Tips for Choosing Imagery for Your Website
Choosing images for your website can be tricky. There are so many different images to choose from, especially if you are sourcing them from a stock photography website such as www.istockphoto.com.
Below are several questions to ask yourself when choosing photos for your website.
Are my images consistent?
Consistency is key! Try to pick images that will work well with your overall website branding and colour scheme. You also want to make sure you are choosing images that have consistent colours and photographic styles.
Is the image the proper orientation for the intended space it will be occupying?
Make sure to use a vertical photo (portrait orientation) to fill a vertical space page, and likewise, choose a horizontal photo (landscape orientation) to fill a horizontal space.
Do my images represent my intended audience?
Make sure to choose images that will speak to your intended audience/clients.
Do I want to use photographs or illustrations?
Many stock photo agencies also sell illustrations, which is sometimes a good direction to go if you don’t want to use actual photographs on your website.
Are my images going to be cut out and put on a different background?
If you are choosing images that are going to be cut out and put on a solid colour background it is often much easier to choose images that are shot on a pure white background to begin with. This will make it faster to change the background, and is more cost effective than cutting an image out of a very busy background.
If you are going to have a product image cut out and floated on your website, it is always best to choose a full image, and not a picture of say a cell phone with one side already cropped off of it.
Should I include a photo of myself on my website?
There are definitely a few schools of thought on this topic, but it’s mostly just personal preference. It also partly depends on what industry you are in. Some industries such as Realty practically require you to have your photo on your website. If you do choose to include a photo of yourself on your website just make sure that it portrays a professional image of yourself in a way you would want your clients to see you in.
Conclusion
Hopefully these few tips will help you when choosing website images. But when in doubt feel free to ask the advice of your web designer. They will have no problem letting you know if a photo is going to work well for your website, or maybe even suggesting a photo that may work better.