We have analyzed over 5,000 images from 38 stock photo sites* that were the most demanded by users of the Everypixel search engine in 2020 and collected the most impressive insights in this trend report to help you understand what colors of stock photography are the most popular. Our experts – Denis Sorokin, Art Director of Everypixel, and Amos Struck, Founder of StockPhotoSecrets.com and Stockphotos.com – commented on the patterns by which the trends are shaped and how external events might have influenced them.
Using the algorithm, we extracted from each picture under analysis a set of colors that occupied the largest area in that image and plotted them on a color map as pixels, bearing in mind the volume they occupied. Moreover, we took into account that users clicked on some pictures again and again. So the more clicks an image has, the more weight its colors have.
Next, we ran an algorithm that clustered the colors on the map by choosing the most weighted average shades of colors. As a result, we got seven colors, which were the most popular among users in 2020, according to our research.
To draw these graphs, we used a set of colors extracted from each image (learn more in ‘Top Popular Colors’ part).
We classified each of these shades by the warm or cool color cluster or their proximity to red or blue. After that, we plotted the colors from those photos that users clicked more on the color map and found five averaged warm and five averaged cool shades.
An important notice: we understand that the degree of warmth of a photograph is not always determined by the amount of warm or cool colors in it. For example, the viewer can perceive a photo of a rising sun as warm, even if there is a large number of shades that we technically refer to as cool colors. To select an objective assessment criterion, we still relied on the amount of cool and warm colors, not on the perception of the photo by the viewer.
We have identified seven stock photography themes and sorted out photos according to them:
Architecture
Business
Education
Food
Medicine
Nature
Technology and Industrial
Then, using a set of colors extracted from each image (learn more in ‘Top Popular Colors’ part), we chose the most popular shades in each group, bearing in mind the clicks on the photos.