Looking for the best stock photo sites to use for your blog posts? This article compiles some of the best stock photo sites for bloggers.
A quality blog post is one that have images describing what is found in the post. It makes your blog readers get more connected to your content and most often, motivate then to stay longer on your site — which improves your site's authority in search engines.
Not only do images make your blog post look outstanding from others, it also helps in ranking your content much higher in search engines qualifying them as quality content in the web.
Creating images isn't that difficult. You just need to be unique when doing so. You can also grab a camera and take a photo of what you want to talk about. If you don't have a camera or see it as much work to create images by yourself, then stock photo sites should be the option for you.
In this article, I will show you the best stock photo sites for bloggers where you can get quality images and use for your blog posts.
What is Stock Photography?
The supply of pictures that are often licensed for specified usage is known as stock photography. Traditional macrostock photography, midstock photography, and microstock photography are established models in the stock photo market, which began to gain traction in the 1920s.
How to Choose the Best Photo Stocks?
It can be difficult for a blogger like you to determine which photo stock website to invest in because there are so many on the market nowadays.
Here are some things to think about while choosing the best photo stock for your needs.
- Price
- Website
- Requirements
1. Price
Stock photo sites should provide a variety of plans and rates based on quality, size, and intended usage.
That's why all of our top recommendations below provide different membership options, allowing members to choose the best deal for them.
2. Website
Is the site simple to use?
Is it simple for members to search the database?
Is the platform appealing to potential buyers?
When ranking the finest stock photo sites, questions like these and others were considered.
3. Requirements
The best sites will follow tight rules to ensure that their database only contains high-quality images.
Photos that are overly altered, out of focus, or plain dull should be rejected.
How Much Do Stock Images Cost?
Depending on the licensing and photo library you choose, stock photos might cost anywhere from free to several thousand dollars.
Bloggers will often encounter two types of licensing when purchasing paid stock image subscriptions: Royalty-Free and Rights Managed.
Royalty-Free
For bloggers, the royalty-free license is probably the most cost-effective and flexible option.
The costs are fixed, and you can use the images in as many projects as you like.
The only disadvantage is the lack of exclusivity that comes with low prices.
Because royalty-free images are quite inexpensive, there is a significant probability that the image you use may appear on another blog.
Rights Managed
For bloggers and website owners, the rights-managed license is the most exclusive alternative.
The terms for using the images covered by this license are tailored to the blogger's specific requirements.
This simply implies that the user can change the license (and price) depending on the duration of use, the location of the display, the volume of distribution, and the size of the audience.
The sole disadvantage of using rights-managed images is the cost—depending on the license, this license might be quite costly.
Rights-managed stock photographs, on the other hand, are for you if you want an exclusive alternative and want to ensure that you are the only one who uses these images.
To help you know the best choice for you, we have compiled the best free and paid stock photo sites you can use as a blogger or website owner.
Best Free Stock Photo Sites for Bloggers
1. Unsplash
Unsplash is the best stock photo site for bloggers that showcases images that aren't seen anywhere else.
What's more, you have complete flexibility to do whatever you want with the photos as long as it's legal and non-pornographic.
Unsplash is also a great free stock photo site for photographers and even ecommerce businesses. Every 10 days, the site updates its database by adding 10 royalty-free pictures.
The photographs on the site are of excellent quality and would work well in any aspect of an ecommerce store or any marketing campaigns you build.
The disadvantage of Unsplash is that their search tool is limited, making it tough to discover what you're looking for at times.
Unsplash Features
- High-quality free-to-use pictures
- Modern and artsy collection
- Intuitive website design
- API integration is available
2. Pexels
Pexels offers a large number of free stock photographs that you can use on your blog. These cover a wide range of topics, so you'll be able to find something relevant to your business.
Pexels' search feature is what sets it apart from the competition: it's easy to use and includes a number of relevant parameters, making it one of the most user-friendly stock photography websites.
Pexels' picture library has a lot of visually appealing photographs, most of which are magnificent landscape photos, therefore they could be perfect for your ecommerce store's background.
Pexels Features
- Beautiful selection of imagery
- Clean layout of site
- Dedicated free video selection
3. Pixabay
Pixabay another great free stock photo sites not only for bloggers but also for but entrepreneurs. Pixabay has a large library of high quality free images with over 1.6 million images.
Each image on their site is manually selected by a professional curator after being crowdsourced from authors all around the world.
Pixabay's website interface is straightforward and simple to use.
If you need assistance exploring the enormous amount of pages, there are search criteria that might help you narrow down your results.
Pixabay operates under a proprietary license comparable to Creative Commons Zero.
They don't need attribution for the usage of their images in both digital and print commercial channels.
They do, however, prohibit the redistribution and selling of photos that have not been altered.
Pixabay Features
- Completely free to use
- High-quality
- Includes vector graphics, illustrations, and video footage as well
4. StockSnap.io
StockSnap.io is one of the greatest free stock image sites and a perfect choice if you're an ecommerce business owner with a keen eye for design.
