Where To Find The Best Stock Photos For Your Brand & Website
High quality photography on your website and social media can transform your brand. It’s one of the most important pieces of your website. There are options to work with colors, textures, patterns, etc. on your website, but nothing will ever top high quality photography.
When possible, I always recommend a professional photoshoot for on-brand, custom photos. Even with custom brand photography, there are still times when you might need to use stock to fill in the gaps, like with social media or blog graphics. Or, if you’re not quite ready to invest in a full brand photoshoot, getting a few professional headshots to start and supplementing with stock is a great budget option.
You’ve seen bad stock photography. The cheesy, posed photos that feel awkward and forced. While that definitely still exists, there’s so much great stock available now (free and paid) there’s really no excuse for bad photography anymore.
It's totally possible to find really high quality photography to use on your website and social media, and it's important to source photos that fit within your visual brand.
Below I’m sharing a list of my favorite stock photography resources, both paid and free. These are all options I’ve used for both my own business and clients. With the free options I’ve listed, it’s important to be discerning, you might have to sort through some of the more traditional ‘stock’ photos.
Paid Stock Photography Sites
Social Squares
Social Squares offers a subscription model which allows you to download new photo collections each month. As soon as you join you get instant unlimited access to the entire library. Social Squares has a huge variety, including everything from desktops/workspaces, interiors, health and wellness, fashion, weddings, and more. The photos are geared toward a more feminine brand, and they also have a lot of minimal, neutral options as well.
Pricing: $35/month or $350/annual
Styled Stock Society
Styled Stock Society is another subscription based option. A membership is a really good option if you regularly post on social or blog. They have a large library that you get instant and unlimited access to as long as you’re a member, which is great because not every collection will fit within your brand. Styled Stock Society is geared toward a softer, more feminine aesthetic, so if that fits within your visual brand, this would be a great option to look at.
Pricing: $75/month, $250/annual, or $495/lifetime
Creative Market
Creative Market offers both single photos and bundles. Bundles are nice because it ensures the photos match and are meant to be used together, whether that’s on your website or social media. Creative Market has a huge variety, which can be overwhelming to search through if you’re not clear on what you need.
Pricing: Most bundles range from $20-$40
Canva Pro
Canva is a free online software that allows you to create your own graphics. There are stock photos available in the free version, but for even more premium stock you can upgrade to the Pro version. If you’re already in Canva building graphics and marketing materials for your business, upgrading to Pro can give you a lot of great stock photography options. To use Canva Pro photos on your website, you can simply create a new design using custom dimensions and then export the photo without adding text or any elements.
Canva Pro: $9.95/month
Free Stock Photography Sites
There are a ton of free stock photo sites out there. These are my favorites and ones that I use consistently for myself and my clients. All of the images you find on these sites are royalty free meaning you can use them for your website, social media, and marketing, completely free. They’re high resolution and most are taken by professional photographers.
Some of these free options are a bit less curated, so it’s important to make sure you’re building a collection for your brand that feels aligned. This is something I help my clients with as we work together on their brand and website.
Unsplash.com
This one is my favorite free stock website. The images are curated so they’re all beautiful and high quality. They have every category you can imagine, so you’ll have no trouble finding something to fit your brand. The photos aren’t grouped into collections, so you have to create one yourself that feels on brand for your business.
Pexels.com
Pexels is another great free option. The photos are well curated and they also have video if that fits within your brand. They have tons of categories, but you will have to make sure you’re curating a collection that feels on brand.
Rawpixel.com
Rawpixel includes both free and premium options. They have photos as well as graphics, illustrations, and icons. To download images, you’ll need to create an account, and you’ll be allowed 10 free images per day.
Pixabay.com
Pixabay is another free site that offers photos, illustrations, videos, and music. It’s a great option and like the others here, all materials are completely free to use and high resolution.
By first getting clear on your brand strategy and visual brand, you're able to create some guidelines to make sure your photos feel aligned with your brand. If you need some help figuring out your brand traits and visuals that align, be sure to grab my Brand Clarity Workbook. This workbook will help you get clear on your brand strategy so you’re able to create visuals and find stock photography that is on brand.
