Guides

Field notes on imagery for people who have nothing to photograph.

Written by Sara Nelson, founder of LATENT STOCK. Everything here is the actual method behind the library - no theory we have not shipped with.

Method

How to get a consistent style out of AI image tools

One image is easy; twelve that belong together is the hard part. The Locked Look method: write a spec, freeze it, over-generate, reject hard. The full production framework, free.

Field guide

A field guide to stock photo cliches: six photos you have seen 10,000 times

The handshake. The salad laugh. The blank whiteboard. Why the most-used stock photos fail, how to spot the pattern in your own site, and what to use instead.

Method

How to choose imagery for a SaaS landing page

Your product is a screen, so there is nothing to photograph. A section-by-section guide to what each image is actually for, and the five mistakes that make a page look templated.

Method

How to build a shot list like an editor

The plan that turns twelve images into a set instead of twelve images. Coverage across four distances, working backwards from where the images will live, and leaving room for text.

Decision

When a photo beats an illustration (and when it does not)

Illustration explains; photography witnesses. A decision table by use case, the honest case for each, and the rule for using both without looking like two companies.

Coming soon

More on the way

How to brief imagery for a rebrand, and what to look for when licensing images. Want one first? Tell us which.