As a content creator, you must know the importance of high-quality stock images. These stunning visuals help break up text on a page and convey your message more powerfully.
Finding the right images to accompany your blog post, article, or social media update can be challenging. But with quality stock photo websites at your disposal, it doesn’t have to be. Using media from professional stock image sources can engage your audience and set your business apart from the competition.
If searching through extensive media libraries tires you out, you’re in the right place. You’ll find here some of our favorite websites for professional stock images that’ll breathe life into your written content.
Stick around while we dig deeper into these amazing stock treasures!
1. SHUTTERSTOCK
Shutterstock is one of the most popular sources for stock images, and it’s easy to see why. With a library of over 400 million royalty-free images, it’s ideal for businesses and individuals who need high-quality visuals for their projects.
And since new images are regularly added to Shutterstock, there’s always something attractive for you to choose from. But Shutterstock isn’t just a massive image library. It also offers a variety of features that make it easy to find suitable images for your marketing/branding purposes.
For example, you can search by keyword or browse through categories such as “business,” “nature,” or “travel.” to quickly explore your desired content. You can also filter results by license type, resolution, and orientation on Shutterstock. Plus, if you’re looking for something truly unique, you can explore the site’s creative section, which features images hand-picked by Shutterstock’s in-house editors.
With its user-friendly interface and a great selection of images, it’s no wonder that Shutterstock is one of the top choices for stock photos. Shutterstock also offers various pricing packages that make it an affordable platform.
Why Shutterstock?
- On-demand royalty-free images
- Multi-dimensional content library
- Fresh collections added regularly
- Easy-to-find trending content
- Handy editing tool for custom-sized images
2. ISTOCK
iStock is another excellent source for high-quality stock images. One thing that makes it stand out is the sheer number of images available on this site. Plus, the collection is diverse, and you will find pictures in any category you desire.
Another savvy feature of iStock is its AI-powered search tools to help you do quick image shortlisting. When you don’t have time to go through millions of images, let iStock’s AI search feature do the hard work for you and quickly download the images you like.
Also, the impressive pricing plans at iStock will ensure you don’t break the bank while finding visually-appealing media for your site. You can pay per image or sign up for a monthly subscription to access iStock’s premium library.
Whichever option you choose, you’ll get your money’s worth. And if you need help finding any particular image, the iStock customer service team is always happy to assist.
What Makes iStock Stand Out?
- Premium image and video library
- Commercial-use content, backed by industry-leading coverage
- AI-powered search for quick image shortlisting
- Unique images, editable vectors, 4k videos, and more
3. STOCK PHOTOS
For anyone needing high-quality stock media, Stock Photos is a new player in the market with a wide selection of images to choose from. In addition, the site offers editable vectors and fonts, so you can easily customize this high-quality media to fit your brand voice and format.
Since new visuals are added weekly to Stock Photos, there’s always something for you to explore. Best of all, there are no monthly download limits, so you can download as many images as you need (and pay per download).
Another superb aspect of Stock Photos is this platform’s flexible and royalty-free licensing so that you can use the images across multiple platforms. Whether looking for photos for your website or a new social media marketing campaign, you’ll always find truly stunning visuals at Stock Photos.
What are the Salient Features of Stock Photos?
- Over 8 million images, editable vectors, and fonts
- New media added weekly
- No monthly download limits
- Flexible royalty-free licensing
4. GETTY IMAGES
Getty Images is often thought of as the go-to source for high-quality stock photos, and for a good reason. With over 450 million images in its database, Getty has one of the largest collections of stock photos on the web.
And thanks to its partnerships with major media outlets like Time, The New York Times, and Reuters, Getty can offer an impressive variety of images that cover a wide range of topics.
Getty’s site is easy to use and provides several helpful features, such as search filters and collaboration tools. These let you quickly drill down into different image categories. Other salient features of Getty include an extensive selection of images, easy-to-use management tools, and flexible licensing options.
Why Should You Opt For Getty?
- Custom content available
- A comprehensive library of truly unique media
- No daily or weekly download limits
- Time-saving management and collaboration tools
5. ADOBE STOCK
With millions of high-quality photos, illustrations, and videos, there’s bound to be something that catches your eye at Adobe Stock. The best part is that you can easily access Adobe Stock directly from Creative Cloud applications like Photoshop and Illustrator. That means no more exhaustive hunting around for images that suit your brand – you can just download it and get to work.
Adobe Stock offers some user-friendly features like built-in smart search filters to help you quickly pinpoint relatable media. You can easily reach an image with the right keywords at this savvy site and even filter results by asset type, orientation, and file size within seconds.
Adobe Stock has many images to choose from, including photos, 4k videos, and illustrations. This platform also offers affordable subscription plans that make it easy to budget your stock image needs. All in all, Adobe Stock is an excellent resource for anyone who needs high-quality stock images.
What Makes Adobe Stock the Best?
- A diverse collection of high-quality royalty-free assets
- 4k and HD video stock for motion projects
- Excellent search functionality with smart filters
- Flexible subscription and on-demand packages
- UNSPLASH
Unsplash stands out from the rest in our guide for being the only image bank with completely free resources. In fact, Unsplash has the largest collection of free images in the online world. And what makes it more favorable for marketers is that every picture in their database boasts high quality.
The Unsplash library has over 3 million stock photos in almost every category imaginable. They also add new submissions regularly that are carefully vetted by their editors to maintain quality. Their website is also user-friendly and allows users to filter their desired images conveniently.
All photos are available under the Unsplash license. The license allows users to freely use the images in commercial and non-commercial projects. There is no requirement of attribution either. However, giving credit to the creator of the picture is always appreciable.
Why Choose Unsplash?
- A vast collection of free-to-use images
- Access to high-resolution pictures
- Download photos in customized size
- No download limits
ROUNDING UP
And with that, we’re done with the top websites for stock media. You can see from the examples that there are limitless options when it comes to creativity with stock photo sites. All the above-mentioned resources are a treasure trove of unique and unseens visuals that can really take your website’s visual appeal up a notch.
Now that you know the best places to find high-quality stock photos, it’s time to start your next project. Invest in a reliable website and use excellent quality stock media for your marketing needs. With so many options available, there’s no excuse not to have amazing photos included in your web design.
