Photo from Disability:IN
I love to share products that have worked for me over the years. This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may get a small commission when you click on links or buy something in this post. This is at no additional cost to you.
Updated May 19, 2021
During a session at ComNet V about reaching diverse audiences, the speakers spoke about the importance of using stock photos that are more inclusive and diverse. As an art director and designer, I couldn’t agree more. In fact, a recent stock photo search I did on “voting” returned a majority of images featuring white men’s hands (wearing business suits, to boot).
According to Getty Images’ Visual GPS, 63% of people prefer to buy brands that are founded by or represent people like themselves—however only 14% say they are well-represented in advertising and 15% in business communications.
Getty also reports that searches have increased year over year for ‘diversity’ (up 133%), ‘culture’ (up 115%), ‘real people’ (up 115%) and ‘inclusion’ (up 126%).
The need for images that are representative of all people is clearly here. But I know first hand that finding diverse and inclusive images on mainstream stock photography sites can be difficult. Here’s a list of resources for real and authentic photography.
Stock Photo Resources
Adobe Stock – Brwn Stock Imaging Collection
Brwn Stock Collection features images that feature people of color.
EDUImages by All4Ed
EDUImages by All4Ed is a free library of photos celebrating students—and the educators who teach them—in seven schools across the United States.
AllGo
AllGo is a collection of free plus-size stock photos.
In 2017, Getty Images reported triple-digit increases in searches for the terms “body positivity” and “real bodies”.
Photo by AllGo – An App For Plus Size People on Unsplash
arabianEye
arabianEye is an authentic Middle Eastern collection of visual media, featuring Emirati, Saudi, Qatari and Omani people.
AsiaPix
AsiaPix is a royalty-free collection of contemporary business and lifestyle images with an emphasis on Chinese culture and subjects.
Asia Images
Asia Images features images of business, lifestyle, and travel destinations in Asia.
Blend Images on Tetra Images
Blend Images is a collection of multi-cultural and ethnically diverse stock content.
Body Liberation Stock
Body Liberation features stock photos and images for body size diversity and acceptance.
Canva Natural Women Collection
Canva’s image collection of everyday women, whose personal stories and experiences challenge both gender norms and societal standards of beauty.
70% of women don’t feel represented in media and advertising and Getty reports huge increases in the following terms over the past year: “real people” 192% increase, “diverse women” 168% increase, and “strong women” 187% increase.
CreateHer Stock
CreateHer features authentic stock photography of melanated women.
Photo by CreateHER Stock
Disability Images by Design Pics Inc.
Disability Images includes rights-managed and royalty-free images showing a range of disabilities.
Disability Inclusion Stock Photography by Disability:IN
Disability inclusive stock photography provided by Disability:IN and licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Disabled & Here
Disabled & Here features free and inclusive stock photos shot from our own perspective, featuring disabled Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) across the Pacific Northwest.
EDUImages by All4Ed
EDUImages by All4Ed is a free library of photos celebrating students—and the educators who teach them—in seven schools across the United States.
Photo by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages
eye for ebony
eye for ebony features models of all shades, shapes, and sizes.
The Gender Spectrum Collection by Broadly
The Gender Spectrum Collection is a representation of images of transgender and non-binary people.
Getty Images – AARP Disrupt Aging Collection
A collection featuring images of people 50+ in everyday moments that help break stereotypes and combat ageist biases.
An AARP study on age representation across the media image landscape shows that while people 50+ are fully engaged in their communities, seven in ten images of adults over 50 show them removed from the rest of the world.
Getty Images – The Disability Collection
A collection featuring images that break stereotypes and more authentically portray individuals with disabilities.
Getty – Gender Blend
A collection of images highlighting the new boundaries of gender roles.
Getty Images reports they are beginning to see more inclusive representations that portray a more rounded picture of LGBTQ+ family life, including single parents, transracial families, blended families, co‑parenting, as well as parents of different ages and socio‑economic backgrounds.
