Ask YC: Better to ask users to upload photos vs. have some canned images?
Which is better for our social search/recommendation site?
A) Have some standardized, category-based photos for users to select from when authoring recommendations (we have ~12 top-level domains/categories of recommendations). But, also have the ability to upload your own photo if you want. Pro: User can quickly add a photo that somewhat reflects the topic of the recommendation. Con: The photo selected might not fit the content exactly.
B) Have no standardized, pre-selected photos but emphasize the photo uploader. Pro: User-uploaded photos might be more accurate to the rest of the authored recommendation (e.g., Yelp photos). Con: People might not go to the trouble and there would be a lot of "empty" photos on the site.
Thanks! Please add specific examples/urls if possible!