Are you planning to add text or graphics to your stock photos? If you are, then you should consider choosing cheap stock images from these sites with areas of low contrast. You should be able to identify these areas as well. Let us say, you want to add a catchy quote to your images. The ideal cheap photos for this project are those with low contrast areas so that your text will have an even and consistent backdrop.

Also referred to as text-friendly images, cheap stock photos with low contrast areas do not affect the design of the image when you add text or graphics. That’s why it is often used in blogs of popular websites like SlideShare. In other ways, cheap photos with areas of low contrast make it possible for your text and graphics to have high contrast with the photos.

For instance, a stock photo cheap with different shades of blue could have low contrast. So, when you add white text on top, the text will have high contrast against the blue color. If you want to add white text to your photos, make sure that they have darker colors. On the other hand, if want to add dark graphics to your images, make sure the images have lighter colors.

Consider the Color Wheel

When choosing contrasting colors for your text, graphics and images, you should take a look at the color wheel. Select colors opposite one another on the color wheel to create a contrasting effect. So, you can choose an ideal stock photo cheap that focuses on one color and text or graphics that focuses on its opposite. For instance, you pick an image that focuses on blue and use orange text or graphics.

The key in understanding the contrast of cheap stock images is clarity and legibility. Typically, the text or graphics added onto your image becomes the most important visual aspect. If you will be adding strong effects such as blurring, darkening or lightening, you do not need to think much about the content of your image. You only need something that will make your text and graphics pop out.

When placing elements on top of your cheap stock photos, you need to consider contrast and understand its importance. Text, when placed over non-contrasting colors, will be difficult to read. For instance, it is impossible to read your message of it is written on white text and placed over an image with white areas. While it may be visible on the darker areas, it is not detectable in white areas.

Understanding the contrast of cheap stock images does not only result to an attention-grabbing design. It also makes sure that your readers are able to get your message.