You’ve been tasked with putting together the next pitch deck for one of your clients. The outline and copy have been refined, but the only way to truly make those words sing is to include stock images beyond the typical woman-working-on-a-computer shot. Sure, you can comb through your typical go-tos, but finding fresh stock imagery websites and knowing how to navigate them will only make you stand out and show your true value. Not to mention, unique stock images for presentations is a great way to keep your designs fresh. Here are our top-five picks that cover all your bases, from multicultural and ethnic images to vectors and videos. Your next pitch deck will thank us.
Nappy.co
The stock images on Nappy.co are reflective of the multicultural world in which we live. The site features collections of fresh models, natural situations, and overall high-quality photography. Refine searches by first checking the “popular” or “featured” sections to narrow down the thousands of options to the most versatile and specific stock photos. The collection of photos is small but growing, and while the search tool isn’t always precise, you can get what you want by broadening your terms from “mobile phone” to just “phone,” for example.
Unsplash.com
Unsplash.com has changed the game for presentation design with its vast base of photography hobbyists contributing beautiful imagery to its collection, making the free, high-quality images perfect for internal clients with little or no budget. Category tabs at the top of the homepage make narrowing down your search for a specific photo quicker and easier. Though not required but rather encouraged, Unsplash provides a simple way to credit its contributors.
Elements.envato.com
Envato provides unlimited access to vector art, graphic templates, presentation templates, music, video components, and more with subscriptions starting at $16.50 a month—a low price to pay when you have a rush job and can’t dedicate the time to start from scratch. Their photography collection has grown impressively over the years, namely with a partnership with Twenty20 to up its photography game. It might take a while to get what you’re searching for, but it’s worth it at the price point.
Pexels.com
Helping to comb through all the user-generated stock photography sites, Pexels is a stock aggregator site that pulls content from various others, including Unsplash (though sometimes with a lag), to be used with attribution. Pexels also has a tab for free stock videos with beautiful clips for a specific project that can be time-consuming and fruitless to produce on your own dime and time.
EyeEm.com
This premium, royalty-free stock image site newbie comes at a cost but, as it is based out of Germany, EyeEm features images with a more global feel from a creative community. The “suggested keyword searches” below the search bar helps refine your search so you can add a second term to find that perfect photo. This “global creative community” often offers discounts on photo packs so you can download images on an as-needed basis.
Got any imagery tips? Drop us a line and tell us.