10 Best Stock Photo Sites for Graphic Designers
Stock photos are an absolute necessity for graphic designers, but what are the best stock photo sites you should visit? Find out.
Nothing completes a web design more than engaging visuals. However, most graphic designers don’t have the time or resources to create new and original images. This is where they turn to stock photographs.
Stock photos are readily available and provide the designers with a quick and easy route to add visuals to their design pieces. They are attractive and usually high-quality, limiting the need to curate customized images. However, just like any element, you should know where to look for stock images.
In this guide, we discuss some free and affordable stock photography sites, and what you can expect from them.
Let’s dive right in:
1. Stock Photo Secrets Shop
Designers love Stock Photo Secrets for its affordable collection of stock photos. With over 6 million inventory, the site hosts a great collection of images, vectors, and fonts. They are all high-quality as well, with enough variations to suit every type of designer.
The best part is that Stock Photo Secrets Shop caters to small to mid-sized businesses and offers flexible rates to suit everyone.
2. Shutterstock
Shutterstock boasts one of the most extensive libraries of stock photos without compromising on the quality. They are a bit pricey when compared to other stock sites mentioned in this guide. Still, when it comes to quality – the images featured by Shutterstock are unbeatable with a strong emphasis on high-resolution.
However, subscription plans are available, which can help you save money if you use the site a few times a month.
3. Getty Images
Getty images is another name that is synonymous with high-quality stock photos. It is a renowned name in the industry and hosts a massive collection of royalty-free stock photos, music, vectors, illustrations, and much more to help you complete your website layout.
When it comes to pricing, Getty images is pricey and can set you back a couple of hundred dollars for a single image. However, they are high-quality images and are less overused than others, so if you are looking for a unique design, Getty Images is the safest bet.
4. iStock
iStock is another popular website renowned for hosting a large collection of high-resolution images at a low cost. Owned by Getty Images, iStock is affordable with several payment plans that can get you an excellent visual addition at a fraction of the cost.
Moreover, the site offers one free photo and illustration every week, giving novice designers a chance to avail freebies from a reputable site without paying.
5. Pond5
Initially, Pond5 started out as a stock footage website. But now, they have added images to their database and grew considerably well – thanks to its reputation in the footage industry.
The best feature of Pond5 is that the sellers set their own prices, so you are bound to find something that suits your budget. Additionally, you can pay as you go meaning you can pay for a single image without the need to purchase a subscription plan. It also has an extensive Public Domain section, so you may be able to find something for free if you search comprehensively.
6. Stock Free Images
Who says good things aren’t free? The Stock Free Images hosts a healthy selection of nearly 1 million free photos that will leave you spoiled for choices. However, free is often synonymous with overused, so choose images thoroughly to avoid having the same design as your competitor.
Stock Free Images is owned by Dreamstime, a highly competitive paid stock website, so you don’t have to worry about quality. Just check the license details of each image you choose carefully to ensure you are allowed to modify the pictures, and you will be good to go!
7. MorgueFile
While the name may tip you off, the site will not. MorgueFile is a top online public image library founded and operated by creatives – for creative professionals. With over 380000 free for commercial use photos, the MorgueFile is another resource that you can check out for stock photos.
However, look carefully when choosing images from MorgueFile as the resolution of some images can be low quality. But the free tag on the photos makes it worthwhile to sniff around a little more.
8. DeviantArt
With over 350 million art pieces, the DeviantArt website is a thriving place for artists and enthusiasts alike. It’s an excellent repository of stock photos as well, with thousands of creative professionals uploading their pieces of art on the website at no cost.
The best feature of DeviantArt is that it doesn’t compromise on quality. This means that you will be able to find extremely high-resolution images ideal for both – print and digital designs.
9. Sign Elements
A lesser-known stock agency, Sign Elements, is an ideal gateway for designers who specialise in vehicle templates. Boasting one of the most extensive collections of signages, Sign Elements is a site that you will not want to miss if your expertise lies in print and vinyl graphics.
Besides the 20,000 vehicle templates ready for use by designers, the Sign Elements also hosts the usual collection of stock photos and vectors that you can expect from a stock agency. Moreover, their pricing structure is very reasonable, with plenty of discount plans to help you avail the best offers.
10. Stock Fresh
As the name implies, Stock Fresh hosts a great collection of stock photos that are unique and relatively unused. They are also affordable, with images, vectors, and illustrations starting from $1 only. And you can save more if you opt for their subscription plans.
One of the best things about Stock Fresh is that they offer a clean and sleek design on their website. It is easy to use with a user-friendly interface. Moreover, their customer service is top-notch, and they are quite good at client interaction.
These were just some stock sites to get the designers started. Whether you are designing a website or looking for graphics to print, these websites will surely give you the quality images you need.
