Hunting down the perfect stock photography for an image can rob you of more hours than it’s worth, which is why you really need to have a couple effortless alternatives waiting in your back pocket.
When time is limited and you don’t have a viable stock photo at your fingers tips use one of these time-saving tricks that will net you killer image in a fraction of the time.
In no particular order here are 4 ninja tricks for creating images without using stock photography.
1. SCREENSHOTS
Using Jing (a free screen capture tool) grab a screenshot to use as your background.
Here I used a screen shot of one of my Pinterest boards as the background for my blog image.
2. SEAMLESS PATTERNS
Using a seamless pattern is a quick way of creating images without using stock photography! A seamless pattern will give your image contrast and texture as well as really make your headline or text POP, and the best part is that you can adjust the size of the pattern repeat to fit the different size images you need. Meaning, you can make the pattern repeat larger (less repeats) for something like a cover for your PDF guide or you can make the repeat smaller (more repeats) to fit a smaller image, like your blog post featured image.
Here I used a quatrefoil seamless pattern that I grabbed off Pattern Cooler (my favorite custom seamless pattern tool) and dialed the scale of the repeat to 50% to make the pattern smaller so I’d get more repeats.
3. FLAT ICONS
Creating a killer image without using stock photography can be as easy as using an icon. Using an icon in your image will help easily convey your message without having to be too obvious.
Here I used a fork & knife icon to grab the attention of foodies and food bloggers. It’s a subtle visual that ties in perfectly with the subject matter and target reader of the article. It’s simple, yet effective, which is the perfect kind of shareable image.
My two go to spots for grabbing killer icons are Endless Icons and Noun Project.
4. TRANSPARENT SHAPE OVERLAYS
My last go to trick for creating images without using stock photography is using a shape overlay. A shape overlay is just a fancy way of saying shapes with varying degrees of opacity or transparency.
Here I’ve used a frame shape with the transparency dialed down a bit to create contrast between the shape and the background, which are the same color. It’s a very subtle but stunning trick to employ in your images.
WRAP UP
There you have it! All the stock photography free ideas you need to free yourself from all that wasted time scouring the net for that one perfect photo. Madness mode, deactivated!
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Wow, thank you so much for showing us the ways to get images without photography. Your post is really informative and helpful.
You’re most welcome, brotha! *fist bump*
This is such useful content! Now if I can only figure out how to find all these pretty fonts I see we’ll be in business. Any ideas?
Creative Market is a great spot to find really COOL typefaces {fons}! Give it a looksie, Shaki…
Thanks so much for the information! I’ve always been worried about the photo parts of blogging with the copyright laws. This is a huge relief and load off my shoulders!
You’re most welcome, Marlie!!
These are great ideas to have fresh images that are not a time suck. Thanks so much.
You bet, Megan! Here’s to kicking ass and taking names with your fresh images…
This was super helpful, thanks for sharing! I especially like the idea of capturing a screenshot for an image, I never really thought of that (which is weird because it seems so obvious).
— Sam
Sam! Thanks for all the social and comment love – you ROCK! It’s always the obvious stuff that seems to escape us, huh? I’m stoked to jar that one loose for ya. ; )
Thanks for sharing such useful tips. You’re a problem solver.
High five for the love, Darshan – I’m stoked to hear that!
I love these ideas. I’ve been looking for ways to make my images more pinnable, and I really like the flat icon idea. I’m also thinking I need to to better to create a call to action on my images. ?
Yayyer! I’m stoked to hear this list is going to help step up your image game, Angela.{big ass high five to that} ?
Thanks so much for these ideas! They’re unique ones I haven’t seen before.
My pleasure! These ideas will be great time savers in your image creation efforts.
Great tips, thanks so much. It always looks so easy when other people do it, you see images that they’ve created and wonder why didn’t I think of that! I especially like the food one!
I know what you mean, Laura. I’m stoked to here these ideas will help you create killer images for your blog…high five to that girl! ?