I have always loved looking at other people’s work, whether it’s their outfits, their food, or their travels. One of my favourite things to do on my days off is to browse social media for peoples’ content and re-pin as much as I can.
Now that I have my own fashion blog, I often wonder whether I should use my own photos for my blog posts or whether I should instead use stock images. After all, it’s easier to find images of people wearing what I’m promoting rather than having to find a picture of myself that I can copy and paste to match the theme of the post.
Is stock photography a more appropriate choice for a fashion blog, or does having your own unique photoset enhance your content?
The Pros And Cons Of Using Own Photos
There are a lot of advantages to using your own photos for your blog posts. Your images are always going to be of the best quality, and you’ll have full control over how many photos you use and where you place them throughout your content. You can also use complementary colours and themes for the photos and text to create a cohesive look.
There are also a few disadvantages to using your own photos. For starters, you’ll need to find the time to take the photos considering you’ll have to edit them before you can use them. Additionally, you’ll need to make sure that the people in your photos are okay with their pictures being used in this way. If they’re not, then you’ll need to ask them first before you begin any kind of content publishing.
Choosing your own photos for your blog posts means that you’ll need to consider whether you want to use stock images or whether you want to go for a more vintage look with some of your own shots. The decision is entirely up to you, but it’s important to remember the reasons why you chose to use one approach or the other. Your readership matters, and you’ll want to ensure that your content is of the highest quality.
The Pros And Cons Of Using Stocked Images
If you’re more of the mind to use stock images for your blog posts rather than hire a photographer to take pictures of yourself and your friends, then there are a few advantages to using them. You’ll save a lot of time and effort, and you won’t have to think about posing or finding the right locations to make your photos look stunning.
The main disadvantage to using stock images is that you’re limited by what is already available. There are so many great pictures out there of people in various outfits, travelling to various places, or eating food that it would be hard to represent your blog in an interesting way without using a stock image.
Choosing stock images means that you’ll have to conform to what is already available, whereas using your own photos gives you the opportunity to choose the image that you want and be inspired by various parts of the world. If you want to represent your blog in a unique way, then using your own photos is the way to go.
Which Is Best, Own Photos Or Stocked Images?
It really depends on what you want to do with your blog. If you want to create an online store, then using your own photos is preferable as you can easily sell the items on your blog. Once your blog starts getting a bit more traffic, then it’s a good idea to start using stock images for the blog posts as people come back to your site looking for more content.
Depending on your niche, using your own photos for blog posts can also be a good idea. If you’re a fashion blogger looking to expand your readership, then it’s preferable to use stock images as people are more likely to relate to the images than to your own personally taken pictures. When it comes to a beauty blog, either option is great as you want to showcase a variety of looks that you can pull off using various products that you promote on your site.
Ultimately, it’s a matter of personal preference as to which you should use. If you want to save time and effort, then use stock images as it’s simpler and faster to find a picture of something rather than take a picture of something yourself.