Photos are a powerful tool in eLearning. Unless you can afford custom photo shoots, you likely need to purchase stock photos. You may have heard some people talk about how much they hate stock photos in eLearning: they seem cheesy, they aren’t diverse enough, or they look like the subject is in a vacuum.

A lot of people don’t actually hate stock photos in eLearning, despite saying they do. What they hate is seeing a stock photo next to some bullet points. This approach lacks imagination and leaves people with nothing to do but critique the photo.

Here are seven tips for using stock photos in eLearning!

Blur the photo and use it as a background.

Take some pictures and make them look like polaroids with captions.

Showcase the photos by cropping them with a unique shape (a.k.a., “clipping mask”).

Use cutout characters with transparent backgrounds over other images.

Overlay text on top of an image.

Select a series of images and create a collage or fill the screen for a slideshow.

Combine photos with icons or other graphics.

What are some of the creative ways you have used stock photos in eLearning? Share them by commenting below!

Additional Resources

• Download 250+ Free Stock Photos for eLearning
• 10 Free Stock Photo Sites for eLearning
• How to Blur an Image in PowerPoint
• How to Remove the Background from an Image in PowerPoint
• 3 Ways to Transform Bullet Points in eLearning
• 100+ Free Hero Images for eLearning
• 60+ Free Computer Images for eLearning
• 40+ Free Office Images for eLearning
• 40+ Free Team Photos for eLearning
• Mistakes to Avoid When Using Photos in eLearning

This post was originally posted on elearninguncovered.com.