Our go-to Sites for Stock Imagery
Stock images have a bad rep. And justifiably so. For a while there it was just a lot of men in suits shaking hands with each other and women laughing at salad. But times have changed and luckily, things have moved on. Here are some of our favourite go-to resources for royalty-free photography as well as graphics and templates.
For more tips on curating your brand’s visuals, take a look at 10 tips to nail your stock imagery.
1. STOCKSY
Let’s start off with our favourite, go-to, Stocksy. Stocksy is a cooperative stock photography site that offers hand-picked, high-quality images from a community of talented photographers. Their collection focuses on contemporary, creative imagery that feels, for lack of a better word ‘un-stocky’. They are a little pricier than some of the other options but they have a great range and are reliably on-point with their library so you don’t end up scrolling for hours…
Pricing: From $15 per image
2. UNSPLASH
Unsplash is our favourite of the free stock image sites - it has a large library of mostly high-quality images that are free to use for personal and commercial projects and while it’s a little hit and miss in some categories, they have a great collection of landscapes, nature, abstract and architecture images. They have also recently released a service called Unsplash+, which costs £6 a month and gives you unlimited access to exclusive downloads.
Pricing: Free
3. creative market
It’s worth remembering that not all stock imagery is photography! Creative Market is a platform that offers a huge range of design assets, and while they wouldn’t be our first port of call for photography, they have other fantastic resources including graphics, illustrations, templates, web themes, fonts, and more.
Pricing: Items each priced differently.
4. HAUTE STOCK
Haute Stock is a stock photography site that describes itself as ‘perfect for business owners that want a designer brand on a DIY budget’. And they really deliver on this. It specialises in providing high-quality, feminine stock images and videos for bloggers, female entrepreneurs, and small business owners and they have a very curated collection of imagery with a chic, minimal and feminine aesthetic. Haute Stock offers monthly subscription plans and while it may not be for everybody, if their library fits your brand’s aesthetic, it could be a great investment.
Pricing: From $49 p/m
5. DEATH TO STOCK
Death to Stock is a stock photography site on a mission to disrupt the status quo of ‘cheesy and overused stock images that have invaded our internet’. Instead they have a curated and quality-controlled collection of unique, authentic and real-life imagery that tells a story and captures emotion. If you’re in the market for contemporary imagery with an authentic, edgy feel to it, look no further.They have different membership options to choose from and a 14 day free trial.
Pricing: From $12 p/m (14 day free trial available)
6. KABOOM PICS
Kaboom Pics is a recent discovery and one we’ll definitely be using a lot from now on. The site was founded by a photographer and graphic designer which makes sense given the selection of high quality, creative imagery. From a few searches it seems like whilst the collection might not be extensive, it’s really well curated with well-styled imagery. If you’re after something specific you might not find it has what you’re after, but it’s definitely worth checking out.
Pricing: Free
7. ELEVAE (formerly Social squares)
Another recent discovery, Elevae has a similar aesthetic to Haute Stock, with a highly curated collection that has a particularly feminine feel. With a great selection of Reel-friendly video content as well, it’s perfect for creative service providers like writers, coaches, photographers, designers.
Pricing: From $42 p/m
8. PACKSIA & Social Stocks
Packsia and Social Stocks are relative newcomers but are already making waves with their range of vertical videos and audio specifically designed for instagram reels. If you’re struggling to come up with video content, using one of their videos as a background for your content is an easy win. Their collections both share a decidedly feminine aesthetic so they won’t be suitable for all brands, but are definitely worth checking out if your target audience is mostly female. Both operate on a membership basis.
Pricing
Packsia - from $69 p/m
Social stocks - from $40 p/m
9. STILLS
Currently ‘invite-only’, Stills is the new (and exclusive) kid on the block, pitching themselves as a members-only platform built for designers. Promising photos from ‘the world’s most influential, in-demand photographers’, expect high quality and contemporary with an artistic edge.
Pricing - from $8 p/m (free 7 day trial available)
10. Canva
Finally, there’s our favourite frenemy, Canva (we can’t get into it here…). With their pro subscription you can get access to their entire stock photo, video and audio library, and while it can be a little hit and miss, there is some high quality content that’s definitely worth a look. They have free pro trial so if you’re not convinced, no sweat.
Pricing - Pro subscription from $99 per year
Finally, if you have a specific image in mind that you’re trying to source and you aren’t having any luck with the above suggestions, then you can always try industry giants Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, iStock or Getty Images.