Custom product photography vs stock images: which is better?

As an e-commerce business owner or marketer, you’re constantly faced with decisions that can impact your brand’s success. One of the most crucial choices you’ll make is how to visually represent your products online. The debate between custom product photography and stock images is a complex one, with each option offering distinct advantages and potential drawbacks. 

Your choice can significantly influence your brand identity, customer trust, and ultimately, your bottom line. In this article, we’ll dive deep into the world of product imagery, exploring the nuances of both custom and stock photography. We’ll examine their impact on factors like creative control, authenticity, and return on investment. By the end, you’ll have a clearer understanding of which approach might best suit your unique business needs and goals.

Stock photography refers to pre-existing images available for licensing or purchase from online platforms. These images are created by photographers and made available for general use across various industries and applications.

Stock photography offers a vast selection of images. Stock photo websites like Shutterstock and iStock offer millions of images covering diverse subjects and styles. This extensive library allows businesses to quickly find images that align with their needs, saving time in the search process.

Stock photos are also immediately available for use. As noted by Branding For The People, stock images can be downloaded and used instantly after purchase. This immediacy is particularly beneficial for businesses with tight deadlines or those needing to create content quickly.

One of the biggest assets of stock photography is its cost-effectiveness. Most stock photos are more affordable than custom shoots – Soona highlights that stock photos can cost as little as a few dollars per image, making them budget-friendly for small businesses or those with limited resources. The lower cost of stock photography allows companies to access professional-quality images without the expense of a full photo shoot.

Stock photography provides a quick, affordable, and diverse option for businesses needing visual content. However, it’s important to consider the trade-offs in terms of uniqueness and brand alignment.

Pros of stock photography:

• Cost-effective
• Immediate availability
• Wide variety of options

Cons of stock photography:

• Lack of uniqueness
• Limited control over image specifics
• Potential for overuse by other businesses

Custom photography involves hiring a professional photographer to create original images specifically for your brand or product. These images are thus tailored to your exact specifications and needs.

Custom photography provides unique, brand-specific imagery. Cork Tree Creative explains that custom photos are created exclusively for your brand, ensuring no other company will have the same visuals. This exclusivity helps businesses stand out in a crowded market and reinforces brand identity.

Those who opt for custom photography often point out that it offers complete creative control. According to Meet the Bryants, custom shoots allow businesses to dictate every aspect of the image, from composition to styling. This level of control ensures that the final images perfectly align with the brand’s vision and marketing strategy.

Custom photography can capture specific product details accurately. Custom photos can showcase the exact features, colors, and textures of products. This accuracy is crucial for e-commerce businesses where customers rely heavily on product images for purchasing decisions.

Custom photography offers unparalleled control and uniqueness but requires a higher investment of time and resources. It’s particularly valuable for businesses looking to differentiate themselves and showcase their products in the best possible light.

Pros of custom photography:

• Unique, brand-specific imagery
• Complete creative control
• Accurate representation of products

Cons of custom photography:

• Higher upfront costs
• More time-intensive
• Requires planning and coordination

When it comes to aligning imagery with brand identity, custom product photography offers significant advantages over stock images.

Custom photography allows for precise brand representation. Carefully planned photos can incorporate specific brand elements, color schemes, and styling that perfectly match a company’s identity. This level of customization ensures that every image reinforces the brand’s unique personality and values, creating a cohesive visual identity across all marketing materials.

Stock photography may limit brand differentiation. LinkedIn’s professional advice column notes that stock photos are available to anyone, including competitors, potentially leading to visual similarities between brands. Using the same or similar stock images as competitors can dilute a brand’s unique identity and make it harder to stand out in the market.

Custom photography enables consistent visual storytelling. Custom photo shoots allow businesses to create a series of images that tell a cohesive brand story over time. This consistency in visual storytelling helps build brand recognition and loyalty among customers, as they come to associate specific visual elements with the brand.

While stock photography can be a quick fix, custom photography provides the creative control necessary to build and maintain a strong, distinctive brand identity in the long term.

In an era where consumers value authenticity, the choice between custom and stock photography can significantly impact customer trust and engagement.

Custom photography conveys authenticity to customers. Refresh Marketing notes something crucial: “In e-commerce, conversion rates are up to 35% higher when a custom photo is used to promote a product for service. 67% of online shoppers rated high-quality images as being “very important” to their purchase decision.” By showcasing real products in real settings, custom photography helps build trust with potential customers, making them more likely to engage with and purchase from the brand.

Meet the Bryants also writes: “By investing in tailor-made visuals, you ensure that your brand stands out as one-of-a-kind, leaving a lasting and genuine impression on your audience”

Stock images, on the other hand, may be perceived as less genuine. Today, most people can recognize a stock photo. This means that using stock images can lead to a perception of in-authenticity, potentially diminishing the brand’s credibility and the customer’s trust.

Custom photography allows for the representation of diverse customer bases. Custom shoots enable brands to feature models and scenarios that accurately reflect their target audience. This representation can foster a stronger connection with customers who see themselves reflected in the brand’s imagery, leading to increased loyalty and engagement.

While stock photography can provide adequate visuals, custom photography’s ability to showcase authenticity and diversity can significantly enhance customer trust and brand loyalty.

When considering custom product photography vs stock images, it’s crucial to evaluate the long-term return on investment for each option.

Custom photography can lead to higher conversion rates. Since businesses using custom product photos report up to 40% higher conversion rates compared to those using stock images, this improved performance can offset their higher initial cost, potentially providing better return on investment over time.

Also, stock photography may require frequent updates to stay relevant. Trends in stock photography change rapidly, necessitating regular updates to keep content fresh. So while individual stock images are cheaper, the need for frequent updates can increase costs over time and may still result in a dated look.

Custom photography creates a library of brand-owned assets. Meet the Bryants emphasizes that custom photos become part of a company’s own image library, available for use across various campaigns and platforms. This ownership provides long-term value, allowing businesses to reuse and re-purpose images without additional licensing fees, ultimately increasing the return on investment.

While stock photography offers a lower upfront cost, custom photography often provides better long-term value through improved conversion rates, consistent branding, and the creation of owned visual assets.

In the debate of custom product photography vs stock images, both options have their merits. Stock photography offers affordability, immediacy, and a vast selection, making it a viable option for businesses with limited resources or tight deadlines. On the other hand, custom photography provides unparalleled creative control, authenticity, and brand alignment, which can lead to stronger customer engagement and higher conversion rates.

The choice ultimately depends on your specific business needs, budget, and long-term marketing strategy. However, for businesses looking to create a strong brand identity, build customer trust, and maximize their return on investment, custom photography often proves to be the superior choice.

For e-commerce businesses seeking to elevate their product imagery without the complexities of traditional photo shoots, there’s an innovative solution that combines the best of both worlds. CGI product photography, offered by Welpix, provides the uniqueness and control of custom photography with the efficiency and cost-effectiveness often associated with stock images. 

This cutting-edge approach allows for hyper-realistic product renderings that can be easily modified for different variations or seasonal campaigns, offering unparalleled flexibility and visual consistency across your e-commerce platform. By leveraging CGI product photography, you can create stunning, on-brand visuals that drive conversions and set your business apart in the competitive online marketplace.