Stock Images
While not cheap, many companies utilize stock image websites to find clean, professional photos for their website or blog.
Pros:
- A professional takes each and every one with a high caliber camera and proper lighting.
- On each stock photo website, there are thousands of photos for you to choose from.
- Stock photo websites are very easy to use meaning you can spend more time writing compelling content and running your business and less time trying to find photos.
Cons:
- You do have to pay for stock images. Depending on the website, you either pay per image or you can get a monthly subscription.
- Stock photos can be very generic. Because they want each image to be used as frequently as possible, they try not to make them too specific.
- Utilizing images of perfectly polished strangers in your website and blog can seem a bit impersonal to your customers. This is especially true for small businesses.
- When you use stock images, you also run the risk of using an image that your customer base has seen before – exposing the fact that it’s a stock photo.
Free Images
If you want to get images offline but don’t have the cash, there are free images online that you can use.
Pros:
- Obviously, the biggest pro for this image finding method is that it is Free – which is great for smaller companies who don’t have the excess money necessary for stock image websites.
Cons:
- When you’re looking for photos online, they usually are lower quality than the images you can find on sites like Shutterstock.
- When you take an image, you often don’t know where it came from, therefore running the risk of Copyright infringement.
- In order to find quality photos that work with your site or blog topic, you usually need to spend more time looking.
Screen Shots

Taking screenshots is a quick, easy way to create informative, personal photos for your website or blog.
How to do it: To take a screenshot of your entire screen, hold down the “command”, “shift” and “3” keys. To take a screenshot of a portion of your screen, hold down your “command”, “Shift” and “4” computer keys, click on the top right-hand corner of the image you would like to capture and drag your mouse to the bottom left corner. Release the mouse to take the screenshot.
Pros:
- Taking a screenshot can take as little as 30 seconds.
- Once you know how to do it, taking a screenshot is extremely easy.
- Because you are taking the photos, they can be very personal to your industry and company.
Cons:
- Full-screen shots can seem very technical and can sometimes include eyesores like your computer charge and the time you took the photo.
- Another con of using screenshots is that, when used often, they become very repetitive and boring for your visitors.
Company Photos / Taking your own

By far the best option if you can swing it, custom photos allow for full customization but at a cost.
Pros:
- You can customize the images, showing off your employees, offices, equipment, products, etc.
- Using custom images invites your customers into your small business. People like to know to whom they’re talking to and who they can expect to see if/when they visit your business.
Cons:
- Taking custom images takes a lot of time and resources. In order to get quality photos, you need to either hire a professional or invest in the proper tools like a camera and lighting equipment – not to mention, the act of taking the photos can take time away from your business by distracting employees and disrupting the day.
- If you choose to take the photos yourself with, say, your iPhone, you run the risk of using low-quality photos.
I hope you enjoy reading this blog post.
If you would like to discuss your project, reach out to our specialists.
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About the Author
Andrew Aden serves as Comrade's art director, bringing a wealth of website design, graphic design and branding experience to our clients.