A picture speaks a thousand words, especially in the absence of a voice! That’s why it’s crucial to choose imagery that accurately represents your brand online. Whether it’s on your website, in a blog post or an email newsletter, the right photographs will go a long way towards connecting you to your target audience and creating the right perception.
There are thousands of stock photography providers out there, but finding ones that offer contemporary images skewed to a feminine market can be a challenge. But don’t worry, we’ve taken the guesswork out of it for you with our guide to the best feminine-focused stock photography providers.
Before we jump in though, you may be wondering what the difference between paid stock image subscriptions and free stock images are. Well there are a few main things to consider here:
- Overuse. Because of their easy accessibility and affordability, free stock images are used by anyone and everyone, meaning the same free images on your website may also be on a competitor’s website or Instagram feed.
- Terms of use. When you sign up to a paid subscription, your terms of use will be clearly stated so you will know exactly how you may use your chosen image. Free images often come with vague terms of use, meaning your images may accidentally land you in hot (legal) water.
- Quality. Free images are often quite low in quality, resulting in pixelated or blurry images when used in a tight shot or cropped. They also tend to be outdated and a little on the cheesy side! Paid subscriptions also tend to offer shots with a decent amount of negative space that will allow you to overlay text, logos etc.
- Consistency. Paid subscriptions will generally offer a series of themed shots, which will help you build a more professional brand image and appearance with a curated feeling.
1. Haute Stock
Haute Stock comes in at the top of our list for so many reasons! Created by women, for women, a membership to Haute Stock will gain you access to over 2,000 stylish, high-quality images as well as design assets such as pre-made social media quotes, Instagram stories templates and graphics packs (icons, brushes, frames etc.)
With categories including workspace, travel, fashion & beauty, architecture & interiors, motherhood, product mockups, tech mockups and celebrations, you can expect a highly-curated selection of contemporary images with plenty of white space – nothing like the standard stock photography of the past.
If you’d like to try Haute Stock for yourself, take a look here.
2. Wellness Stock Shop
As the name might suggest, Wellness Stock Shop offers stock photography targeted at the wellness industry. With a catalogue of over 6,000 images in categories such as body therapy, Chinese medicine, crystals & spiritual, essential oils, food & nutrition and mindfulness & yoga, these highly styled images will lend a modern and professional edge to your wellness brand.
3. SC Stockshop
If you’re looking for images that could be right from the pages of Vogue, SC Stockshop is the provider for you. As well as being able to search categories such as beauty, food and florals you can also search by colour for the ultimate aesthetic.
4. Styled Stock Society
A Styled Stock Society membership will be your go-to for affordable and unique images for your Instagram feed. With images already square cropped, Styled Stock Society offer scroll-worthy lifestyle, travel and food images. There’s also a range of portrait and landscape images suitable for other uses too.
5. Atelier 21 Co.
For those of you looking for feminine imagery that’s not candy pink, you will love Atelier 21 Co. Marketed at “bosses, creative’s and bloggers”, Atelier boasts a library of over 3,000 images, lightroom presets and Canva templates in neutral and darker tones.
6. Pixistock
A Pixistock membership will give you access to more than 1,500 stock photos, Instagram graphics and Canva templates to “supercharge your business”. With various colour palettes accounted for, you’ll find a variety of lifestyle images, flatlays, desktops and more.
7. Kate Max Stock
Starting at $29 a month, a base membership to Kate Max Stock will give you 30 downloads a month, making it a very affordable and accessible option for small businesses looking for quality stock images. With a library of over 15,000 highly styled images, you will certainly find what you’re looking for here.
8. Floral Deco
Whilst it’s not technically a stock provider of its own (Floral Deco is a shop on Creative Market – an online marketplace for photographers), the bundles on offer at Floral Deco are most worthy of a mention. With categories such as lifestyle, travel and neutral, bundles begin at $11 and are styled to perfection.
9. Social Squares
Sign up for a membership at Social Squares, set your brand colors and keyword preferences and enjoy a personalised, custom curated image gallery displaying only images that Social Squares has deemed to be great fit for your brand! Members also receive monthly perks such as free video master classes and live Q&A calls.
10. Moyo Studio
Inspired by nature, Moyo Studio’s minimalist images are ideal for the creative entrepreneur. Whether you’re looking for beautiful stock images or photo mockups, Moyo Studio’s extensive library is sure to have something for you.
11. Jana Bishop
Choose to purchase a single image, an entire collection or even sign up for an annual membership to access Jana Bishop’s library of styled stock images and lightroom presets. Jana’s experience as an interior and product photographer will lend a professional edge to your imagery.
12. Her Creative Studio
Choose from curated bundles or sign up for a membership for full access to the members-only library of Insta-worthy styled stock images at Her Creative Studio. Whether you’re looking for a flat lay or a styled desktop to represent your feminine-focused business, you’ll find it here.
13. Sourced Co
Aimed at wedding and creative professionals, Sourced Co provides jaw-dropping stock photos, as well as stock videos and styling blocks created specifically with stationery designers, wedding planners, photographers, and stylists in mind.
14. Ivory Mix
Join the mix and gain instant access to over 550 free styled stock photos, suitable for website, blog and branding use. New images are added to the Ivory Mix library monthly, constantly giving you greater choice.
15. Girl Boss Stock
Described as “styled stock photos for girl bosses, influencers, trendsetters and women entrepreneurs”, Girl Boss Stock offers free and paid options for various uses including blogs, website, branding and more.
We hope you enjoyed our list of best-paid photography providers for businesses that want to exude feminine brand style! We would love your feedback on our list, and if you know of other feminine style stock providers share them in the comments below.
Other Paid Stock Providers
To help you out with your brand image, here is a list of other stock photography providers you might like to explore:
