Course background: stock photos or gradient?

Thomas, in his lesson about creating slides, talked about using pictures as backgrounds and keeping the text simple. I’ve been trying to implement his advice as I put together a writing course, but I’ve run into a dilemma.

I have two choices of backgrounds for my slides. One is to be creative, find pictures that go with each slide (which looks cool but takes a significant amount of work).

The second way is to use a basic, clean template for each slide.

According to my business coach, either one could work. Personally, the creative side of me loves the pictures. But will it really matter?

Basically, I’m wondering if the extra hours of work it will take to create the prettier slides will make a difference when it comes to viewers learning, appreciating the course, and viewing me as a professional.