Are stock images hurting your website?

Stock images feel free and easy. But they cost you something you cannot get back: trust.

When a visitor lands on your website and sees a smiling person in a headset, or a handshake against a white background, they know. Everyone knows. Those images say nothing about you, your work, or the people you actually serve. At worst, they make your site feel like a placeholder rather than a real business.

I have been moving away from stock photography for a while now. Here is what I have found, and what I do instead.

The problem with stock photos of people

There is a concept in animation called the uncanny valley. It is the unsettling feeling you get when something looks almost human but not quite right. Generic stock photography of people does something similar.

The expressions are too wide. The eye contact is too direct. The office is too clean. No real workplace looks like that, and no real person smiles at their laptop with that level of commitment.

Visitors pick up on it quickly, even if they cannot name what bothers them. It reads as false, and false sites do not convert. Research into trust and web design consistently shows that real photography of real people, real places, and real products does better than polished stock.

For small businesses especially, where a personal relationship often drives the sale, generic imagery is a missed opportunity. The face of the business is the brand.

SVG illustrations as a practical alternative

One of my go-to solutions for clients who do not yet have their own photography is purposeful illustration.

A well-chosen SVG illustration can carry personality that stock photography cannot. You can match colour palettes, choose a style that fits the brand, and avoid the uncanny valley problem entirely. Because illustrations are abstract by nature, they do not try to pass themselves off as real. Visitors do not expect them to.

I use SVG specifically because it scales without any loss in quality, loads fast, and can be styled with CSS. For a business without a photography budget, a consistent illustration style can hold a site together visually while building recognition over time.

The key is consistency. A random mix of illustration styles looks as careless as a random mix of stock images. Pick one or two sets that share a visual language and use them steadily across the site.

Real photography on a modest budget

For most of my clients in Harrogate and across North Yorkshire, the best photography is already around them. They just have not thought to use it.

North Yorkshire is a genuinely compelling backdrop. The architecture in Harrogate, the open countryside, the market towns. These are real assets. A business based here has access to imagery that says something specific and true about where they are. That is worth using.

Here is how I approach it without spending a fortune.

Commission one good shoot. A half-day with a local photographer costs less than most people expect and produces images you can use for years. There are several talented photographers in and around Harrogate who understand how to shoot for web and brand use. One focused shoot, covering location, people, products and atmosphere, goes a long way.

Use your phone well. Modern phone cameras produce images good enough for web use when the light is right. Shoot outside, avoid harsh midday sun, and take more frames than you think you need. Consistency matters more than perfection.

Build a library slowly. You do not need to replace everything at once. I often suggest to clients that they swap out one or two key images first – the ones visitors see immediately – and build from there as opportunities come up.

If you do use third-party photography, be choosy. Avoid the obvious image libraries and look at more considered options. There are collections built around real places and real people that feel far less produced. Always check the licence covers commercial use.

What this comes down to

Moving away from stock images is less about photography and more about being clear on what you want to say. Ask yourself what you want a visitor to understand within a few seconds of arriving on your site. The answer usually points you toward something specific – a place, a person, a way of working – rather than something generic.

Real website imagery builds the kind of trust that a library image simply cannot. It tells visitors you have thought about who you are and what you do. That signal matters, particularly for local businesses where the relationship often starts before the first call.

If you are based in or around Harrogate and want to talk through your website imagery as part of a wider design project, I would be glad to help.