There’s a quiet but important difference between imagery that simply fills space… and imagery that speaks your truth.
In a world where we’re all scrolling fast and scanning more than we’re seeing, the visuals you choose to represent your business matter deeply. They do more than decorate a website or brighten a feed, they shape how people feel when they land in your world.
So let’s talk about three common options: stock photography, AI-generated imagery, and brand photography.
Stock Photography: Polished but Distant
Stock photos are tidy. Professional. Glossy.
They can offer a certain level of ease when you’re short on time or budget. And there are some stunning images out there, no doubt.
But here’s the thing: stock photos are built to be general. They aren’t made with you in mind. They’re designed to fit many businesses, many voices, many stories… which often means they don’t truly speak for yours.
They don’t know the tenderness in your process.
The way your hands move when you work.
The spark in your eyes when you’re sharing something you believe in.
The earthy, soulful details that make you recognisable.
AI-Generated Imagery: Clever but Constructed
AI tools are evolving fast. They can create surreal beauty or hyper-clean visuals. And yes, there’s a place for them.
But AI-generated images are made from patterns, not people. They’re not grounded in your actual life, your actual space, your actual energy. They may be aesthetically pleasing, but often idealised, imagined, and a little too polished. They can look “like” you – but there is so much temptation to make it a perfect version of you…how boring!!
AI also doesn’t know the light that spills into your studio at 10am. It can’t capture the quiet pause before you speak. It doesn’t witness your work, your presence, your realness.
It also makes things up – I’ve seen some shockers appear in the background of images when people haven’t carefully checked the whole image!
And when we remove the human from the image, we lose something vital: connection.
Brand Photography: A Mirror of You
Brand photography is slower. Intentional. It’s a collaboration, a quiet dance between your vision and the photographer’s lens.
It captures the textures of your world:
- The way you arrange your tools, make tea for a client, open your notebook to scribble an idea.
- The light in your studio. The spaces that hold your magic.
- The real you, at ease, in motion, in conversation, in creation.
These images aren’t just beautiful. They’re honest.
And in an online landscape saturated with curated perfection, that honesty is rare. It’s also magnetic.
Which Tells Your Real Story?
Your audience is craving connection. They want to know the face behind the offer, the energy behind the brand. They want to feel something when they land on your site or scroll past your post.
Brand photography tells that story.
It roots your visuals in truth, not trends.
It builds trust before you’ve spoken a word.
And it allows your presence to be felt, online and off.
