4 Best Websites for Stock Photos in 2022

Visuals are the first impression you make on your audience. While they may not read the entire content on your website, blog, email, or social media ad, they will definitely look at the images you use. 

Study shows that Facebook ads with images show 2.3 times more engagement than those without images. Plus, articles with multiple images get double the number of shares. 

However, your visuals must be attractive and relevant to compel your audience to enter the sales funnel. You will not leave a lasting impression on your audience using generic and low-resolution images in your web design. 

Many companies hire professional photographers to take their brands’ photos. Still, it has drawbacks: a lack of variety, a heavy financial burden, and an inability to capture specific scenarios.

In contrast, stock photo sites are a great way to access an endless collection of excellent-quality photos that exactly fit the context. They are diverse, cost-effective, and available in almost every possible context. 

Even though some stock websites have subscription plans, they do offer exciting bonuses and promos that can make up for their prices. Another advantage of stock photos is that you can always edit and upscale them using different online tools.

Here we’ve compiled a list of the 4 best websites for stock photos in 2022:

1. Shutterstock

Shutterstock is a popular stock website with over 415 million high-quality, unique images. Contributors from all around the globe add over 200k assets to the website every day.

Highlights:

• Shutterstock’s curated collections are based on trends and popularity and show you the most relevant images in each category. Over 30 collections make it easier and faster for you to find the right image out of thousands. 
• Shutterstock is digital marketers’ favourite due to its partnership with Facebook. Facebook Ad creation tools give you direct access to Shutterstock’s images. They allow you to try six images simultaneously to choose the right one for your ad campaign at no extra fee.
• It has a catalogue where you can save, edit, and organize all your images and share them with your team members.
• Shutterstock also lets you design and edit images with its Create tool. This tool offers amazing templates, canvases of different sizes, image resizers, background removers, and effects.
• Open a photo from its search results, and you will be able to see its popularity and usage score, which can help you decide whether the selected image is overused in your niche.
• Shutterstock offers a variety of subscription packages for single users, teams, and enterprises, along with the option to choose between standard licenses and enhanced licenses.

2. Getty Images

Getty Images is one of the giant stock photo agencies that hosts around 350 million high-resolution royalty-free stock photos covering a range of industries. Several renowned photographers contribute their photos to Getty Images, making it an exclusive collection.

Highlights:

• Getty Images has two categories of images, Editorial and Creative. Editorial images can only be used for editorial and non-commercial purposes, while creative photos can be used for all niches, including non-commercial projects, blogs, personal websites, etc.
• Besides Search by Image, you can also upload videos to find similar content.
• It has already curated collections of images and videos based on marketing, popularity, and consumer trends. You can go to the collection that is relevant to your project and pick the most suitable image.
• When you search for a keyword, thousands of images will appear in the search results. You can narrow down the results by further choosing a more relevant keyword from the suggestions given below the search bar. 
• You can also use advanced filter options like orientation, resolution, image, style, colour, collection, people, creative images, and editorial images.
• With Getty Images’ VisualGPS Insights, you can analyze trending search terms and image popularity indexes to plan more effective marketing and advertising campaigns.
• It has various pricing plans for packs of small, medium, and large images. Teams and enterprises can ask for more personalized pricing solutions.

3. Stock Photo Secrets Shop

Stock Photo Secrets Shop offers a wide variety of unique, high-quality, and royalty-free stock photos, vectors, and videos. Its photo library has over 8,397,763 stock photos from a global community of photographers, and 100,000 images are contributed daily.

Highlights:

• The site has already created libraries in different fields like technology, science, scenic landscape, and spring,
• While searching an image using any relevant keyword, you can refine the search results with advanced filters like age, gender, number of people, composition, and ViewPoint. 
• Another way to narrow down your image search is with orientation. This would help you refine the results according to your required image size. 
• Stock Photo Secrets Shop also allows you to search by image. You can upload an image and search for all similar stock photos present in the library. 
• It offers affordable monthly and annual plans along with image packs. Once you sign up for a subscription plan, you can download the image in any resolution and access it forever. 

4. Adobe Stock

Adobe Stock is a very commonly used stock photo library that hosts over 248 million incredible high-definition images. As integration of Adobe, it is especially convenient for people who work on their entire creative projects through Adobe Creative Cloud. 

Highlights:

• With amazing curated asset collections and popular categories, Adobe Stock makes it easy to find the images you need. Once you buy photos, you can create a library of your photos and access them whenever needed. 
• With Adobe’s search feature, you can upload both image and audio files to find similar results.
• Aside from other common filter options, it also includes features like Undiscovered Content, Copy Space, and Usage Rights. This allows you to find the most exclusive and ready-to-use images for your projects.
• When you buy photos on Adobe Stock, you can easily access your photos while working on any other Adobe software. You don’t have to switch applications to find them.
• Adobe Stock offers affordable monthly and annual subscription plans for individuals with more flexible plans for business enterprises.

Conclusion

Although stock photo sites have had a reputation, their wide variety, quality of images, and affordability make them an ideal option for all kinds of editorial, commercial, and non-commercial purposes. 

Rather than spending a fortune on photographers and still not having access to a large variety, you can always check out stock photo sites for countless incredible high-resolution images. Discover the stock treasure for your project with our list of the 4 best websites for stock photos in 2022 and emphasize your content with high-quality visuals.