When I was researching online personal financial services, I discovered reviews for one service that seemed to fit my needs.
I didn’t have a lot of requirements:
- Browser-based as well as an app
- Automated investments
- Low fees
- Helpful advice on reaching my financial goals
After reading several reviews, all which were highly rated, I visited their website.
Only to discover all the photos on their site were young people who appeared to be in their mid-20’s.
All white.
I was disappointed.
And I contacted the company to ask:
Do you only offer your product to people in their mid-20’s who are white?
Because that’s what all your visuals on your website show.
Their customer service manager replied quickly, assuring me that wasn’t their only target audience.
They apologized.
And invited me to talk with with two members of their user experience team.
Later that month I participated in a usability test for their service.
Today, their website displays imagery of those who are young, old, and people of color.
I was glad they listened to me and made changes in their imagery!
But it brought up another issue: my own use of stock photos on my site and on client sites.
Do You Use Stock Photos on Your Site?
While we can all agree it’s best to use your own photos on your website, sometimes you or your client don’t have access to photos for your content.
And that’s where free or paid stock photo sites are helpful. Personally, I’m a fan of Unsplash and Pexels free stock image sites.
However, I’ve noticed major stock photo sites lack photos of diverse people.
Many photo sites have a large number of photos with white young people, but few photos of people of color or people who are older than 40 years old.
That’s when I thought: I’m guilty of the same issue. Few photos on my site are of people who are older or people of color.
I’ve been working to change that on this website.
Where Can I Find Diverse Photo Sites?
Since I first published this post in 2018, the number of stock sites offering diverse photos has grown.
You now have a wider range of sites to choose from when selecting photos: collections specialize specifically in people of color, disabled people, or women.
Some of the sites I’ve included are premium stock photo sites, where you pay a fee for the photos. Other sites offer photos for free.
As with any stock photo site, read the licensing agreement so you understand how the photos can be used.
Several sites require you to provide attribution.
Stock Photo Sites with Diverse Photos
In no specific order, here are several stock sites where you can find diverse photos.
1. nappy
On nappy, you’ll find high-resolution photos of black and brown people you can use for free. From photos of people to places to work, you’ll find all the photos are licensed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license.
If you’re not familiar with Creative Commons Zero license, it means you don’t need permission to use or modify the photos. The photos are in the public domain.
Nor do you need to give credit. However, giving credit to the photographer is the right thing to do.
And if you’re a photographer, you can upload your own photos to be included in their collection.
2. Blend Images
Blend Images is a premium stock photo site offering commercial multi-cultural and ethnically diverse stock content.
Now part of Tetra Images, pricing for the royalty free images (you pay once and can use the photo across any platform) are based on image file size.
Photos for web use are considerably less than print photos.
According to their website, their images are model released and property released for commercial usage.
3. Women of Color in Tech (#WOCinTech) Photos
Created in 2015, you’ll find a wide range of women of color in technology in the 500+ photo collection of the #WOCinTech Flickr account. The photos were part of a September 2015 photo shoot.
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution license, you can copy, redistribute, and adapt the photos as long as you attribute #WOCinTech Chat or the WOC in Tech Chat website.
4. The Jopwell Collection
In 2017, Jopwell, a career advancement platform for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals, announced The Jopwell Collection.
Consisting of 100+ free stock photos, the collection features leaders in the Jopwell community, from students, editors, techies, recruiters, marketers, student leaders, and more.
Photos are available under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
5. Death to the Stock Photo
Started in 2013 as a monthly newsletter (I remember, I was on their mailing list!), Death to the Stock Photo has grown to become a stock photo agency offering original diverse photos with a 14-day free trial membership.
They offer three premium memberships:
- Brand: for small businesses, start-ups, social media managers,etc.
- Freelancers and Agencies: for designers, agencies that do client work
- Enterprise: single business option, billed annually
All memberships offer unlimited downloads, access to 4,500 photos, voting on which visuals are added to the library.
6. CreateHER Stock
Created for bloggers, creatives, and influencers, you’ll find more than 5,000+ images at CreateHER Stock.
CreateHER Stock offers four premium plans, all with unlimited downloads, but varying based on number of users and a category named Living Photos.
You can get a peek into the type of images CreateHER Stock offers from their freebie collection of 185+ photos.
7. Pexels
Pexels has continually expanded their photo collection to include diverse photos of people of color, older people, women, and people with disabilities.
Which I discovered when I conducted a search on “diversity” that resulted in 25,000+ results.
A search on “disabled people” resulted in almost 470,000 photos and over 100,000 videos.
All photos and videos on Pexels are free to use.
No attribution is required, but credit to the photographer is appreciated.
Summary
For your next blog post or web project, take time to choose photos that show diversity with images of people of color, disabled people, women, and men.
The sites I shared offer thousands of images for you to choose from.
Do you know of other sites that offer diverse photos? Share them in the comments.
Originally published August 18, 2018. Updated on June 22, 2020 and April 13, 2022.
THANK YOU for sharing. This is one reason we’ve avoided stock photos. There’s little to no representation of Alaska Natives, and that’s a huge percentage of our audience as a state library, archives, and museum. So, we’ve mostly just done without. It would be a good market for photographers up here to share work and represent all of Alaska’s population.
Hi Amy,
My pleasure! Thanks for your comment, Amy. You’re right, it sounds like it would be a good market for photographers to share their photos of Alaskan Natives.
Thanks Deborah, this is a very helpful list.
I also can’t easily find photos of older people using tech or in the workplace.
Perhaps this is a reflection on our ageist attitudes as a society!
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/over50-unemployed-waste-women-equalities-committee-mps-pension-a8449446.html
You’re welcome, Claire. I was glad the members of the online design group had so many recommendations. I think you’re right about the ageism attitudes in our society about work.
Perhaps someone will hear our conversations about lack of photos of older workers using technology, or simply at work, and have an aha! moment of “that’s a market that’s not being served?”
A great resource. So helpful. Thank you for posting this.
My pleasure, Virginia. Now I’m on a quest to find a site that is focused on photos of mature people at work or using technology. If you hear of any, let me know!