I didn’t plan to start an AI stock photography brand. I was a designer searching for images that actually felt alive — and what I found changed how I see creativity forever.

Designers don’t need more stock photos—they need visuals that carry the mood and leave space for words. In this week’s Friday Field Notes, I share the creative process behind every Brand Shot drop—crafted to be cinematic, editorial, and human—and give you a sneak peek at Monday’s upcoming release, “Big Mood, Little Town.”

Your audience doesn’t browse—they filter. With scroll-happy, picky users, your design has milliseconds to earn attention. Here’s how to build visuals that stop the swipe: bold hierarchy, snackable layouts, and moments that feel real enough to remember.

We’ve all posted something we instantly regretted—a Canva scramble, a beige stock photo, a random selfie pretending to be a brand shot. If you’re embarrassed by your visuals, you’re not alone. Here’s why it happens, what it’s costing you, and how to level up without the cringe.

Beige Is the Enemy If your visuals scream “I got this from page one of Canva” — you’ve already lost.Beige desktops. Fake salad girls....

Stock images aren’t the enemy of originality — using them generically is. Here’s how to turn any photo into a visual signature your audience can’t forget.

Consistency matters — but not when it turns your brand into a copy-paste formula. Here’s how to keep your visuals cohesive without losing your edge.

You know the ones. The woman fake-laughing into a salad. The sterile desk flat lay with a MacBook, succulent, and coffee cup labeled “Boss Babe.” The overly polished, painfully posed handshake that has absolutely no business still being used in 2025. We’ve all seen (and unfortunately used) them. Stock photography that feels like it came from a forgotten corner of the internet — flat, lifeless, and entirely devoid of emotion.

Let’s just call it: bad stock photography is everywhere. It’s in the sad blog post thumbnails. The cringey email headers. The generic Instagram graphics that scream, “I didn’t know what else to post.”

Remember when you first discovered Canva? The excitement of finally making your own graphics without Photoshop. The hours spent playing with fonts and colors. The moment your first Instagram post actually looked... kind of legit?

Okay bestie, let’s talk real quick — Pinterest? Still kinda the wild west when it comes to visuals. Like, you scroll and suddenly you're knee-deep in Canva chaos, fonts fighting for their lives, and images that scream “designed in 2017.”

Let’s get one thing clear right out of the gate: The Brand Shot is an AI-generated stock photography company. Not because I’m trying to fake realism or blend in with traditional stock agencies — but because I believe AI gives indie creatives more control, more edge, and a hell of a lot more fun.