Free stock photos for bookstores

What gets someone through the door of a neighborhood bookstore?

A bookstore competes with online shopping by offering what a screen can't: browsing, a personal recommendation, finding something you weren't looking for. Helpful photos show the storefront with its sunny window, shelves sorted by subject, a new-releases table, hands shelving books, and corners like the rental section, the kids' area, or a coffee nook. They tell readers what kind of shop you are: used, academic, new titles, or focused on one genre.

Where bookstore photos earn their place

• Homepage: The window display or an aisle of shelves in 16:9, with space to announce this month's author talk or book club.
• Online catalog: New-release tables and stacks with no readable covers, to sit beside the categories in your web store.
• Events: Chairs set up between shelves or a table with a microphone, to announce readings and signings.
• Special orders: A bookseller handing a wrapped package across the counter, to explain that you track down titles on request.
• Social posts: 4:5 details of spines, bookmarks, or a mug beside an open book, for weekly picks.

Tips from the bookselling side

• Avoid recognizable covers on the homepage; besides rights issues, shoppers will assume that title is on your shelves.
• If you sell used books, go for shelves with worn spines; a gleaming new-release store won't match what people find.
• Put your real storefront on your maps listing, since on a busy block readers need to recognize your door.
• The clerk shelving books in the image illustrates the trade, not your staff; if you promote staff picks, sign them yourself.