31+ Options for Unique and Diverse Stock Photos
Updated 5/26
Finding unique and diverse stock photos for your website or marketing materials can be harder than it should be. This list covers 31+ stock photo resources - free, partially free, and paid - with an emphasis on diverse stock photography that goes beyond the same images you've seen a hundred times. Whether you need photos of people of color, plus-size individuals, older adults, or just something that doesn't look like every other small business website, there's something here for you.
A common question is “Where can I find stock images for my website?”
Another common question is “Where can I find free stock images for my website that are actually interesting and different?”
I’m especially excited to share these resources because the need for quality images means there are more options for diverse photos that go beyond the standard slim white lady doing yoga in her light-filled home studio. Although there is still so much room for improvement, I’m happy to find these new free stock photo resources for small businesses!
Before you jump to the list
Let’s get some common issues out of the way before we dive into the list.
First, just because a photo is on the internet, doesn’t mean it is ok for you to use. That means you can’t do a Google search and save images you like to use on your own blog or website. You also can’t go to someone else’s website and take their photos.
Second, because there are so many stock photo sites, you may see the same photo on multiple sites. Let’s assume positive intent and say the photographer who owns the rights to the images uploaded the images to the different sites. But let’s also protect ourselves and make a note of which site you found which image on and when. The easiest way to do this is to make the photo site and the date as part of the image file name you save on your computer.
Third, be aware of licenses and what you can and can’t do with the photos you download. Stock image websites clearly outline the licensing and restrictions – either on the individual photos themselves or on a “Terms and Conditions” page.
You can learn a little more about different licenses here.
Fourth, when I compiled my original list of free stock photo sites, I excluded any that charged money for photos. This time, I’m including a few paid sites because the popular sites are so popular, I’m seeing the same photos used by different businesses. I’d like to encourage you to look at different sites and consider purchasing photos to reduce the risk of choosing an over-used photo, and support the image creators.
Finally, If you're still figuring out what visual direction fits your brand, Branding 101 for Small Business Owners is a good place to start.
Photo from nappy.com
This guide is organized into sections of All Free, Some Free, and All Paid. Some sites, even the paid sites, offer free photo packs in exchange for your email address, and I’ve made a note about that where applicable.
I hesitated to include Unsplash and Pexels because they aren’t focused on just unique or diverse stock photos. Ultimately, I decided to include them as a reminder that some creators have diverse photography collections on those platforms if you look.
All Free
Unsplash – In addition to a standard search feature, you can also browse “Collections” of topics curated by users.
Queer in Tech - inspired by Women of Color in Tech, attribution required (link goes to info page with information and attribution instructions)
Pexels – Modify searches in both Pexels and Unsplash by adding a color or other term to your search.
Stock Up – Instead of searching sites individually, you can search over 30 stock photo sites at once from Stock Up. All photos should be free and usable, but always check the licensing.
Allgo - Plus size stock photos can be hard to find. This is a great collection of fun photos of individuals, groups, and couples hanging out and having fun. Photos are free and credit is requested, but not required.
Nappy – Their tagline is “Beautiful, high-res photos of black and brown people” and they deliver. The photos cover a range of topics and ages.
Public Domain Review - You won't find glossy fashion photos, but you will find thousands of images from across the centuries that are now in the public domain. Side note: In 2019 many items came into the public domain after a 20 year pause (yes, 20 years!) - read more here and here.
Age Positive Images - This is a UK site that features older adults in positive ways.
New Old Stock - collection of interesting public domain images.
New York Public Library Archive - all free and accessible.
Disabled & Here - disability-led effort to provide free & inclusive stock images celebrating disabled Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC).
Focastock - all free and licensed under Creative Commons. The photos are nicely organized by theme and searchable.
KaboomPics - you can find both individual photos and whole photo shoot collections (which is great when you are looking to build a cohesive visual story through images).
Picography - searchable by topic
Iwaria - African stock photos. You can search by collection (the website occasionally sent me an error when searching that way, but the extra workarounds are worth it). There’s a great mix of ages and activities to explore.
Burst by Shopify - large collection of free to use images - including an entire collection of styled sign language images. They’ve also sorted collections by job type (like yoga or photographer, etc.).
TextureZoom - looking for textures or backgrounds for your project? TextureZoom has them.
Vintage Stock Photos - this is a little like looking through a relative’s old photos and peering into the past. Very cool collections and if you’re putting together a mood board or looking for old time inspiration, I could see these being helpful.
Gratisography - looking for some whimsical stock photos? This is the place.
UK Black Tech - a small collection from the UK featuring kids and adults exploring technology in a professional setting. Attribution required.
Scatterjar - free stock food photos, new photos added monthly.
FoodiesFeed - another option for food-focused stock photos
PicNoi - Focuses entirely on people of color. All free, attribution required.
Skitterphoto - this is a mix of more polished free photos and more creative takes on common objects.
StartUp Stock Photos - looking for photos for your start up or just office photos that aren’t what you find on every other site?
Women of Color in Tech - a collection of 500+ women of color in tech photos - lots of computers, meetings, and office settings. Attribution required.
Image credit: William Saville-Kent’s The great Barrier Reef of Australia (1893), from Public Domain Review
Some Free, Some Pay to Use
Pic Jumbo – Plenty of free photos as well as a premium membership option.
Every Pixel – Similar to Stock Up, Every Pixel searches multiple stock photo sites for you. Over 51 sites are searched and results are both free and paid photos (or modify the search to just free or just paid images). Image results can be streamlined by color and image orientation (vertical or horizontal) as well as by photo, vector, or graphic.
InspiredStockShop - Focusing on spiritual stock photos.
Photo credit: CreateHER Stock
All Paid
Death to the Stock Photo – This is a membership site.
Envato Elements – Offers stock photos, stock video, music, templates, and fonts.
Stocksy – I love the search features here. You can search by location, ages of people in the photo, number of people in the photo, gender, and ethnicity. You can also search by photo orientation.
Tonl – You can search by topic or browse categories.
Create Her Stock – Focusing on women of color.
Elevae – Highly stylized flat lays and object photos.
POC Stock - Focusing on people of color.
Body Liberation Stock - Body positive and size diverse photos.
Mocha Stock - featuring diversity and people of color.
She Bold Stock - one time payment to access 6,000 women-centered diverse stock photos, plus videos and other resources. You can also get 20 free images by joining the email list.
Honorable mention - you can’t use these photos commercially, but Life Magazine and Google teamed up to make Life’s massive 10+ million photo archive available to browse (97% had never been seen). Learn more about that project here.
If you have a favorite source for diverse and unique stock photos that isn't on this list, I'd love to hear about it.
Looking for more visual resources? Check out these posts:
Branding 101 for Small Business Owners
Choosing the right photos is one small piece of a marketing strategy that actually works for your business. If you're figuring out what that looks like, this is a good starting point. And if you're ready to talk through the bigger picture of creating your marketing strategy, here's how we can work together.
