Stock photographs have a reputation problem. I bet you’ve already conjured images of women eating salads in your mind (bonus points if they’re laughing gleefully in front of a white background).
But what if it wasn’t all bad out there in the free stock imagery seas?
No matter how comprehensive your product and campaign photoshoots are, it’s likely you’ll one day need a certain kind of photo that you don’t have on hand. And when that time comes, it’s much better to choose natural and authentic feeling imagery (inline with your brand identity and attitude) than something generic and corporate.
In every brand design project, I curate a library of brand aligned imagery. While 90% of my clients have their own photographic content (and rarely use stock), it’s handy to have imagery ready to go just incase. It’s often a content page on their website or a social media post that needs a background texture and for those occasions, beautiful free* stock photography is an essential ingredient.
Things to look for in stock imagery
Not all free stock photography libraries are created equal. I always look for-
- High-Quality Images – Pixelation or extreme (unwanted) grain are not your friends.
- Clear Licensing – Know exactly how your can and can’t use images
- Unique and Natural – Avoid cheesy corporate imagery- it always looks fake.
- Browse-ability – Decent filtering, categories and the ability to save to a collection are high up on the list for me.
My favourite free stock photography websites
Unsplash
Unsplash is my go to- there’s a wide range of images available and the ability to save collections is a gamechanger for client work. I personally enjoy filtering by ‘collections’ so I can see what other people have curated- often they’ve done the hard legwork and have sourced a suite of images similar to what I’m looking for.
Photos by Chris Yang and Bjorn Pierre
Pexels
Pexels has a similar catalogue to Unsplash but it also has video. This is perfect for places like Instagram story backgrounds or reels where you want a little movement/ texture but don’t have anything on hand.
Photos by Nataliya and Blue Record.
Dupe Photos
Dupe is perfect for casual ‘taken by my iphone’ style stock photography. Many finds have that ‘user generated content’ feel and are great for spacing out an Instagram grid or for supporting imagery on your website.
Photos by Baleiba H and Denisa Werthanová.
Nappy
Nappy is THE GOAT for sourcing beautiful imagery of Black and POC people. A lot of inclusive imagery often feels very staged and unnatural where here you can find authentic feeling imagery in a range of styles and situations.
The Gender Spectrum Collection
Created by Vice, The Gender Spectrum Collection aims to represent trans and non-binary people in everyday situations. The style is lush and perfectly balances ‘polished’ with ‘real-life’ which is no easy feat.
Let me know your favourite stock imagery find (I’m always on the hunt) and check out my resources page for more business, marketing and design finds.
* I have literally nothing against paying for the right stock image. I’ve just found for ‘filler’ style content, there’s often a free image that perfectly fits the bill. Paid stock libraries are often overwhelmingly huge so I choose to lean on them when I need a niche or specific kind of image.
