A picture paints a thousand words – and this is especially true in the online world! Whether you’re after an image for your latest blog post or are looking to create an image quote to share online, there’s a vast array of photo stock libraries out there.
However, there are also a lot of sites that have huge, premium subscription options too – making them inaccessible for the small and start-up business. Taking an image from Google search results can be another option – albeit an illegal and potentially costly mistake. So what can you do when you just want a good image you can use?
Here’s a list of affordable and/or free photo stock libraries you can use to source your next images.
Death to Stock Photos – have a free and premium option. The free option sends you a photo pack, via email, direct to your inbox each month. The premium level gives you access to everything plus a bonus pack, for $15 a month. You can find out more here.
Unsplash – get a pack of 10 photos delivered to your email inbox every 10 days. You can use the photos however and whenever you want – for free. Find out more here.
Adobe Stock – Not the cheapest option, but it does have various payment plans available, starting with a per image, non-subscription option at £5.99 per image – but this price drops drastically if you take one of the subscriptions (from £19.99 if added to a Creative Cloud Subscription). You can read more here.
Free Digital Photos – get access to a vast library of free-to-use photos for both personal and business use. The only criteria is you have to place an image credit with the image you’re using. Don’t want to credit? You can then purchase images from £2.10, depending on the image size you want. You can read more here.
Free Images – a huge library of free images. Free Images just hosts the images on behalf of the photographer, so you need to check the permissions on a ‘per photograph’ basis – as you may need to ask the photographer for permission to use the photograph. Also, be warned, there are premium paid-for options on the top of every search page! You can read more about Free Images here.
Canva – if you’re using images for social media platforms, creating text and image combinations or leaflet creation etc., you can easily use the images available to you in Canva. They have free images available, as well as premium ones that will cost you $1 – making it a perfect and easy to use creation platform. You can find out more about Canva here.
Remember to check the terms of use!
As with any photo stock library, you need to check out the terms of use BEFORE you download and use the image. Some sites want you to publish a credit alongside the photo, others want one somewhere on the same page. There’s also the option to buy the image – but there are some sites that limit HOW you can use the image and how often it can be used. Bottom line – make sure you check their terms and keep it all legal and above board!
And if you’d rather not take any risk whatsoever – look to create your own library of photos you can use on your work (just make sure you attach the copyright information to protect your work).
Do you have a great photo stock library you use and would recommend? How do you feel about using stock photos? Why not share your thoughts and opinions in the comments box below.
Image courtesy of /Dollar Photo Club