In her final post in a series of photography, Pam looks at commissioned versus stockshot images
Have you ever exhibited at a trade show and seen another stand using the same photographic images as yours? Embarrassing to say the least – especially if the image on one stand shows smiling children promoting the benefits of a healthy food while the graphic on the other stand features the same happy kids proudly advertising ‘no more headlice’. And yes, this has been seen in various situations – from exhibitions to websites to advertising – causing brand confusion in the market.
Stockshot images
There will always be the conversation with clients who request stock images over commissioned bespoke shots. This option may be a cheaper and quicker alternative but it’s also an impersonal approach to take. Evaluating the effectiveness of a marketing campaign is often key to justification of budget spend and, true, clients may feel they cannot directly measure the impact of an image. On the other hand, since social media and other content marketing strategies inevitably leads potential buyers to a website, if the customer sees stock photography on the site, there’s the risk that genuine personality that has been created in other channels will be diluted.
Most royalty free stock photography is bought under a simple licence that means you can use it as many times as you want – but then so can anyone else who pays the fee. You could create an ad, spend huge sums of money buying space, only to find another company using the exact same shot.
Buying an exclusive licence for stock shots (Rights Managed) often outweighs any savings since the value of the licence is determined by the use of the image in its application. For example, how often it is used (above/below the line), duration of campaign, print run, territory and the size of the image to be used.
Commissioned images
Previous photography blogs demonstrate how commissioning and owning your own photography is always the preferred route – particularly to avoid copycat images and embarrassing situations.
We encourage our clients to commission photography for their marketing campaigns since this will mean complete ownership of the copyright and will help set your business apart. Not only that, but commissioned really helps bring a real sense of brand personality to your materials, shows the human face of your organisation and build familiarity.
BDB will discuss your requirements, develop a brief, liaise with its talented photographers and produce a unique photography portfolio to promote your product or service. And you’ll be sure it won’t be duplicated elsewhere. Contact us – we’d love to talk to you.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within any BDB blog posts are those of the author alone. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. For guest posts, authors retain copyright and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.