Getty Images – The Lean In Collection
A collection of images devoted to the powerful depiction of women, girls and the people who support them.
Getty Images – Muslim Girl Collection
A collection that encourages a more positive depiction of Muslim women.
Getty Images – The Nosotros Collection
A collection that reimagines the visual representation of the Latinx/Hispanic community within North America.
Getty Images – Project #ShowUs
A collection devoted to shattering beauty stereotypes by showing female-identifying and non-binary individuals.
IF/THEN® Collection
A digital asset library of women STEM innovators, for educational and other noncommercial use.
The Jopwell Collection
The Jopwell Collection features images of Black, Latino/Hispanic, and Native American leaders (social entrepreneurs, editors, techies, financial analysts, recruiters, marketers, student leaders).
kosherstock
kosherstock features royalty-free images of the Jewish world.
Mocha Stock
Mocha Stock features images of people of color.
nappy
nappy features free images of black and brown people.
From May to June alone Getty Images reports customer searches for diverse images have increased by 200% and searches for images around unity and equality increased by 500%.
NativeStock Pictures
NativeStock is a comprehensive image collection on Native American Indian cultures.
Pexels
Marcus Aurelius’ collection of disability inclusive images on Pexels
PICHA Stock
PICHA Stock features modern Afrocentric stories curated from hundreds of creatives from Africa and abroad
Picnoi
Picnoi is a free collection of images of people of color.
Above: Photos from Picnoi by Windows, Annie Spratt & Hian Oliveira
PictureIndia
PictureIndia features royalty-free images of contemporary Indian lifestyle and business themes.
Pixels in Colour
Pixels in Colour is adding diversity to the world of stock photography.
Pixerf
Pixerf is a global visual community and marketplace for Asian images.
Photoability
Photoability features rights-managed and royalty-free images featuring individuals with disabilities.
Around 15% of people in the world have a disability, but just 2% of stock photos contain any representation of their lives.
POCStock
POCStock features photos featuring Black, Hispanic, LatinX, Native, Asian and Middle Eastern people of color.
PUSHLiving Photos
PUSHLiving features disability inclusive stock images.
Representation Matters
Representation Matters is a royalty-free stock photo site that focuses specifically on diversity and inclusion.
Salam Stock
Salam Stock features Muslim and Islam related royalty-free stock photos, artwork and illustrations.
TONL
TONL features images of diverse people and their stories around the world.
UK Black Tech
UK Black Tech is a collection featuring images of BAME (Black, Asian, and minority ethnic) in tech from Britain.
WOCinTech Chat
WOCinTech Chat features photos of women of color in tech, free to use under a Creative Commons Attribution license.
Photo from #WOCinTech Chat
Illustrations & Graphics
Black Illustrations
Black Illustrations features illustrations of people of color.
Tips & Best Practices
- Read the photo licenses for each website carefully and include attribution if necessary.
- When searching mainstream stock photo sites, it can be helpful to use keywords related to your specific needs, ie diverse, inclusive, LGBTQ.
- Some mainstream stock photo sites also have curated collections, such as these Unsplash collections featuring people of color.
- Rights-managed images may be preferable when you are seeking an image that hasn’t been widely used commercially. (What’s the difference between rights-managed and royalty-free?)
- Getty Images has published Understanding Inclusive Visual Storytelling, a practical guide to the importance of using diverse visuals and how to find the best content for your project.
- Many of the stock images sites mentioned above share articles about being more inclusive through photography and design, like this blog from Pixels in Colour.
As Getty pointed out in their Visual GPS Report, “People want and expect imagery to be representative of themselves and the world they see around them.” Let’s utilize and share stock photography resources to give them the exposure they deserve.
P.S. Please share any stock photo resources that aren’t already on the list.
The post Diverse & Inclusive Stock Photography & Illustration Resources appeared first on Educated Design.
