Whether you’re designing a website, updating a blog or posting on social media, having beautiful photography can be the difference between someone clicking on your content, and someone scrolling on by.
Having professional looking photography on your business assets can help establish legitimacy, give your brand a unique look and feel, plus draw people in to read the rest of your content—and hopefully make them want to hire you or work with you!
There are a large variety of stock photo sites out there—and while some can be expensive, there are many affordable options with high-quality, engaging images. Some sites have a low monthly subscription fee—for example, $75 a month will get you access to 45 photos of your choice. Others are just 100% free.
Check out the list below and give your business website, blog, and social channels a look you love.
1. Unsplash
Unsplash offers over 500,000 high-resolution photos, free to download with no strings attached. A large community of photographers graciously donate their imagery at no charge. You can browse their collections, search for specific imagery and download as much as you want. Attribution is optional, and you can use the images however you’d like (even for commercial purposes).
2. Freepik
Freepik is a powerful creative platform offering millions of high-quality graphic resources for designers, illustrators, and anyone needing stunning visuals. With a massive library of images, icons, vectors, templates, and more, Freepik provides easy access to beautiful, professional design elements that can enhance any project. Freepik has everything you need to take your creativity to the next level, from web design to social media graphics, advertising, and presentations. With a user-friendly interface, Freepik is the perfect resource for beginners and experienced designers. Whether you're looking for inspiration or need to grab a graphic quickly, Freepik has got you covered. Start exploring today and unleash your creativity!
3. iStock
As a subbrand of the popular Getty Images, iStock provides more affordable, royalty free versions of professional, high-resolution imagery for as low as $12 an image. They also have videos, audio clips and illustrations available to download at various price points. And with more than one million files added monthly, you’ll find a large variety that’s easily browsable or searchable.
4. Death to Stock
If you’re on the prowl for unique images that take a different approach than regular stock photos, look no further. Every month, Death to Stock curates a new “photo pack” with a different theme, and distributes it to people on their mailing list. If you’re looking for access to more, they also provide unlimited access to a media library with over 2500 images for a monthly subscription, which runs $28 a month for freelancers and agencies working on behalf of a client, or $12 a month for small businesses and brands.
5. Stocksy
With a simple pricing structure that allows you to pay per image, Stocksy provides a way to grab a small sized photo for a blog or website for just $15. Medium prints will run you $30 a pop, and large and XL are $75 and $125 each, respectively. Although larger size images can get a little pricey, this is a great place to check out if you need a smaller image and don’t want to deal with buying credits or a monthly membership.
6. Adobe Stock
If you work in a creative field, you may have heard of the Adobe Creative Suite. But are you aware that Adobe is also in the stock imagery game? Adobe offers yearly subscriptions with access to 10 assets a month for $29.99/month, 40 assets a month for $79.99/month, and higher price points as well for 350 assets a month and 750 assets a month. If you’re looking for a month-to-month commitment, prices are a bit higher, but if you use other Adobe programs, the integration can’t be beat, and you’ll have access to millions of images, as well as 3D assets and even templates for programs like InDesign and Photoshop.
