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Do Stock Photo Images Belong in White Papers?

By Michael Stelzner

Should a white paper include full page stock images?

This is an important question worth examination.

I was recently reading a white paper by Experian, called “Avoid the segmentation trap.”

This paper was interesting for two reasons.

First, it took a contrarian negative approach in its message.

Second, it did something strange with images (see below).

Here is a thumbnail of three pages of this paper.  Notice the full page stock photos (and the guy using a 1980’s cordless phone).

Seven of 19 pages included large, full-page images like you see above.  There are no captions and no obvious relevance to the actual paper itself.

So here’s my questions: Does this help or hinder the paper?  What’s your opinion on stock photography in white papers?

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 5:25 pm and is filed under Writing White Papers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

  • Pat
    Ash makes an interesting point about the boundary between white papers and other publications.

    Do you want your "white paper" to be a plain sheet of white paper with black writing, like a technical report?

    Or do you want to use every weapon in your arsenal to grab that reader?
  • Leave the imagery (especially stock images) to articles. White papers should be free of images. Isn't that why they call them "white" papers? You could have a link from your white paper leading to a full blown article with images.
  • The underlying question seems to be "how designed should a white paper be?" Should it have a fresh-from-the-ad-agency layout, with strong use of imagery to help tell the story? Or should it have more of a strictly-business, "notes from the underground" feeling?

    The way your white paper looks will help tell your story, so it's all about defining that story. The full page image layout looks like an annual report from a largeish corporation. Whether or not that's the right look depends on that overarching story.

    <abbr>Sonia Simone's last blog post..Email Marketing: What’s an Autoresponder, and Do I Need One?</abbr>
  • I think they should if they are represent a good contribution to the content
  • Pat
    Wow, I had no idea that transcriptionists had special keyboards!

    So while I thought that the photo was irrelevant, the photo was actually very relevant!

    I hope the prospects realise that its a transcription keyboard, and not make the same mistake I did!
  • @Pat - lol - well, this is more of a PDF brochure than a white paper. As for the keyboard, those are special symbols used exclusively by transcriptionists...

    That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

    ~Graham

    <abbr>Graham Strong's last blog post..Lipstick on a Pig or “Hog-Tied Marketing”</abbr>
  • Pat
    A good example (from Graham): http://www.strongwhitepapers.com/documents/Elite-Office-Solutions-Medical.pdf

    Just look at all those models- I mean doctors. The stock photography works well because it fits the subject matter.

    I only take issue with the keyboard image on the last page. The white paper is in English, the market is US-based, and the keyboard is... Chinese?
  • @Mike - lol - no, I suppose you didn't! I guess a better way to put it is that stock images in white papers can be like seasonings: just a touch is fine, but too much ruins it all...

    ~Graham

    <abbr>Graham Strong's last blog post..Lipstick on a Pig or “Hog-Tied Marketing”</abbr>
  • Graham - I never said stock images were evil :) - Mike
  • Hey Mike,

    In the strictest sense, white papers should be fairly graphic- and image-free. Full page images like the ones you illustrate don't really follow the bare-bones layout approach for most white paper products (especially if those images are out of date).

    However, stock images per se are not inherently evil. I can think of at least one that you used in your own white paper about white paper writing!

    I also believe that if you label the white paper a report or ebook, you have a little more leeway as to the size and amount of images, stock or otherwise.

    Bottom line though, any design element like images or graphics should enhance the document, not take away from it.

    ~Graham

    <abbr>Graham Strong's last blog post..Lipstick on a Pig or “Hog-Tied Marketing”</abbr>
  • Stephen Wertzbaugher
    As with anything else in persuasive or informative writing, you have to ask yourself, "Does what I am doing contribute to the message I am conveying?" Stock photographs are good and appropriate if they contribute to and are relevant to your message, and sometimes a good photograph, even a stock image, can help explain a concept better than words, hence the cliche, "a picture is worth as thousand words."

    My point? use them if they contribute to your message. Don't use them if they have nothing to do with what you are trying to say or do.
  • Jake Redden
    I like this white papers use of photos. It relates to the topic by showing a verity of consumers almost an extreme difference in consumers which matches the topic. I like that it adds color and breaks up the white paper into more enjoyable reading experience. How ever it worked in this white paper, I think it is few and far between on what would work. I would not like to see an IT themed paper with photos of people and defiantly not of sever towers. When talking marketing, it’s about people and relationships and I can see photos spicing that up. As a side note, Photos work. A photo can speak a thousand words. If I was writing a charity white paper about some world issue I would add in plenty of Photos. As far as the learning concept and leaving the reader with a lasting impression, then add a photo. If solving a standard business problem, then just give me the nuts and bolts of the data so I can leave early and tee off by 3.
  • Pat
    The Australian GST Journal, a tax magazine, abuses stock photography like this. Pictures of women in pin-stripe suits next to words about the tax on sewerage. Right.

    A half-page photograph has to be in harmony with the text on the other half of the page. Otherwise, the photograph (stock or not) is just a distracting eyesore!
  • Maybe the writter read your post about how many pages is ideal for white paper...That's why the writter put big photo although irrelevant with the content :) ... I think stock photgraphy put in write paper must have relevance with the content and no need to make it full page size. It's true that sometimes picture explain better than words. But, as a reader I want detail explanation in write paper. I prefer to have explanation in sentence rather than many pictures with less words.
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