does it need people? (how many people?)
• What are they doing? (eating, running, playing with the dog)
• What emotion should they have? (Happy, sad, angry?)
• What is the most common word or phrase used to describe the thing you are looking for? (for the best results, avoid words like “revenue” or “income” and use direct words like “money” instead)
• Where is it? (Be careful of what is in the background. There are no palm trees in Michigan. Certain styles of architecture are a clear sign that an image is from halfway across the globe)

3: Use advanced search features

It is a total waste of your time to wade through piles of cruddy images that have nothing to do with what you need.

Most stock websites have advanced search tools that let you specify the orientation, media type, number of people, colors, and a whole lot more. 

One of the best tools is the “exclusion” or “do not include” tool. This is perfect when you are looking for a party but no kids or a beach with no palm trees. It saves tons of time by removing a common element, so you don’t have to do the sorting yourself.

4: Avoid Stereotypes 

Almost every designer cringes when stock photos are brought up in conversation. (Believe it or not, this does happen.) There is a reason for this. You know the image. The big smile, the perfect teeth, the uncanny valley of undead eyes staring into your soul–yes, that photo. You have seen that photo on billboards, on the sides of busses in ads and books; that photo is everywhere. That photo stars the same person who, just like Barbie, seems to have had every job on earth and never breaks a nail.

Almost everyone agrees that photo sucks. So, why does it get used so much? Why is it everywhere? Why do people keep buying it? Simple, It is easy.

These photos often reflect easy-to-understand stereotypes such as a doctor in a white lab coat standing with their arms crossed in a position of authority.  We look at that photo and instantly think “doctor” and “authority.” The problem is that most of these quick-read photos lack a feeling of authenticity. 

The lack of authenticity creates a major problem. When we look at these photos, we can lose trust. 

Often the most difficult task in looking for the right stock image is balancing the story we need to tell with a small amount of reality.

What to avoid:

• too big smiles in photos 
• photos with people looking directly into the camera
• unreal over the top expressions
• cliche images like the “hands teamwork” image
• stock photo models that are everywhere
• overly attractive people for the situation

5: Think Deeply About Your Audience

Not too long ago, I was having a discussion with one of my ‘rural’ Michigan clients. They had been working with a design team from a large city, in another state, halfway across the country, and every image the agency selected was a miss for the life and people of small-town Michigan.

They kept selecting images with high rises, subways, suits, and palm trees. Too many things that don’t exist in most of Michigan. 

They forgot one of the cardinal rules of design–you are not your audience.

No matter how perfect an image may ’fit’ the story you are telling, it will never be effective if it does not reflect the audience’s values.

We spent some time looking at photos they had taken of their clients at events and using the product. We found a funny little commonality between them. The men all wore flannel. Men in Michigan wear flannel.

When it came time to select stock photos for an upcoming campaign, we had a new rule. The men needed to be wearing flannel. It was not a literal rule, but it reflected the relaxed nature of their audience. We leaned more toward scruffy beards and casual clothes then put together clean-cut images. We even selected images with homes that didn’t feel over the top to better reflect the homes of real people who used their product.

We thought deeply and carefully about how we were crafting a story that reflected the lives of the people we were talking to. 

Selecting stock images is not as simple as typing a search word into a website and downloading the first image in the results. It takes careful curation and thought.

Using stock is an exercise in storytelling with images drawn from another person’s imagination. You must carefully knit them together into a new tale.

With a little effort and a lot of care, stock images can be used effectively to support powerful campaigns.