Create engaging content with high-quality free stock photos...

Stock images are generic photos, illustrations and icons created without a particular project in mind. They are then licensed, usually for a fee, to individuals or organizations for use in marketing materials, websites, packaging, book covers and more.

Stock images seem to be everywhere, but some sources are better than others. The first step is understanding your budget and needs: if you need a bunch of stock images, or will need new ones regularly over time, it might be worth looking into paid stock image services. You might already recognize these names: Adobe Stock, Getty Images, Shutterstock, Moose

Stock photos come from a supply of photographs and are usually licensed for specific purposes. These photos tend to be generic and are obvious to spot. If possible, it's always best to use your own original photographs, but having a stock photo throughout content can be better than no images at all.

Anyone can use stock photos, though most users of stock photography websites are sourcing images for projects that fall under one of two categories: Commercial Use, Editorial Use

There are stock agencies on the higher-end of the price spectrum, while others like us are more conducive to small-business owners with a tight budget. Stock agencies have a wide variety of subscription plans that will suit the budget for anyone with photo needs, whether it’s for personal use or a large company.

A bunch! Stock images can have various license types, including special allowances for commercial usage and modification. Designers primarily find themselves dealing with three core types: Public Domain (PD), Royalty-Free (RF), Rights-Managed (RM)

Here's a list of online resources and websites where you'll find free stock photos for your social media posts, website, or other marketing channels: Unsplash, Gratisography, Morguefile, Pixabay, Stockvault, Pexels, Picjumbo, Pikwizard, Rawpixel, Reshot

Everyone can benefit from stock photos. If you are a blogger, you can use royalty-free images to decorate your blog posts. If you are a graphic designer, you can use stock photos to provide a nicer looking design to your clients. If you are a business, you can use stock photos for a lot of things. You can use stock photos to promote a product or service, you can use stock photos to simply decorate a website or a product, and you can use stock photos to fill up a portfolio.

They can be. Stock images become decidedly more versatile if you modify and personalize them. The fact of the matter is, stock images are most effective when they don’t look like stock images.

A stock photographer is someone who captures images of a specific subject and then licences them for use in a variety of different contexts. Professional stock photographers typically have their images placed on a contractual basis through one or more stock agencies, whereas amateur photographers can submit photos for consideration through an online process.