When it comes to stock photos, you could say I’m kind of a snob. As a professional photographer in a past life (most of my 20s ), I just can’t settle for anything less than top quality. And while I personally use Adobe Stock and Shutterstock when I need something really unique, I still try to take advantage of the high quality stock photos that you can find online for free.
Here’s a list of my favorite places to find them and why…
Pexels
Pexels.com is almost always my first stop for free stock photos. I love their quality and the variety they have. They appear to do quality control on their free submissions, as the photos I find are always sharp, true to color and high resolution. They also have a nice variety of artsy stock photos, as well as more serious ones.
Pixabay
My second stop is Pixabay. In my opinion, their photos tend to be a bit less polished, but for some businesses that can be a good thing. I find more candid photos on Pixabay, as well nature and industry type photos.
Create Her Stock
Create Her Stock has a paid subscription, but it’s also a great place to get a HUGE download of free, high quality stock photos. As of today’s date, when you sign up for their mailing list you get over 185 stock photos from them. Talk about a steal! Create Her Stock, as the name indicates, specializes in feminine stock photos, but they offer a variety of colors, seasons and reasons to celebrate (read: holiday photos).
Rawpixel
Rawpixel.com also offers a premium subscription, but has plenty of free stock photos to choose from. What I love most about them is that they offer a lot of transparent png images like frames that are perfect for mockups and design. They also offer a images that are centered around hot political issues.
Styled Stock Society
Styled Stock Photo is a subscription based stock photo membership, but they offer 20 images free with their mailing list sign up and give you free images to you inbox every month. I love that I’m constantly getting new stock photos every month. I also love that they have a very clean and vibrant style.
Do you have a stock photo site that you love, that offers free, high quality stock photos? Let me know about them in the comments below!
