No matter how young and beautiful your models are for business stock photos, buyers often feel that the images come across as stuffy and old-fashioned. That’s not just a guess, it comes from many years of experience in the industry. Here are a few things you need to pay attention to when working with models for a business photo-shoot that will help make your business stock photos more attractive to buyers.

1. The Right Expression

Don’t you find fake, forced smiles irritating? So do buyers. Would you buy something from anyone who has a cheesy smile glued on their face? Not really. Companies will avoid using a “fake smiler” in ads mainly because the model fails to engage the audience in an authentic manner and doesn’t invite people to trust the brand. Act natural, look natural, smile natural.

2. Age and Diversity Issues

Who said you have to be “this old” or “this young” to be a manager? Don’t tell people they have to grow old in order to succeed in their profession or that they’re too old to be relevant. Make people of all ages feel well-represented with confident, charismatic and trustworthy looking models. And on that note, apply the same idea to diversity. Your images should encompass people of all ages, shapes, sizes, and colors. Make them all feel welcome and well-represented.

3. Business Dress Code

Enough with the blue and gray and black. Yes, they’re great colors and they’re classic for business, but we’d say that as long as the colors are neutral and light, your models can wear orange, pink and even red shades. Go shopping with a fashion-forward friend if you have to in order to keep wardrobe choices current and trendy. Spicing up clothing choices can do miracles for your models.

4. The Office

The unfortunate office view we often see is a group of older, all-male colleagues sitting around a dreary conference table. This doesn’t represent the modern office well; today’s desirable workspaces are well-lit, colorful, energetic, and diverse. Make sure the tone we get from the setting of your images screams fresh and innovative, not blasé and yesterday.

5. Dynamic is the New Static

You know the pose — statue-like people, frozen in handshakes, fake conversations, pretending to do this or that. This will never be convincing. Allow the models to act, speak and work naturally. Capture them in real-life moments. Throw away the script and any posed ideas you had, and you might get better results.

Tips offered by Dreamstime.