11 best stock photo sites to use Free and paid

Each photo contains photographer’s credentials and you can upload pictures instantly. It’s certainly not one of the biggest photography sites out there, but it is a top-quality free photography platform. All photos are offered under the Kaboom Pics license and are free to download. Sometimes, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to make a splash in the digital photo scene, and ISO Republic is a prime example of what we’re talking about.

Their photography avoids clichés to show the true moments of weddings. They also have a blog where you can check their work and read a bit about the background of certain weddings they captured. One of her projects is about exploring women’s role in society. She worked with clients like Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, The Daily Mail and Forbes. The only catch is that while the files are free to download, they still must be used in alignment with the site’s terms of use and image license rules. And, you must contact the image’s owner to request use permissions for any other forms of use for the image.

He likes to experiment with new artistic concepts and techniques. Pedro Oliveira is a photographer from Brazil who moved to the US at the age of 22. In 2019, Nukem had an exhibition called ‘Faith’ in London’s Soho. He asked for a ‘pay what you can afford’ entrance fee and all the money went to the charity Help Refugees. With Reshot, you are truly free to use the images as you wish.

Winner: Bigstock Review

Speaking solely about photography NegativeSpace is very good, you’re likely to find valuable shots for your designs. But legally-wise, for commercial work, they aren’t the safest of choices. They work with CC0 license and user submitted images, and we don’t really know much about them as to rest assured, so you must do a background check for photos yourself. Styled Stock is a small collection of free photos with a defined feminine style. With just a little over 100 images, most of them are flat lays and desktop shots with a very modern, clean and minimalist concept. It’s not very clear who runs the site or who owns the photos, but it is clear they are free to download and use in commercial projects.

More likely than not these sources will be stock photo agencies giving away free photos. Shutterstock has plans for 10, 50, 350, and 750 downloads per month, available monthly or annually. You can hire them for from $29 to $249 per month, depending on volume and length. And you will be downloading high definition stock photos for as little as $0,22 each!

Everything You Need To Know About Stock Photos

To get started on applying these best practices, you need to first know where to find the best images. Theses licensed images are not allowed to be used for profit. Travel photography is a broad category and could include anything from scenic shots to food or even lifestyle.

Another thing to keep in mind with fine art websites is the look and feel of the website. A plain black or white background is usually best, especially if you’re using black and white photography. Her site has personal touches you don’t see in many photo portfolios. For example, a large part of the home page is dedicated to a personal welcome message.

An integral part of creating your online store is sourcing high-quality images which are related to your ecommerce business. If you don’t currently have the resources to source your own images, then you’ll need to rely on stock images to build brand authority and showcase professionalism. A beautifully designed website needs beautiful images to match. Check out our edit of the best stock photos for websites, full of high-quality images to use across a variety of sites. Crestock boasts one of the fastest upload sites for photographers. As with all sites, your photos will undergo a quality check to make sure they are up to Crestock’s expectations.

That said, Life of Pix being owned by a serious company is capable of providing some much-needed trustworthiness in free images. This site combines high-quality images with German-like, sleek functionality for users. But some websites also provide quality photos at an affordable rate that you can consider if you have a small budget. You will need superior-quality photos relevant to your content in order to make your content popular easily. For instance, like Adobe Stock, Shutterstock offers a generous one-month free trial, with 10 free images thrown in, while iStock doesn’t have a free trial at all. Like iStock, Shutterstock offers a free image per week, as well as a free vector illustration too.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the list of photography stock sites I’ve put on your radar. Some of the names are undoubtedly popular, but there are also others which are lesser-known. The contributors are allowed to set their own prices and earn 70% of each sale (which is honestly quite a lot, keeping in mind that commissions on most other stock sites vary from 15% to 50%). By uploading to Fotolia you also get the chance to be featured in their premium collection, which is hand-curated and contains high-quality images that are absolute eye candy.

With many thousands of high-quality images ready for download, ISO Republic is a good place to check out if you are still on the hunt for quality marketing content. Here users will find over 8,000 artistically composed imaged that were composed and captured with modern social media in mind. With photos and images on a number of different subjects, this is a great place to find some free stock imagery with built-in artistic value. In the age of digital marketing, there is perhaps no resource quite as valuable as free stock photography. A helpful search feature is you can view ‘trending’ material.

While new sites aren’t the safest, this one is partnered with one of the most prestigious names in the stock photo industry so it’s a lot more reliable than most. The library has the quality and variety to serve multiple purposes, and though the license isn’t as detailed as one wishes, it’s custom and so a bit better than a generic CC agreement. This is a site offering something very different than most other free photo providers offer. The novelty of having all the elements of stock photos available separately to create your own composition, with a simple tool, and for free, is certainly attention-grabbing.

