Where to find diverse and inspiring stock photography
If you’ve been in the world of online publishing for a few years or more, the phrase ‘stock photo’ may conjure up a less-than-inspiring image. You might be picturing staged shots of ‘businesspeople’ in suits on the phone / in a meeting / getting off a private jet, doing so-called ‘businessy’ things with cheesy grins on their faces. Or you might recall an abundance of conceptual graphics, like neon blue ‘@’ signs floating through space to represent the internet.
For years, the stock photo market has been crying out for innovation and thankfully, entrepreneurs and creatives have been hearing the call. New platforms have emerged allowing independent artists and photographers to sell and share their work, offering gorgeous free or affordable options for startups and small businesses.
As a freelance digital editor, I have to admit I do now find myself going back to the same trusted sources for strong stock images (ahem, Unsplash), but I’ve been trying to spread my digital wings and find more alternative options. Also, while the images on these sites are slowly becoming more culturally representative, searches do not always return the most diverse results (as the founders of Nappy sum up beautifully - see below).
Whether you’re looking for stand-out images for your blog posts, sales pages, website headers, emails or social media posts, here are some places to find diverse and inspiring stock photos for your digital content.
>> Always check the T&Cs and licence terms for any photos you use.
Centre for Ageing Better
The Centre for Ageing Better is a charitable foundation that aims to create a society where everyone enjoys later life. In 2021, the centre launched an ‘age-positive image library’ to tackle negative stereotypes of ageing and older people.
The library launched with more than 400 free photos, depicting ‘positive and realistic images of people aged 50 and over’. The centre aims to ‘show a more realistic depiction of ageing and old age’ - and to provide alternatives to the commonly used pictures of ‘wrinkly hands’ or ‘walking sticks’.
In March 2022, more than 300 new images were added to the library, in collaboration with Disability Rights UK, depicting older disbled people getting active.
CreateHER Stock
Founder Neosha Gardner started working on the idea for CreateHER Stock in June 2014, after looking for images for a lifestyle blog and struggling to find ‘photos of melanated women’. Taking to social media, she realised that she was not alone in this pursuit, and set about building a resource to fill this gap. CreateHER Stock was launched in July 2015.
Neosha says: ‘We are a grassroots resource and digital “pantry” for stock imagery that can be used for lifestyle, business, and everyday content creation for bloggers, creatives, and growing influencers.’
The site’s approach is based on quality over quantity, with a curated selection of images in categories spanning wellness, business and lifestyle. Subscriptions start at $10 per month, at time of writing, and you can sign up to the email list to receive a sample of free images each month.
Death to Stock
Death to Stock (DTS) works with professional artists and photographers to create ‘authentic stock photos for non-stock creatives’.
The DTS library is full of images and videos of artists, makers and entrepreneurs from different backgrounds at work, travelling and in action, making it an inspiring resource for independent creatives.
You can sign up to the mailing list to get occasional free photos sent to your inbox. A paid subscription (starting at $15/month or $144/year, at time of writing), gives access to the full library of 4,500+ photos - with fresh images added each month.
Nappy
With its strapline, ‘Beautiful photos of Black and Brown people, for free’, Nappy is aiming to bring more diversity to the world of stock photography.
The site was set up by Dahcia and Jacques Bastien, founders of SHADE - a full service agency on a mission to diversify influencer marketing - to help startups, brands and agencies be purposeful about representation in their content and designs.
Nappy’s ‘about’ page reads: ‘I love Unsplash, Pexels and Shot Stash, but one of the things I’ve noticed is that all of their content could use a little more diversity. As an influencer mgmt agency for black and brown creators, we’re very intentional about cultural representation in the work we do. And because of that, we weren’t always able to find the photos we need from those sites.’
All photos on Nappy are licensed under the Creative Commons Zero (CCO) licence, meaning you are free to use them for personal and commercial projects, ideally with a photographer credit, but you cannot resell or repost them as images.
TONL
TONL’s mission is to transform the idea of stock photography, by displaying images of diverse people and their stories around the world.
Founders Joshua Kissi and Karen Okonkwo had both experienced the challenge of finding strong, diverse imagery for their previous ventures, and sought to change this.
They say: ‘Our voices and visibility matter. We wanted to challenge the stale, homogenous look of traditional stock photography by showcasing the many ethnic backgrounds of everyday people.’
Photos can be purchased ‘a la carte’, with prices starting at $25 each (at time of writing), or via a monthly subscription for editorial use. Categories include ‘Taste’, ‘Technology’, ‘Travel’ and more; there’s also a selection of free images (for editorial use only) in the ‘Take’ section.
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