Stock photos

High fives in a fictional boardroom. Unnatural-looking offices. Photogenic women smiling while eating salad. We all know the stock image tropes, and they (rightly) make us cringe.

Stock photos can be really naff, but there’s loads of great ones out there too. You just have to know where to look…

The home of stylish photos by real photographers. Unsplash has a small but impressive collection of natural and artistic stock images. Oh, and they’re all completely royalty-free for both personal and business websites.

This site really lives up to its tagline – “Photos for everyone”.

Who’s it for?

Anyone that doesn’t have a budget for stock photos, but still wants good looking images.

Good bits

• The images are high quality with that Instagram-ready filter already applied. There’s no smiling-man-with-thumbs-up.jpg here…
• Most search terms will come up with some good results. You can find appropriate images for a lot of different niches.

Not so good bits

• There isn’t tonnes of choice compared to the more expensive stock image sites, like Shutterstock.
• Unsplash’s popularity is pretty clear. You might see an image you’ve chosen on a few other people’s sites or blogs.

Free-o-meter

5/5

Prices: It’s free!

You don’t have to pay a thing, and you don’t even need to credit the photographers if you don’t want to. However, you can often thank the photographers via their PayPal if you’re particularly happy with their work.

As well as stylish stock images, Pexels does videos you’d be proud to show off on your website too. Just like Unsplash, all the images and videos are free to use.

Who’s it for?

Business owners who’ve exhausted Unsplash, or don’t have a budget for videography.

Good bits

• The images and videos look great. They’re undeniably good value.
• There’s surprisingly little crossover between Unsplash and Pexel. If you can’t find what you want on one, it might be on the other.

Not so good bits

• There’s still less choice than the paid platforms.

Free-o-meter

5/5

 Prices: It’s free!

Just like Unsplash, you can tip the photographers as a thank you if you really like their work.

Proudly used by major newspapers and publishers, Picfair has a massive collection of photos taken by real photographers. Instead of paying a monthly subscription for credits, you pay for each image you want.

Who’s it for?

Freelancers and business owners that remember they have image credits the day after they’ve run out…

Good bits

• Amazing choice of quality photos. Most are good enough to put on your wall (and you can if you want to…)
• You can search by license type, so you’ll always know how and where you can use the image.

Not so good bits

• If you use a lot of images, this isn’t the cheapest way to download them.
• No video content yet.

Free-o-meter

1/5

Prices: Images have individual prices.

The price depends on what you’re going to use the image for, and it can vary from a few pounds to a few hundred pounds.

Personal and editorial is the cheapest, but that’s not going to work for any kind of business use. Look for the ‘Editorial, Social Media, Marketing’ or ‘Advertising and Merchandising’ price.

Some stock image sites can seem eye-wateringly expensive, but iStock is pretty good value.

It’s cheaper than Shutterstock, but with the same massive catalogue of choice.

Who’s it for?

Anyone who needs new images every month.

Good bits

• Search for whatever you need without paying a thing.
• There’s a lot more choice than Unsplash and Pexels.
• Buy video clips as well as images.

Not so good bits

• It’s expensive if you need a lot of images.
• There are a lot of pricing options – it’s difficult to know if you’re getting the best value for what you need.
• iStock ‘generously’ provide a random free image, video, and illustration every day. Keep an eye out for relevant ones, but don’t hold your breath…

Free-o-meter

1/5

Prices: 10 images – £45 a month. 25 images – £70 a month. 50 images – £119 a month.

The pricing is a bit complicated. You can either buy credits, which give you a specific amount to spend on photos, or you can pay a fixed price for 10, 20, or more photos every month.

There are even more options on top of that, but that’s the basic gist…