Free Stock Photo Sites

No matter what your visual style is, there is (free) stock photography out there for you and your brand. Stock photography has come a LONG way since my start in the design field and it sure is welcome. Quality stock photography is an amazing resource for small businesses looking to up their visual game without the costly investment of a custom photoshoot. Of course, nothing beats a just-for-you photo session but if you need filler images or mockups for your latest designs, then this is a resource page worth bookmarking.

PEXELS

FREE
What they have: Photos and videos

Pexels is a creator driven stock site and the quality is *chefs kiss.* You can find just about everything on this site and download the images in a range of sizes if resizing in Photoshop isn’t your thing. They have some mockup worthy images too but it is in the minority of site content. You can also donate to any of the creators that you download from. Their photography does tend to sku towards what the current style/trend is, which is obviously on point, but if your visual language falls outside of that then you might have to do a little extra scrolling to find the perfect image.

Visit Pexels

ADOBE STOCK

FREE & PAID
What they have: Photos, videos, illustrations/vectors, fonts, and more

If you already have an Adobe account and aren’t utilizing their free resources, then you’re missing out. Every paid account has access to unlimited free imagery, fonts, and more. While they have paid resources as well, since the free version is included it’s totally worth taking advantage of. Whenever you do a search on the site, just make sure “Free” is set in the search bar drop down and you’re good to go! They will automatically show you additional paid options based on your image selections because who doesn’t love an upsell.

Adobe’s free stock images tend to lean towards the more ‘traditional’ style of stock photography, very similar to an iStock or Getty site. You can also download patterns and illustrative graphics if you need something a little less photo based in your life.

Don’t have a paid Adobe account? At the time of writing this I believe if you sign up for their emails you’ll receive some limited free downloads each month.

Visit Adobe Stock

MR. MOCKUP

FREE & PAID
What they have: Photo mockups for artwork and designs.

This site is curated to the creatives. Easy to edit PDS files that you can overlay your branding or artwork onto almost any surface. It does require Photoshop in order to uses these mockups, which if you’re an Illustrator or Designer you most likely already have. They have both free and paid mockups but the paid ones tend to be a bit more detailed. If you repeatedly create designs for certain products that you like to show in context, then paid versions are definitely worth the investment.

Visit Mr. Mockup

CANVA

FREE & PAID
What they have: Photos, videos, templates.

You probably know and work in Canva but just might not think of them as a stock resource. All of the templates on Canva utilize stock images which you can keep or switch out with one of your own. Even if you don’t use a Canva template you can search their stock library for ones that fit your needs. Their free options might be limited based on your specific visual needs but if you’re already using Canva then it’s a great place to continue to build your stock library.

Visit Canva