7 Places to Find the Best Stock Photos, Graphics, Images, Audio, and Videos

 

I previously wrote a post giving you some basic photography tips that would help you avoid using stock photos but sometimes you just need to use them.

Everyone knows Shutterstock, iStock, and 123RF. So why not go there for the stock photos for your website? Because everyone goes there, which means everyone is searching the same database and utilizing the same or similar images. Personally, I like to stand out from the crowd.  So I’m going to try to offer you some sites outside of the box that I use on a weekly basis.

And we not limit ourselves to just images, but include videos and audio considering how fast social media is moving past stagnant images. By 2019, video content will be 85% of the driving factor behind search traffic in the United States.

 

1. Adobe Stock

Being an avid Adobe CC user, I love Adobe Stock as a resource for stock photos, images, videos, templates, and 3D assets.  Adobe subscribers can access their stock library straight from any of their Adobe software as well.  I also find searching the site’s database brings more relevant results than some of it’s competitor’s sites, making it easier to find what you need to finish any project you may be working on.  Some of the subscription choices limit the number of downloads allowed.  But it is for a variety of media option and they do offer 10 free images with a trial subscription, if you are interested.

 

2. Videoblocks

Videoblocks is a royalty free subscription based resource for stock footage, videos, looping motion backgrounds,  and Adobe After Effects templates.  I utilize this site for almost all of my video edits.  Their library offers 3,837,000 available downloads and includes a 4k and Virtual Reality (VR) collection. Unlike Adobe Stock, downloads are unlimited.

 

3. Graphicstock

Graphicstock is a graphics based royalty free subscription resource.  The site offers vector files, illustrations, and photos.  Downloads are unlimited and once the file is downloaded, its yours forever.  The library holds 300,000 options within it’s 20 well-organized collections and categories.  A prepaid year will cost you $99 USD, which is a better choice than the $49 USD/mo alternative.

 

4. Dreamstime

Dreamstime is a tradition pay as you play based stock image, footage, and audio resource.  This allows you to spend the credits you buy in bulk where you need them, instead of committing to one or the other.  The site isn’t as organized as the previous sites mentioned but offer a variety of sizes that you can spend your prepurchased credits on.

 

5. Getty Images

Getty Images is a tastefully designed resource for images, editorial stock photos, vectors, video, and music that collaborates with iStock to offer a variety of plans in efforts to accommodate any budget.  The plans include:

• Premium Access – access to premium content that can be customized for your needs and legal protection.
• Editorial Subscription – unlimited customizable hi-res images and video with legal protection.
• Signature – access to best-selling and premium images on iStock.
• Essentials – access to best-selling collection on iStock.

 

6. Audioblocks 

Audioblocks is a great resource for…  You guessed it, audio.  I use Audioblocks to find quick audio for my social media marketing videos every week.  The site allows you to filter selections by mood, instrument, and even pace.

 

7. Videvo

I bet you think I saved the best for last.  Well, I’m about to disappoint you.

This resource sites gets really great reviews from plenty of other sites due to the fact it’s 100% free and allows its members to contribute to its media library.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test it out, no matter how I tried to sign up or which device I used, I received an error.  So why did I list it?  In hopes you have better luck signing up and can tell me about it.