How to Choose Effective Website Photos and Images
Not all images are created equal. The right image on a web page can capture attention, inform, and even persuade your site visitors. The right image can communicate who you and your company are more quickly and powerfully than words alone can do. The wrong image, however, can confuse, annoy, and even repel your visitors. The wrong image can give your audience a negative impression of your product, service, or company that you may never have a chance to correct.
Since the selection of images can be so crucial, here are a few guidelines that will help you learn to evaluate and select just the right images for your site.
Guideline #1. Does it convey the right feeling?
Whether intentional or not, images communicate mood to your audience. Color, background, facial expression, and other less obvious features combine to evoke feelings in a way that may not be obvious at first.
Guideline #2. Does it add information?
In Broadway musicals, there are no extraneous songs - every song contributes to the storyline, moving the plot forward. They're substantive and content-rich, not just afterthoughts or embellishments.
Guideline #3. Is it (at least fairly) unique?
The wonderful thing about stock image sites is they make it easy for you to find and buy high-quality images. The terrible thing about stock image sites is they make it just as easy for your competitor -- or anyone else -- to find and buy the exact same images. So it's possible to see the image you just bought for your home page being displayed on a billboard or brochure for a completely different company. And that's no way to stand out in the marketplace.
Guideline #4. Is it contextually cropped?
Contextual cropping can make the difference between an impactful and a ho-hum image. Cropping is especially important for small images, where there's not much space to communicate. Generally speaking, the smaller the image, the fewer details you want in it. So if you're creating a small image from a larger one, you'll want to crop out any unnecessary details and make sure the key element is front and center.
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