The content library at StockSnap.io includes a large collection of photographs that cover almost every facet of design. This free stock picture website is especially recommended for ecommerce entrepreneurs selling clothing, as it contains many aspirational photos that will appeal to your target market.
On StockSnap, you may also find free stock pictures for business usage.
StockSnap.io Features
- Classic collection of photographs
- Ideal for business owners
5. Picjumbo
Picjumbo, founded in 2013 by designer and photographer Viktor Hanacek, offers a large collection of copyright-free photographs for both personal and commercial usage.
This free stock photo site stands out because it presents the photographs as collections. When you can see the same photograph from numerous perspectives and choose the greatest shot for your project, this is what you're doing.
Picjumbo has various collections to browse, and new photos are added everyday in a number of categories. You may rest guaranteed that there will be lots of high-quality photos to choose from.
Features of Picjumbo
- High quality photographs
- Photos can be used for both commercial and non-commercial usage
Best Budget Friendly Stock Photo Sites for Bloggers
6. StockPhotos.com
Small and medium-sized enterprises are the focus of StockPhotos.com.
Stockphotos.com is a low-cost photo library.
The cost of images on Stockphotos.com vary depending on what you choose.
Stockphotos.com is a resource of over 7 million high-quality photographs developed by a team of visual imagery experts.
It is, nevertheless, one of the most cost-effective photo collections and allows you to download your favorite images in seconds.
If you're a blogger, I'm guessing you're like me and are always looking for better photographs to illustrate your posts.
Of course, having your own photographs is advantageous, but what if you need to write about a different location?
Do you need any representative images? That's a dilemma we'll all confront at some point.
That is why Stockphotos.com exists to give us with the highest quality photos for our blogs.
StockPhotos.com Features
- Unmatched quality of commercial appeal images
- Trendy and current styles
- Affordable and cheap selection
- Excellent resource of stock image buying tips
7. Shutterstock
With over 300 million images, Shutterstock is one of the largest stock photo banks.
Shutterstock is the image Wikipedia.
Their portal also includes video footage, music clips, and 3D models in addition to photographs.
As new photographs are added on a regular basis, you will not be limited in your options on this website.
The best thing about Shutterstock is that all of the assets on their website have been meticulously picked.
They have high technical requirements that are strictly adhered to, and any material that does not adhere to their strict guidelines is rejected.
Shutterstock pricing varies depending on the plan you choose.
You may also check out the repository for free for one month before committing to a purchase.
You might want to check how to download Shutterstock images and videos for free without watermark.
Shutterstock Features
- High-resolution stock pictures
- Vast collection
- Customization options are available
8. iStock
iStock was most likely one of the first companies to begin selling photographs with a specific license.
The stock photo industry began with iStock.
iStock, which has been around for almost 18 years, is known for its carefully selected photo, video, and illustration collections.
There are two types of iStock photos: Signature Collection and Essential Collection.
While the Signature collection provides only original content, the Essential collection offers a wide range of generic images for a low cost.
You can also find relevant photographs by using the site's search filter or browsing by category.
The cost of iStock is determined by whether you desire on-demand packs or subscription plans.
iStock Features
- Wide variety of unique images
- Available for on-the-spot editing
- Reverse image search
9. Getty Images
Getty Images is one of the most well-known stock photo websites in the world.
The most popular stock photo site is Getty Images.
Getty Images has provided a super-curated library of stock assets from throughout the world since before the internet era.
Using the search filters for your favorite category and clicking on the image you like is a simple process on the website.
After that, you'll see a variety of image size selections as well as editing tools.
The sole disadvantage of Getty Images is the cost.
Each image's price varies depending on its size and licensing.
Even so, it can cost anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.
Getty Images, on the other hand, is well worth the money for exclusive content that no one else has.
Getty Images Features
- Prestigious collection
- Unique and uncommon pictures
- High impact premium content
10. Canva Pro
Canva is well-known as one of the best image editing apps.
For artists, Canva Pro is the most practical photo library.
Canva Pro, on the other hand, is a premium solution for commercial projects and blogs.
Over 60 million photos, vectors, drawings, and templates are available here.
You may also generate branded pictures for your projects using the provided editing tools.
Subscriptions to Canva Pro start at $9.99 per month.
The bundle includes stock pictures as well as all of the easy-to-use editors.
A 45-day free trial is also available.
Canva Pro is a great alternative to hiring a designer because of its low cost.
Canva Pro Features
- Cool design templates
- Ideal for novice users
- Vast gallery of images
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Final Thoughts
It's largely about the content to become a good blogger, but it's also about the visuals and photographs you use to complement your writings.
Stock photographs can be used to enrich your articles.
These are the best solutions on the market right now, and they'll help you select the best images for your site, regardless of your budget.
Don't let your website or blog suffer because of a lack of images.
Instead, take it upon yourself to promote your company with photographs from one of the top stock photo sites.
Which stock photo site do you believe is ideal for you as a blogger?
Let us know in the comments section or in our Telegram forum.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_photography
https://www.ebaqdesign.com/blog/photo-stocks
https://www.oberlo.com/blog/free-stock-image-websites