There is an old design fable which states, ‘Design that ignores people is design which is ignored’, I had to get the requested ‘Human element’ into the design but I was conscious of the website imagery looking generic, like a million other websites.
After running A/B tests I achieved a much higher success rate by using thought provoking images of people looking away from the viewer, looking deep in thought, consumed in a product and/or providing a service.
To keep the UI pallet minimal I duotoned the images which really helps enhance a simpler visual approach with more emphisis on brand and message.