Writing a blog sounds easy to do, but trust me, it is not only about compiling some good words on a particular topic; it is more than just words. You have to scratch your head to make your blog attractive, SEO friendly, and a lot more. And for all these, the picture plays a pivotal role to make your blog pop up.
Again, finding a good and appropriate photo depository for your site or blog takes a lot of time. Still, some people cannot find one because you need to keep in mind the pricing, what you are getting from the photo depository, the quality of the images, the appropriateness, and also the legal aspect, which is really important.
You may see that there are free photo depositories from where you can get free photos for your content; yes, indeed you can. But the hidden part is that there are also considerable legal risks while you are choosing an image from these free sites.
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After seeing a lot of complications and headache that a blogger can face when picking the best photo depository for his or her blog, I have come here to lighten your burden. Yes, today I am going to talk about the best photo depositories from where you can get the best quality photos without any legal complications for your blog to develop it further. No matter what your content or niche is, you can still find an appropriate and quality photo depository for your blog.
So without wasting more time, let’s move forward with the curated list of the best photo depositories which will ease your anxiety and burden.
Dreamstime Images
Dreamtime needs no introduction as the name speaks for itself. It is one of the best and most popular suppliers of royalty-free stock images in the entire globe.
Why Is It Unique?
It contains 53 million files with almost 16 million registered users worldwide. From this massive resource, you can find at least a few images suitable for your blog. On top of that, thousands of images are added daily to their site to make it richer and to provide you an excellent experience.
Starting their journey in 2000, Dreamtime has become a wider community to photo agency, and they are growing day by day. Their depository collects quality photos from photographers worldwide.
The best part is that Dreamtime does not add any random photos. Their expert editing team is there, and each photo goes under their well-judged scrutiny and then the images get approval to be there on the site for consumers. So, they do not compromise with quality.
Pricing
Dreamtime has different packages and plans according to a user’s requirements and the pricing varies as per the number of photos and the number of days. But the plan starts from as low as $39 USD per month. There are few photos too that you can get for free.
Canva Photos
Canva photos provide you a number of options to make your blog dazzling, standing out in the crowd. It is very popular among not only the bloggers but also among Twitter and LinkedIn users.
Why Is It Unique?
Its Blog Title Design template is probably the best. It really works smoothly for client satisfaction. The ever part about Canva is that they have created an infographics template, making your work simpler, easier, and a lot more alluring.
Pricing
With just USD $12 per month, you can get access to 50,000,000+ images. Here, I must say that they have a few images for free to use for only USD $12 per month, and then BOOM! You are in the world of their massive collection of high quality and mesmerizing photos. That sounds quite wonderful and cost-effective too.
Story Blocks
If you want to add some stories into the story of your blog, Story Blocks is your next web-destination. They have a huge collection of videos and a massive library of 408,000 images.
Why Is It Unique?
No matter if you are a freelance creator, a YouTuber, or a part of a larger community, they have licensing that will help you cover your blog or project appropriately with unlimited distribution.
Pricing
The best part of Story Blocks is that they have dynamic and flexible plans and subscriptions. You only need $9 USD and you can have access to their enormous library of high-quality images. From there, you can choose the appropriate images for you. Every picture in their library is quality.
With only $5 USD, you can access to download up to five images, but for only $4 USD more, the entire library is open for you to use, which is more cost effective.
123RF
123RF’s database is the ideal one ideal for you with their gigantic, over 69 million images, audio clips, vectors, and footage.
Why Is It Unique?
You can also have access to their advanced features and services such as 123RF Editor. This unique and potent feature lets you edit images easily and swiftly using the filters available on their site. You can also add text and can even create covers for your social media pages or accounts. This is a highly suitable and preferable agency that suits all bloggers or content creators out there, ranging from the startup blogger to large media companies.
Pricing
They have two types of plans. The first one is on-demand (from 0.70 per credit) and the second one is a subscription plan (from 0.18 per image). But out of all the plans, the best one for users are the annual ones. Here, a $59 USD per month (for a one-year plan) will save you around $253 USD and will offer downloads of JPEG/EPS files per day.
Shutterstock
If you search anything on Google and go to the ‘Images’ option, it is impossible not to find at least a single image with the Shutterstock branding. It is so popular all over the globe that I thought of not including it. Find out why the entire world, including me, is so crazy about Shutterstock.
Why Is It Unique?
First, Shutterstock’s database is massive. Its library contains more than 100 million images. Secondly, each day, 50,000 new images are added to their database. Now, you can understand why people are passionate about Shutterstock; it has the largest, royalty-free collection.
Whatever you want, you can get it on Shutterstock and with lots of variety.
Pricing
Shutterstock has different plans and subscriptions for different types of users. Basic pricing starts at $49 USD per month with which you can download 10 images. There are 50, 350, 750 images download options with different prices and all the details are on their official website.
They have also launched on-demand packs. The uniqueness of this plan is, no commitment is needed here from your side. Once you pay $49 USD, you can download five images any time within a year. For 29 images, you have to pay $229 USD. This is a kind of one-time payment for one year.
Conclusion
This is my curated list of the best photo depositories for bloggers. Now a few things you have to keep in mind before going for any stock photo agency, be it from the list or beyond it.
Always go through the images at first before signing up. Look through the images and decide whether they are appropriate for you and can serve your purpose. Then, only pay for that. Do your own research on the agency.
One more thing I want to mention. If you are a newbie in this industry and just pushing yourself to get started, it is always advisable to click your own photos. For a beginner, it is a bit hard to find a cost-effective agency that can provide your desired images with only small pockets. So create your own photos, no matter how ‘imperfect’ they are. They might not be as beautiful as the images in these agencies’ library, but still, they are unique and they are your creation. It is totally all right to use them in your blog.
Using your own images will always add some extra value to your post, and it will also create an individuality that will enable you to stand out in the crowd. It also shows that you are not only writing but that you are experiencing your writing through the images, and you are well aware of the content that you are creating.
This is a small tip for you.
I hope that this article is beneficial for you, and that you find the ideal image depository that suits your needs. Do not forget to let me know which agency you have picked and how your journey and experiences are with that.
Happy blogging! Till then, stay connected!
