Stock imagery can be useful when you’re building a website, making social posts or putting together a presentation and don’t have your own photography ready. You can find images of people, places, materials and everyday moments without organising a shoot for everything you make.
The main thing is choosing images that work together and suit your brand. Your Branana colours, fonts and overall style give you a starting point, so you have something to guide the search beyond whether you like a particular photo.
Before browsing, think about how you want the imagery to feel. A calm, grounded brand might suit natural light, soft colours and everyday settings. A bold, energetic brand might work better with stronger contrast, movement and closer crops.
You don’t need every photo to contain your exact brand colours. Look at the overall colour, lighting and mood, then consider how the image sits beside your logo and typography. A photo can work beautifully on its own and still feel out of place on your website.
It helps to make your searches more specific. Instead of searching for “coffee”, try “hands making coffee natural light” or “coffee cup colourful background”. Include details about the setting, activity or feeling you’re looking for, then adjust your search as you find things that feel right.
Unsplash and Pexels offer free stock imagery, while Adobe Stock is another option with different licences depending on how you plan to use an image.
Start by saving a small shortlist and viewing the images together. Look for similar lighting, colour and levels of detail. If one photo is soft and natural, another is heavily filtered and a third looks like a corporate advertisement, they may feel disconnected even if they all show the right subject.
When you find a photo you like, look at other images by the same photographer or from the same shoot. This can help you find a useful set with a consistent feel.
Think about what the images suggest about your business too. Choose people, settings and activities that make sense for your audience. Use your own photography when you need to show your actual products, team, premises or completed work, so customers can see what they’re getting.
Try each image in the layout before committing to it. A wide website banner needs a different crop from a vertical story, and a photo with lots happening in the background may make text difficult to read. Check that the subject still works when cropped and that the file is large enough for the finished size.
Before downloading or buying, check the licence for the particular image and intended use. Free images still have conditions, and paid images can have restrictions too. For example, Adobe Stock images marked “Editorial Use Only” have restrictions that prevent ordinary advertising and promotional use. Merchandise can also require a different licence from website use.
Keep the original image, its source link and any licence or purchase details together. Once you have a few images that work well, save them in a shared folder with a short note about the style you’re looking for. That gives you and anyone helping you a clearer starting point next time.
