Our Favorite Stock Photo Websites for Content Creators and Small Businesses
If you run a small business, are an influencer, or you work in media, you probably post on Instagram at least three times a day (if not more). And while we’re sure the creative juices are abundantly flowing, it can be really hard to generate enough ✨high-quality✨ content to post that often.
You’re not alone, as many small and large businesses deal with the same struggle. Luckily, there are a few tips and tricks we’ve picked up along the way that we’re more than happy to share. In this case, it’s the amazing world of stock photography!
Whether your brand or business covers a niche topic, you work from home and have limited resources, or you just aren’t a photographer extraordinaire, it’s crucial to start relying on external resources like stock photo websites in order to effectively pump out content.
If you think of cheesy grins and tacky backgrounds when we say ‘stock photos’, then you’re in for a treat! The stock photography world has expanded to actual, usable content. Content so similar to what you might produce yourself, that your followers probably won’t even notice. And with the addition of free stock image databases, you can save time, money, and resources all while staying true to your brand.
In this post, we are going to be recommending our favorite free stock photo websites. While we 100% support the world of paid stock photography (support small businesses and artists, people! 😍), we know it can be hard handing over those dollars when you’re just starting out. So, free stock photo websites are where it’s at!
Licensing:
It is important to note that while all these stock photo websites provide images that are free from copyright claims and fall under creative commons, some do require a certain level of attribution, depending on how the image is used. Before you download and use these images, make sure to check what each individual website or artist requires to make sure to respect these talented and kind folks!
Unsplash
Perhaps the most-used free stock photo website, Unsplash has a large database of assorted stock photography. The website also runs under a tagging system, making it easy to find exactly the type of image you are looking for. Photos are free under the Unsplash license.
Pexels
Pexels provides high quality, free images for all uses and modifications. You can browse by category or tag, or check out what is currently trending. Under the creative commons license, users can do whatever they would like with the images: Pexels aims to keep their licensing simple. We, at Life Lapse, upload our stop motions for free use on Pexels, so make sure to check our stock stop motion photography out, or make some of your own!
Styled Stock
Although it has a more limited selection of images, Styled Stock is the #1 resource for your feminine, sleek branding needs. With professionally-styled flat lays and display photos, Styled Stock’s unique photography style blends really well with Instagram and Pinterest-themed visual content. All images are free for commercial and non-commercial use.
StockSnap.io
StockSnap.io provides thousands of free, high-resolution stock images. You can browse by tag or theme, or check out what’s currently trending. All images are free from copyright restrictions for both personal and commercial use. The website has hundreds of new images that are uploaded on a daily basis.
Picjumbo
Picjumbo has hundreds of thousands of free, high-resolution stock images. Our favorite feature? The “find more just like this” button, which allows you to find visually similar images to the one you have already chosen. This is crucial for when uniform branding or theme is needed for your business, even if the photos were shot by different photographers. All images are free for all uses.
Pixabay
Unlike the other websites, Pixabay provides a variety of royalty-free materials, including illustrations and vectors. They also have an extensive photo and video database, meaning all your content needs are covered. Materials are free for commercial use under standard creative commons licensing rules.
That’s all for our favorite free stock photo websites! When it comes to content creation, it’s always valuable to integrate outsourced material alongside your in-house work. Stock photos are a great way to visually maintain a tone or brand while still ensuring there is a sense of authenticity in your content. Personally, we love using stock photos in cases where we are unable to send our own photographers out into the wild!
Let us know what you think about using stock photos for your business below, and if there are any websites you think we missed! And don’t forget to check out our Instagram at @lifelapse_app!
