Stock Photos That Aren’t So Stock Photo-y

A photo from Gratisography. I’m not sure when you’d ever need a photo like this, but it’s there just in case.


Recently, our PRGN Detroit partner, Bianchi Public Relations, ran into a bit of a copyright problem. Like us, they have an agency blog, and so they need photos to supplement each post. Unfortunately, they learned the hard way that “free” stock photo sites are not always free.
Since the incident, I’ve been very careful about only using photos I know are free to use, most often licensed under CC0. My favorite website for this is Unsplash, which has really beautiful, artistic photos, and they don’t have that stock image-y look, you know what I mean? Occasionally, I’ll use another photo site called Pixabay, which also has free photos, but these are very stock image-y.
So when I got an email from Ragan with an article about six new stock photo sites, I clicked immediately because unfortunately, sometimes Pixabay and Unsplash just don’t have exactly the photo I’m looking for.
So here they are:

  • Gratisography—perfect if you’re looking for an image that is kind of weird.
  • New Old Stock—personally, I’m a little weary of this one because the images might not be 100 percent free. But the photos are pretty cool.
  • FoodiesFeed—these are all photos of…you guessed it, food.
  • Startup Stock Photos—the photos here are nice but this one is essentially useless to me because there is no search field (at least that I can find). And I’m not going to scroll through tons of photos in search of the right one.
  • Kaboompics—these photos are perfects for those looking for feminine photos or fashion photography.
  • Minimography—minimalist, as the name would suggest. This site doesn’t have very many photos (100), but it might have one you’re looking for.

Personally, I’m a little surprised Unsplash didn’t make this list, but I’m wondering if it’s because the site is already well-known. Do you know of any other stock photo sites I should add to my list?

A photo from Gratisography. I'm not sure when you'd ever need a photo like this, but it's there just in case.
Written by
at Mar 10, 2017

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