Art-direct a set of stock images so they look intentional and on-brand instead of like stock, and choose and sequence the final picks. Use when you have candidate images and need to decide which ones, in what order, and why a set "looks cheap" or "like stock", or when someone says "these don't feel cohesive", "make this look less like stock photos", "pick the best images for this page", or "why does this look generic". It covers spotting the stock-cliche tells, defining a visual system (palette, light, tone, angle), curating a set to consistency, choosing compositions that hold text overlays, and a color-grade pass to unify a mismatched set. Do NOT use to find or search for images -> use stock-photo-finder; do NOT use to check licensing or releases -> use image-license-rights; do NOT use to fetch images via an API -> use stock-photo-api.
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name: Visual Asset Curation
description: Art-direct a set of stock images so they look intentional and on-brand instead of like stock, and choose and sequence the final picks. Use when you have candidate images and need to decide which ones, in what order, and why a set "looks cheap" or "like stock", or when someone says "these don't feel cohesive", "make this look less like stock photos", "pick the best images for this page", or "why does this look generic". It covers spotting the stock-cliche tells, defining a visual system (palette, light, tone, angle), curating a set to consistency, choosing compositions that hold text overlays, and a color-grade pass to unify a mismatched set. Do NOT use to find or search for images -> use stock-photo-finder; do NOT use to check licensing or releases -> use image-license-rights; do NOT use to fetch images via an API -> use stock-photo-api.
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# Visual Asset Curation
The difference between "looks like a real brand" and "looks like stock" is almost
never the individual photo - it is the **selection and treatment of the set**.
This skill takes candidates (from `stock-photo-finder` or `stock-photo-api`) and
turns them into a cohesive, intentional, on-brand selection. It owns taste and
consistency; it does not search for images and does not rule on licensing.
## When to use a sibling instead
- **"I need to find candidates first."** -> **stock-photo-finder**.
- **"Can I legally use these?"** -> **image-license-rights**.
- **"Pull these in via an API."** -> **stock-photo-api**.
## The "looks like stock" problem - learn the tells
Generic imagery shares recognizable signatures. If you see these, reject or
replace:
- Staged emotion: the over-bright laughing-alone-with-salad, the forced… load the full skill through Skill Me