The Best Places for High-Quality Stock Photos, GIFs, and Vector Graphics (Paid and Free)

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According to research done by developmental molecular biologist Dr. John J Medina, if people hear information they will only remember 10% of it three days later. However, if a picture is added to the information these people hear, they’ll remember 65% of the information. (Source)

In addition to this, consultant Jeff Bullas found that articles with images get 94% more views. (Source)

Images are a great way to capture attention, make your messages stick, and draw more prospects and readers into your content. You can use images on your website, landing pages, social media marketing, content creation, eBooks, presentation slides, and all sorts of other places. (Just be sure that you’re not violating the photo license rights/agreement!)

Best Places for High-Quality Stock Photos (Free)

While there are great stock photo sites such as Shutterstock, BigStock, and Lightstock where you can pay for premium stock images, there are also many sites where you can find and use premium, beautiful stock images for free. Here are six of the best places for free, beautiful stock photos, GIFs, and vector images:

1. Unsplash.com

Unsplash has a huge selection of beautiful stock images that you can use for free, without giving attribution to the author. New photos are added every 10 days.

2. StockSnap.io

StockSnap.io has hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images, with new ones added weekly. There are no copyright restrictions, and attribution is not required.

3. NegativeSpace.co

NegativeSpace.co has a great selection of photos, vector, and even videos. New photos are added weekly, and no attribution is required for the photos.

4. Giphy.com

While not necessarily beautiful, GIFs are hilarious and have a unique way of capturing people’s attention. Giphy has one of the largest selection of GIFs, with many different categories to choose from. Attribution is required when using the GIFs from Giphy.com.

5. VectorStock.com

While VectorStock has a paid plan, they also offer tons of free vector images as well. Worth checking out if you need some vector images for your landing pages, website, or other designs.

6. Pixabay.com

Pixabay has over 880,000 high-quality images — stock photos, vectors, and art illustrations — which you are free to download and use for personal or commercial purposes. We’ve found their library to have a great selection, and have used several of their photos in our workshops.

Honorable mention: Creative Commons

The above stock photo sites are great, because the images are awesome, and you don’t need to worry about giving attribution to the photographer (with the exception of Giphy). There’s another photo gallery site worth mentioning: Creative Commons.

With Creative Commons, you can search (and use) thousands of photos, depending on the copyright license. Most photos are licensed under Creative Commons License 2.0, which means that you can use the photos for most purposes, but you must give proper attribution to the owner. See an example of this attribution under the Creative Commons License 2.0 below:

Important: It’s a good idea to double check the license guidelines for the photo(s) you want to use, before using it for personal or business uses. We have seen other businesses fined by the photographers when proper use and attribution was not given. Following the license agreement assures that this won’t happen to you, your business, or your clients.

Best Places for High-Quality Stock Photos (Paid)

If you can’t find the image or vector graphic you’re looking for on the sites listed above, it may be worth purchasing a premium stock photography package. There are many sites that offer premium stock photos, but here are three that we suggest you try first:

1. Graphicstock.com: For only $149 per year, this might be the best stock photography package on the market. You get royalty free images with unlimited downloads, and you can use them for commercial purposes without having to worry about hidden copyright issues.
2. Shutterstock: If you only need a handful of images, Shutterstock offers great stock photos and vector graphics that you can purchase for a one-time fee. You can also purchase stock music and video footage.
3. Adobe Stock: Adobe has a good collection of high-quality image, graphics, and videos. Plans start at $29.99 per month, and there are no long-term contracts, so you can cancel anytime.

Conclusion

Images and visual content have proven to be great for capturing attention, attracting prospects and readers, and having your messages remembered. If you can’t find a photo to use from the six websites mentioned above, it’s worth checking out Creative Commons, or signing up for a five photo paid plan ($49 one time fee) with Shutterstock.

How are you using images in your marketing? Do you have a favorite stock photo site? Let us know your ideas, thoughts, and favorite resources in the comments below!