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    Top 14 Stock Image Sources

    February 5, 2021 by ProfK 4 Comments

    Having spent 20+ years in print design and 10+ years in web design, I’ve learned a thing or two about where to find the best images. There are basically three categories of stock images: rights-managed, royalty-free, and free. In this post, I share what I consider the top 14 stock image sources.

    Rights-Managed vs. Royalty-Free vs. Free

    RIGHTS-MANAGED

    Rights-managed pricing is based on an end-use formula: print quantity, physical size, resolution (300 ppi for print, 72 ppi for web), audience (U.S., other countries, international), media (print, web, CD, video, etc.) and length of time. You purchase the image with specific rights of usage. This arrangement applies to stock imagery, as well as hiring a photographer or illustrator to create new image(s). If you want to use the image again, after the initial timeframe has expired, you can extend the license.

    ROYALTY-FREE

    “Royalty-free” images are often misconstrued to mean “free”. They are actually fee-based, like rights-managed images, but after the initial purchase, royalty-free images can be used endlessly without needing renewal. The quality varies wildly, but the advantage is the ability to use the image as many times as you like, for as long as you want.

    FREE

    Free images can be great, but do come with restrictions, so we tend not to use them for commercial projects. The restrictions often require an attribution and adding a link to the creator, limit the usage to personal, and forbid any modifications to the image. For personal projects, free images may work perfectly fine. Public domain images are an exception in that they do not have the usual restrictions of free images.

    Even though attribution may NOT be required with certain agencies, I make a habit of citing the source anyway. It’s good protocol to give credit to the creator with key information in the caption: title, author, source, license, and source URL.

    Rights-Managed Stock Image Sources

    ALAMY

    alamy home page

    Key Features: 235 million pieces in their visual library. Diverse categories, high quality. Lightbox tool provided, smooth and effective search engine. Alamy has licenses for rights-managed and royalty-free content.

    Contact: US Toll-free 866 671 7305     |     Canada Toll-free 866 331 4914
    sales@alamy.com
    Website
    49 Flatbush Ave., 130, Brooklyn, NY 11217, USA

    ART RESOURCE

    art resource home page

    Key Features: Huge fine art photo archive. Excellent selection and quality. More than 1,000,000 images are available for licensing to all media. Register an account to get lightbox tool. Traditional request for pricing via email.

    Contact: T. 212.505.8700 F. 212.505.2053     |     requests@artres.com 
    Website
    65 Bleecker St, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10012, USA

    GETTY IMAGES

    getty images home page

    Key Features: The world’s largest visual archive. Excellent collection of high-end creative, editorial, music, and video options. Many formerly independent sources are now under the Getty umbrella: Digital Vision, Image Bank, iStock (see royalty-free list below), and Stone. Create boards to gather images for projects. Plugins to integrate with Adobe CC, Dropbox, InVision, and WordPress. Pricing for single images and packs offered, all sizes, all media.

    Note: In 2020, Getty Images announced a major change in their business model: dropping their rights-managed Creative stock imagery. Royalty-free content for commercial-use will become their main focus. Their Editorial collection will remain unaffected and will continue to provide rights-managed visuals. For details on this important, phased retirement of Getty’s rights-managed creative collection, see this article: Getty Images is Dropping Rights-Managed Licensing in 2020.

    Contact: T. +1 646 613 4000 Toll-Free 800 IMAGERY (800 462 4379)
    Sales +1 800 462 4379
    Website
    Getty Images, New York
    195 Broadway; New York, NY 10007, USA

    MASTERFILE

    masterfile home page

    Key Features: Reliable source for millions of premium visuals. Diverse categories, high quality. Services include free photo research and high resolution comp downloads. Lightbox provided. Search engine has awesome pricing tool. Licenses for Premium and budget rights-managed and royalty-free content, as well as subscriptions and packages.

    Contact: T. 1-800-387-9010 or 416-929-3000
    info@masterfile.com
    Website
    Design Pics Head Office:
    #101, 10464 — 176 St.
    Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T5S 1L3

    MINDEN PICTURES

    minden pictures home page

    Key Features: In my opinion, the best in the business for premium wildlife and nature images. Stellar quality. Outstanding search capabilities, with plenty of filters and useful galleries. You must register an account to use the lightbox and price quote tool. All images are rights-managed.

    Contact: T. 831 661 5551 | info@mindenpictures.com
    Website
    9565 Soquel Drive, Suite 202, Aptos, CA 95003, USA

    Royalty-Free Stock Image Sources

    ISTOCK

    istock photo home page

    Key Features: Under the Getty Images umbrella, this stock agency focuses on exclusive, premium content. All assets are in 1 of 2 collections: Essentials (everyday favorites) and Signature (trendy). Offers Credit Packs, as well as Basic and Premium subscription plans that can be purchased monthly or annually. Standard and Extended licenses. All payment plans provide access to boards (for organizing and sharing), iStock Editor (online image editor), and plugins for Adobe CC, Sketch, and Dropbox.

