Imagery

Good quality, relevant images make a presentation look more sophisticated and visually appealing.

There is a famous adage that goes like so… A picture is worth a thousand words. While this is true to a degree, what if they are the wrong thousand words that you are trying to convey. Thus, it is important to really consider the sort of images that you are using. The theme, how you lay them out, the size, the colour and the proportions all matter.

Stock imagery websites are collections of images that are royalty free and can be used by anyone. The bigger ones require a paid subscription, but there are many that are free, and contain very high quality images.

All of the images used on this page, and in the rest of the design section are from free sites to showcase this idea. Sourcing high resolution, quality images doesn’t take long, and will add serious professionalism to presentations.

Use images to complement, not distract from your topic, their purpose is two-fold. One, they add visual stimulation and two they can speed up comprehension when they are relevant to the topic.

When choosing images to include, you can work from two different approaches.

Direct Imagery

Directly is an actual representation of what you are talking about. For example, if it’s about a bike-to-work scheme that’s being introduced, have pictures of bikes.

Indirect Imagery

Indirect imagery invokes a tangental relationship. An empty road can demonstrate the fact that cycling can avoid the stress of traffic jams. A smoothie can convey the overall health and wellbeing balance that the bike scheme is hoping to achieve.

Mix & Match

It’s a good idea to use a variety of images, both direct and indirect. Not every slide needs one either, so there is no need to force them in.

And if you are short of ideas for an image to use, try the quick cheat below.

People Smiling

If you are stuck and can’t think of an image to use, try incorporating smiling faces. Everyone responds well to a natural, warm smile so it’s a good option if you are struggling to find the right image.

— Quality Imagery

Stock Imagery — These are images that are available to buy or for free to use in your projects. (Links in Design Assets)
High Quality — All the images in the design section are from free stock sites that are professionally shot so they look great.
Consistent Styles — You can find and create different styles on stock sites.

— Masks & Crops

Masking — The key to aligning imagery with different shapes and avoiding stretching them to fit in.
How to? — All apps are different, but if you Google how to mask in your app of choice it will show you how.
Cropping — This narrows the focus of the image, in this case it zooms in on the face using a mask.
Mask Shapes — You can place the image in different shapes like so. This is my roommate Groucho demonstrating.
Variety — Different shaped masks allow for more visual variety. (Groucho is not available on stock sites, sorry)
Very Fancy Masking — Makes for an impactful slide.

— Common Issues

Contrast — If you are placing text on the image - make sure it is as legible as possible.
Proportions— When increasing or decreasing an image make sure it is not stretched out and looking like the above.
Shift can help — Most apps will keep the proportions automatically, but in case not hold down the SHIFT button when doing it. That normally works.
Simply Awful — Avoid images like these. Now that you know about stock sites you have no excuses.