Without exclusivity, these are some of the lowest commission rates in the industry. Fortunately for iStock, they actually have the massive traffic and reach needed to make that happen. The site was acquired many years ago by Getty Images, but its pricing and commission structure is kept very different from Getty’s.

Helpful information about Stock Photo Websites

best stock photography sites by contributor everst.See more stock photos of cityscapes and stock photos of natural landscapes. Image by contributor okeykat.Funked-up interpretations of Grecian statues in unusual colors and collage layouts add off-beat quirk to websites that want to stand out from the crowd. Surreal images adapt to corporate websites as easily as they work for independent businesses, too. Surrealist scenes using 3D objects in eye-catching pastel or neon color palettes might not seem the obvious choice for beautiful website designs. However, these trending images are surprisingly versatile and can be very effective for both keeping users engaged and demonstrating a business concept or service.

At this price point, you’ll be able to use up to 10 images a month. If you want more “essential” photos than this, the price can increase up to $99. Photographers get to keep 60% on any of their images that sell. Better still, Alamy doesn’t require you to give them exclusive rights to your photos, which means you can list your photos on other stock imagery sites as well.

Burst is a free https://trading-market.org/ photos website that has an image library of thousands of high-resolution, royalty-free images. Stock images have a bit of a bad reputation, but Unsplash is reinventing the stock photo. We accept only the finest quality images, so that you can get free stock photos without sacrificing on quality. Use our options listed above to find a site that works best for you. We’ve listed some of the largest stock image sites that are available so there’s a great chance you’ll find what you’re looking for.

It’s no surprise that they have dipped their toes into the world of royalty-free stock photos. With this service, you also get a chance to book a custom photoshoot. An excellent high-end option for more prominent companies who want their own images. The site is costly, but that is looking from an individual point of view.

Photography Life

It has subscription plans and on-demand plans to let you select the right one for you. IStock doesn’t have a free trial, but you can download some free stock photos every week if you are a registered user. We hope this list of the best paid stock photo sites and free stock image websites helps you meet some of your organization’s needs.

Aside from the more artistic details to keep in mind when choosing stock photos, there are a few technical aspects to consider when actually purchasing them. For as long as people have been selling products and services, they’ve had to come up with ways to market said products and services. And for the last hundred years or so, stock photos have been part of the tools available to business owners to accomplish this.

Stock Photography can Boost Your Message

The only indicator you get is a small star in the top left of each premium image. This is a minor issue and doesn’t take away from the browsing experience. This agency offers a competitive royalty of 33% on photos and 35% on video footage. Offset was created by Shutterstock in September 2013, and it prioritizes high-end images from more experienced photographers. Another important thing to keep in mind is that all the imagery you upload to Cavan is exclusive to them – you don’t have the right to distribute the same images to other agencies.

• With some of the lowest commission rates in the industry, it’s difficult to justify iStock for new photographers.
• And if you need help editing your photos, check out our photo editing software comparison.
• All photos here on are licensed under the Creative Commons license CC0, which means that you are free to use the images without any costs.
• Its search bar autofills suggestions as you type the same way Google does.

As soon as you need something that’s technical or niche, the paid sites are often the only option available. By all means, check the free guys first, but be ready for disappointment. While $150 a month might seem expensive at first glance, it’s a damn sight cheaper than forking out thousands on sites like Getty Images. For a clear conscience and a smaller budget, free photos from sites like Pexels or Unsplash are the way to go.

For that reason, Burst users don’t have to stress about unintentionally breaking an image license. Storyblocks MembershipsMonthly Plan$49.00 USD / monthAnnual Plan$149.00 USD / yearPremium Plan$198.00 USD / yearHowever, not all of Storyblocks’ content is available with a membership fee. Instead, much of the content available through the site can be bought directly from artists at the marketplace. So, if you do decide to sign on, don’t expect to have limitless access to everything the site has to offer. It’s easy to get started with Shutterstock and the first 10 images are free.

Video: Stock Photo Clichés

This platform differs from other photo stock agencies because it allows creating a generated list of very similar photos, which saves a lot of time searching for the desired image. PicJumbo is another of the smaller, “boutique” stock image sites that have been rising in popularity over the last few years. Because small personal collections like these can sometimes be found in the bigger aggregators, the contributor can continue to provide versatile imagery that has a built-in commercial appeal. One of these stock image sites on this list will meet your needs.

Finding a stock photography company to suit your needs can be difficult, depending on what use you have in mind for your downloaded media. However, we don’t find their current library robust or easy to search, so it may be challenging to find what you’re seeking. But, if you can find the ideal image, the price will be lower than most other sites.

But if you’re selling your work, there is an expectation that you’ll have a website. Iceland-based Souhuwat’s nature photography is presented in a minimalistic and impactful photography website. Symmetrical galleries with dark backgrounds highlight his striking compositions.