The Best Free Modern Stock Photo Websites
I don’t know about you but when I think of stock photo sites, I cringe inside and my lips curl 🤷♀️
I imagine oversaturated smiley faces with perfectly white teeth smiling at the camera. Or a symmetrical beach scene, too perfectly framed by two palm trees. Or how about the fresh slice of watermelon sitting on some I-need-to-put-my-sunglasses-on-that’s-so-bright grass.
The bottom line is, stock photography has a reputation for being stereotypical, forced and downright cheesy.
And when we think about what we want for a modern website, cheesy is a big no-no.
Whether we can’t afford to hire a photographer (yet!) or we’re looking to get an extra couple of images for your latest blog post, we want modern, relaxed and authentic imagery to showcase to our customers.
I’m here to tell you that cringe-free photos are now easily accessible, you just have to know where to look. As a website designer, it’s safe to say I’ve rooted around dozens upon dozens of stock photography sites and cherry-picked the creme de la creme to provide for my Custom Squarespace Website Design clients. And today, I’m passing this knowledge onto you with my selection of the best free modern stock photography website in 2024.
It’s time to get scrolling…
The Best Next-Gen Royalty Free Photography Websites
Looking for some help picking the perfect range of stock images for your website? Check out this blog which walks you through the key steps to nailing your site photos.
Kaboom - www.kaboompics.com
Kaboompics is a great fit for lifestyle focussed businesses searching for images with an authentic feel but stylishly edited. Search by colour and orientation alongside the usual subject and category search.
Dupe - www.dupephotos.com
Dupe is a great option for UCG style content. Categories include ‘cores’ like cottagecore and beachcore alongside clean girl and academia aesthetics. The majority of images are portrait and the site hosts a selection of portrait videos which makes this a great choice for social media.
Life of Pix - www.lifeofpix.com
Life of Pix has a large range of high quality stock images and contributors offering a selection of images with fun and modern edits. Whilst there are a few images and galleries which lack this character, the landscape and urban style images are definitely worth a browse.
Barnimages - www.barnimages.com
Barnimages is another great option for fun modern editing with beautoful aesthetics, particularly nature and urban shots. There is a retro and soulful feel to the images with great depth and mood. A lot fo the imagers are landscape and few are portrait so Barnimages could work slightly better for websites and print over social media.
Unsplash - www.unsplash.com
Unsplash is arguably the biggest and best all round stock photography site and it’s where 90% of my clients looking for stock images will get their photos from as they are great for images with people due to the large database. Different styles and edits are mixed in together so there might be a bit of searching to find your perfect images but tools like categories, user collections and reverse image search can really help narrow things down. Unsplash have also got a + version which requires a subscription so be careful to choose ‘free’ from the dropdown to avoid disappointment.
Pexels - www.pexels.com
Pexels is another large database with varied styles, subjects and edits in making it a great all rounder. Pexels has a decent range of free videos too, a great choice for background movement on websites and social posts. The more recent photos added to the site definitely have more character and soul so you may have to scroll to find your perfect shot - but it’ll be worth it!
Now that you’re armed with the best sources for modern, cringe-free stock photos, you can elevate your website with authentic, stunning visuals. Remember, great imagery makes a world of difference in creating a captivating online presence.
Happy scrolling, let’s make your site shine!
