How to choose images for your website
Using good photos is essential for your website to look good and choosing them well is not an
easy task. To all this, we must add that in addition to being good, the images on your website
must be optimized and this is a problem for most website owners. To put an end to this situation,
I have decided to write this article where I am going to tell you, on the one hand, how to choose
the best images for your web page.
But first, let me focus a bit on the current landscape.
Today, the image continues to be a great protagonist in the most creative and interactive designs.
Surely you have seen on more than one website that the home page uses images as wallpaper as a
'background image', on other sites you will have seen the highly debated sliders, and even on the
most "sober" web pages, you will see how the photos They are specially cared for.
So one thing is clear:
Images for web design are nowadays essential
Images bring dynamism and personality to your page and, as long as they are related to the
concept, objective, and style of the website, they will help enrich the content without diverting
the user's attention.
If you put 50,000 huge photos and hide the conversion form, I assure you that he will not contact
you, not even Tato! But with a little logic, common sense, taste, and the advice in this article,
you will have the perfect images for your website.
Come on, let's get down to business:
How to choose the best images for my website design
I take it for granted that to include photos on your website you don't go directly to Google
Images and download the one you like the most... First of all, because it would be interesting for
you to comply with the licenses that that image has so as not to get into a big mess; the second,
because if you want to give your brand personality, it would be good not to use the same image
everyone uses.
The two best options to include images on your website are:
OPTION 1: that you buy the photos
There are hundreds of free stock photos, but there are also paid ones with great, original, and
affordable images so that your project has its own character. No one knows better than you what
kind of photographs are in line with your brand image. For example, if you have a translation
company, you are not going to use photos with chocolate donuts as the protagonist. Explore all
the categories that the image bank where you are going to buy the photos has and choose a few
finalists that you like before buying it. It would be great if, even if it's 'dirty' with the PowerPoint
itself, you sketched how that photo would look on your website. This way you make sure before
releasing the dollars that you will like how it looks and the size you need. Of course, it is very
important for us that you follow this advice. A crucial piece of advice that you must never ever
forget in your life...
OPTION 2: that you create your own photos
If you want to create the photos yourself you have two options. Hire a professional photographer.
In this way, you ensure that you will have unique, personalized, and quality photos. This is the
most recommended option if you can afford it.
Take the photos yourself. We all think that we have a photographer inside, that we have a lot of
art, and that our super smartphone is the best. But the harsh reality is another friend… the photos
of the rods at noon with your friends are amazing, but some professional photos for your website
are another story.
Do not be seedy: if you take your project seriously, do not save money on the graphic resources
of your website!!
Having made this warning, I take the license to give you some tips so that you can take photos
with a semi-professional finish without spending any money:
Basic photographic composition rules:
Rule of three thirds
One of the best-known composition rules. It is very simple to apply: we must imagine a photo
divided by three vertical and three horizontal lines so that we mentally divide the image into 9
rectangles. Within the image, there will be 4 'touching' points, two to the left and two to the right.
We must place the main object of the photo in one of those two points to avoid the monotony
caused by something placed exactly in the center.
Skyline
It is one of the simplest to apply and it is the one that prevents us from taking crooked photos. To
be able to take this type of photo, look for a horizontal line in the photograph you want to take
and make it coincide horizontally with your mobile.
Selective blur
It is one of the most used methods for, for example, making portraits. It consists of focusing very
clearly on an object and making the rest of the image blur. Don't get confused, sometimes it's
difficult to create this effect with a mobile phone unless we photograph an object very closely
and the background has a lot of depth but it's worth a try.
Law of gaze
This technique helps us direct the gaze of the observer where we want. It consists of
photographing the gaze somewhere out of the image plane, in such a way that we 'force' the
person who sees the photo to imagine what is in the space that cannot be seen.
Vanishing Point
The vanishing point is the one where two or more parallel lines converge but generate a feeling
of infinity. You've seen it thousands of times. At this point, we have already achieved that you
have the photos you want, that you like the most and I repeat, the ones that fit your project!
So…which image source will you choose?