Stock Photography

Stock photography provides ready-made images that a business can license instead of commissioning a custom photo shoot. Libraries may offer subscription, per-image, royalty-free, rights-managed, or other licensing arrangements. The word “free” in a download button does not always mean unrestricted commercial use.

For a service website, a generic stock image can help explain a topic, but it should not be presented as a photograph of the business's real staff, jobs, equipment, or completed customer projects. Visual authenticity matters when the image would otherwise imply evidence of work performed. Consistent image selection also helps a site avoid the disconnected look created by unrelated stock models and locations.

Before publication, review the actual license, permitted media and distribution, attribution terms, restrictions on sensitive contexts, and model or property release requirements where applicable. Keep proof of the license and image source. Re-using a paid asset in another client's campaign may not be covered by the first purchase.

Image optimization is a separate task: deliver appropriately sized responsive images, meaningful alternative text when informative, and decorative treatment when an image adds no content. A license alone does not make an image accessible or performant.