    Contact: T. 1 866 478 6251
    Website

    Getty Images
    Suite 313 – 1240 20th Ave SE; Calgary, Alberta T2G 1M8, Canada

    123RF.COM

    123rf home page

    Key Features: Started in 2005, and now has more than 110 million creative works. Fantastic range of categories. Free tools include an image editor, font pairer, graphic maker, color matcher, and calendar. Affordable pricing via on-demand credits and subscription plans. Part of the Inmagine ecosystem.

    Contact: T. 1 866 655 3733 | info@123rf.com
    Website
    220 N Green Street; Chicago, IL 60607, USA

    SHUTTERSTOCK

    shutterstock home page

    Key Features: Library contains over 300 million images. Great variety in a wide range of collections. Provides social media and print templates. Also provides online editing tools for editing, resizing, and converting files. Plugins are available for WordPress, Final Cut Pro, Chrome, Adobe CC, Sketch, Google Slides, and Powerpoint. Offers Premier, Studios, and Custom services. Licensing is reasonably priced, with standard and enhanced options, individual and multiple user subscription and on-demand plans.

    Contact: T. 1 (866) 663-3954
    Website
    New York, NY, USA

    Free Stock Image Sources

    CREATIVE COMMONS

    creative commons home page

     

    Creative Commons is a global nonprofit organization that enables sharing and reuse of creativity and knowledge through the provision of free legal tools. Our legal tools help those who want to encourage reuse of their works by offering them for use under generous, standardized terms; those who want to make creative uses of works; and those who want to benefit from this symbiosis.”

    Creative Commons

    Key Features: Archive of more than 1.6 billion visual works! All licenses require attribution to the creator (BY). The other five licenses combine BY with additional elements, such as non-commercial use and no derivatives. Full explanations are on their Wiki site. You search by source (which includes museums, Flickr, NASA, the Smithsonian, and more) or through their robust search tool, which has many useful filters. They also offer a browser extension.

    Contact: T. 1-415-429-6753 | info@creativecommons.org
    Website
    PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA

    PEXELS

    pexels home page

    Key Features: Very new to the stock image world (founded in 2014). Thousands of high quality visuals. All images are free to use and can be modified. Attribution is not required, but is appreciated through social media sharing and donation. To interact on the site with Follows, Likes, and Collections, you must create an account. Plugins and extensions are available for Chrome, Google Slides, Photoshop, MS Office, and WordPress.

    Contact: app@pexels.com
    Website

    PIXABAY

    pixabay home page

    Key Features: Over 1.9 million high quality content, all free and alterable. There are a few exceptions, particularly in regard to reselling and redistribution, so read the licensing details. No attribution required, even for commercial use, but citing the creator is appreciated. Interestingly, iStock visuals are sponsored on Pixabay: the hyperlink will lead you to the image on the iStock website.

    Contact: T. +1 844-204-1750 | info (at) pixabay.com
    Website
    Pixabay GmbH
    c/o Lacore Rechtsanwälte LLP
    Berliner Freiheit 2, 10785 Berlin; Germany

    SMITHSONIAN OPEN ACCESS

    smithsonian open access home page

    Key Features: An incredible archive containing millions of Smithsonian images that have been released into the public domain as Creative Commons Zero (CC0). Content can be used, transformed, and shared for any purpose, free of charge. There are third-party or legal restrictions that may apply to your use (see the Smithsonian Terms of Use). In addition to the visual archive, the site has an impressive array of platforms: developer tools, 3D voyager, and learning lab.

    Contact: openaccess@si.edu
    Media Contacts
    Website

    UNSPLASH

    unsplash home page

    Key Features: Offers over 2 million free high-resolution images. You can copy, alter, distribute, and use in whatever way you want, commercial and non-commercial. Attribution is appreciated, but not required. User-friendly search tools. Tech savvy, Unsplash offers: plugins for WordPress and Figma, Mobile apps, wallpapers, previews, Apple TV slideshow, and an API.

    Website

    ADDITIONAL PUBLIC DOMAIN OPTIONS

    Always go to the image source for copyright information. Do not rely on search engine results, like Google or Yahoo: these are simply listings. Find the original creator of the work and track down the copyright!

    Images that are in the public domain are those whose copyright has expired (or never existed). Since legal definitions vary internationally, there’s no single formula for determining when a work enters into the public domain. Here are a few reliable sources of public domain images:

    The British Library

    Library of Congress

    New York Public Library

    Old Book Illustrations

    Public Domain Pictures

    Related Posts

    How to Prepare Images for the Web
    Adding Images to a WordPress Sidebar
    Adding Images to WordPress Pages and Posts
    Packaging Illustrator Files
    Preflighting and Packaging InDesign Files

    Filed Under: Graphic Design, Web Design Tagged With: fee-based images, free images, public domain images, rights-managed, royalty-free, stock images

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. lisa forman says

      February 12, 2021 at 8:12 pm

      Great resource! Thanks for posting this valuable info!

    2. ProfK says

      February 13, 2021 at 3:38 pm

      Glad to know you found it valuable, Lisa. That means a lot coming from a professional photographer like you. Thank you!

    3. Janine Hudak says

      February 19, 2021 at 6:10 pm

      Some of my favorites are here and a few new ones! Yes, great resource. A good resource for photographers looking to sell their work, too.

    4. ProfK says

      February 20, 2021 at 10:34 pm

      Thanks for your feedback, Janine!

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