As a creative marketing communications agency, we recommend everyone hires a professional photographer for all their online content. Have a photographer spend a day shooting supporting images while you get on with your work. You can then put them to good use on your website and all your social media channels. Having portraits taken soon? Ask the photographer to stick around for an extra hour and shoot while you work.
But we get that not everyone has a photographer over every few months. And you still want good images for your Social Media Campaign, right? Well, that’s what stock images are for.
But if you go that route, make sure they’re high quality.
And trust us, we feel your pain. You’re looking for a free image for your website or Facebook post that captures exactly the feeling you’re after. But you keep landing on the most awkward photos of, say, people hugging cacti.
The good news is there are loads of websites with high-quality images. And for the true Dutchies among us: they’re completely free. Take as many as you like. As Oprah herself would say: “And you get a free stock image, and you get a free stock image, and you get a free stock image!”
Unsplash
Why it’s good:
- High-resolution stock images
- 10 new images every 10 days
- Free
Gratisography
Why it’s good:
- New stock images every week
- High-resolution images
- Images with humour; great for your social media
Little Visuals
Why it’s good:
- 7 new images every 7 days
- Focuses on landscape and nature images
- Free
Superfamous
Why it’s good:
- New stock images every week
- High-resolution images
- Images with humour; great for your social media campaign
- Lots of fun abstract images
Life of Pix
Why it’s good:
- New stock images every week
- Very high-resolution images
- Lots of fun abstract images
Startup Stock
Why it’s good:
- New stock images every week
- Very high-resolution images made for start-ups
- Lots of great images for tech-related websites
Pexels
Why it’s good:
- 5 new stock images every day
- Very high-resolution images
- Lots of different subjects
Our favourite
Stocksnap
Why it’s good:
- Great images with people in them
- Very high-resolution images
- Very pleasant interface
ISO Republic
Why it’s good:
- Big community of photographers
- Very high-resolution images
- Lots of food images. And we <3 Food!
- Perfect images for your blog and mood shots for your online webshop.
Key takeaways
- Ideally, hire a professional photographer for your own images
- When you use stock images, always go for high quality
- Unsplash, Pexels and Stocksnap offer free high-resolution stock images
- Stocksnap is our favourite for its images of people and its pleasant interface
