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Quality images can make all the difference for your online presence.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to own a camera. And we’re not about to tell you to book another photoshoot.
High end images are already on your doorstep, ready to be downloaded and incorporated into your content.
Where?
Stock Photo websites.
In this article, we share our favorite stock photo sites where you can access countless photos for your online presence.
Table of Contents
What are Stock Photo Sites?
Stock photo sites are online photo libraries filled with professional, royalty-free images that anyone can use. These sites often partner with talented photographers and videographers around the world to curate eye-catching content.
Benefits of using Stock Photo Sites
Stock photo sites can save you hours of editing and dollars spent on photoshoots. As long as you know the types of images you need, you can use stock photo sites to elevate your own website, email newsletter, and social media presence. Or if you’re a Showit designer, many of these stock photo sites provide images you can display in your design demos.
The key is knowing what you’re looking for. Only choose images that align with your brand guidelines. If you don’t have your brand guidelines solidified yet, take a few minutes to read How to Create Brand Guidelines. Then download our free guide The Anatomy of a Brand to create your own cohesive brand.
Paid Membership Stock Photo Sites
- Élevae Visuals (formerly Social Squares) – This is one of our favorite resources, with 6,000+ professional images and 150+ videos. Élevae offers a wide range of images, including lifestyle, mockup, and flat lay images. We frequently use their visuals for our DK demo sites and appreciate how Élevae Visuals adds new content weekly. Note: the images we use in our demo sites are removed before files are transferred.
- Sourced Co. – This stock photo site is every stationary designer, wedding planner, and photographer’s dream! They curate wedding flat lays, product photography, and prop styling photo layouts specifically for creatives in the wedding industry.
- Editorial Stock Images – This stock photo site offers 3,000+ editorial style images and videos with a unique, cutting-edge feel. Why do we love this site? They are talented and accessible–they offer you the opportunity to request personalized photo mockups and welcome feedback.
- Haute Stock – Haute Stock provides a library with 9,000+ curated images and 1000+ design assets and templates. They emphasize providing content for women-owned brands and offer quality content at an affordable price.
- Styled Stock Society – Styled Stock Society offers beautiful stock photos, video clips, social captions, and templates. If you’re looking for website photos in a specific color palette or style, this might be an excellent option as Styled Stock Society provides curated photoshoot collections as well.
- Her Creative Studio – This stock photo site provides customizable photo collections and canva templates. If you’re specifically looking for social media content, their 6,900+ images may be very helpful.
- Atelier 21 co. – With 5,000+ images ranging from lifestyle shoots to business-themed content, Atelier 21 co.’s library is a one-stop shop. Their content gears toward fresh, modern, and minimalist aesthetics. Note, the images are not available to be used on client accounts or brands so if you’re a designer this may not be the best fit for you.
If you’re just getting started with your brand, you may find these free stock photo sites more appealing.
Free Stock Photo Sites
- Pexels – Pexels is a top-notch resource for creatives, with hundreds of thousands of high resolution images. What sets Pexels apart? Its high-end video content. If you’re looking for quality video content for reels and websites, park your car and start setting up your tent. You’ve arrived.
- Unsplash – With over three million curated photos, Unsplash holds one of the largest free stock photo libraries. This site provides photos to some of your favorite online discussion forums like BuzzFeed, Squarespace, and Trello. They provide a vast quantity of content, so if you have an eye to sift and curate this is the place for you.
- Pixabay – Not only does Pixabay provide 4.3 million+ images and video, but this stock photo site also provides audio. Not only can you use these free resources for your personal use, but you can also incorporate them into your commercial ventures.
- Freepik – While this site has fewer photos, it provides an easy filtering process with curated collections and inspiration galleries. Freepik also provides an online image editor and beautiful fonts.
- Burst – Burst offers 20,000+ online images shot by a global community of photographers. This stock photo site organizes its collections by categories such as “Work from Home,” “Transportation,” “Coffee,” etc.
- New Old Stock – New Old Stock provides a unique flare on stock photos by pulling vintage photos from the public archives. The selections are exquisite! But note, there is not an easy way to sort through photos on this site, so pour yourself a large cup of coffee and pull up a comfy chair before you begin.
- 123RF – Let your imagination soar! 123RF offers a unique selection of photos, vectors, video, and audio. With 100 million+ images and a number of AI Tools, this stock photo site is well worth exploring. This site also lets you download images in preselected sizes for social media, emails, etc.
- Kaboompics – Kaboompics has modern, lifestyle inspired mockups for the luxury creative. What makes Kaboompics so unique? Their site features a color gradient tool, where you can slide your cursor across a rainbow of colors to find images with the exact color you’d like! While you cannot redistribute these photos beyond your personal business use, you can follow the same guidelines we use when using a photographer’s images and remove mock up images before distributing design files to clients.
Conclusion
You don’t need deep pockets, a background in photography, or weekly brand photoshoots to incorporate quality imagery into your online presence. Simply use these 15 stock photo sites to find images that are cohesive and align with your brand. You’ll find yourself standing out from competition, resonating with your audience, and leaving an impression that lasts.
Want to talk more about branding? We have a few other resources that might strike your fancy! Click here to read How to Elevate Your Brand. And if you haven’t yet, make sure to use our free resource Anatomy of a Brand Guide, which gives you the steps you need to take to create your own distinctive guidelines for your brand. If you want our expertise behind your branding, you can choose from our semi-custom brand designs or even a fully custom brand design. You’re on your way to a memorable, trustworthy, and engaging online presence.
