What is the first thing clients look at when they visit your website? The photos, of course! A great photo can pull visitors into your website, set the mood, and exude professionalism. That’s why it’s so important to use good quality photos and graphics that will highlight your attention to detail and professionalism. From real estate market reports to neighborhood profile photos – it’s worth the time and effort to do your homework and find the perfect photos.
Where would you use stock photography?
Neighborhood Profiles – To visual educate visitors about the neighborhoods you serve.
Market Reports – A generic image or chart adds can add life to any market report.
Blog Posts – “Post with the Most” killer images that is to help tell your story visually.
Buyer and Seller Pages – Adds extra professional touch to round out your website content.
Banner Images – Update season photos on your website home page keeping it fresh.
Social Media – Great photos get more “Likes” and “Shares,” but also tells a story that can move someone. Drive traffic to your posts with great, quality images.
Here is a list of excellent photo libraries that we recommend as resources when looking for stock photos for your real estate website and real estate blog. We think you will be amazed at the vast amount of high quality to free stock photography at your fingertips. Make a great impression and you will keep home buyers and sellers coming back for more. Happy photo hunting!
High End Stock Photography Resources:
Masterfile
Higher-end images with a wide range of prices for both royalty-free and rights-managed photos. A great resource for hard to find images or when only a high quality image will do.
iStock
Millions of affordable royalty free stock photos, video, illustrations and music. A go-to resource for many creatatives.
Getty Images
As the first company to license online images, Getty Images has collected a vast library of stock photos and illustrations over the years. A great resource for high-end images.
Bigstock
International stock photography by subscription. Over 116 million royalty-free photographs and illustrations from talented photographers and artists around the globe.
Photofolio
Unique photos by truly gifted artists who receive up to 65% of what you pay. Supporting independent photographers and their creative work.
Alamy
Over 292,143,315 stock photos, 360° images, vectors and videos
Best Value Stock Photography Resources:
Shutterstock
Over 400M images, videos, and music tracks to choose from.
Fotosearch
Unique royalty free images with a license that allows for a much broader use of your selected imagery than the competition.
Dreamstime
Offers millions of photos, illustrations and vectors at prices that anyone can easily afford.
Free Stock Photography Resources:
Pexels.com
The best free stock photos shared by talented photographers with usage for commercial and noncommercial projects.
Morguefile
Free, high resolution stock photos that you can edit before downloading.
RGB Stock
Huge number of high quality free stock photos and graphics. All images on RGBStock are free for personal and commercial use.
Flickr
Brilliant resource for free images from some of the best photographers in the world. One note, not all photographers allow their photos to be used commercially so be sure to check the image rights before downloading.
Openphoto
Has an extensive number of free stock photos that it has been collecting since 1998.
Freeimages
Over 22,000 free stock photos and 89 searchable categories.
As you can see, there are literally millions of photos available for any budget. They can be used on your real estate website or blog in so many different ways as well as on printed marketing materials. Take advantage of powerful images that tell a visual story and draw your clients in and keep them coming back for more. We hope you find value in “Your Guide to High Quality and Free Stock Photography” and use it as an ongoing resource as your website grows.
A good list, if even I can find two sources I did not know yet ;-) However, all real estate agents in my opinion should rely as much as possible on their own photographic prowess. I doubt there’s any realtor who runs a website and does not take above-average pictures of the estates/houses/offices, even garages, he/she sells. If that is so then any website “adornments” with stupidly grinning people shaking hands to go alongside a text like “Our Services” immediately triggers the fake detector in potential clients. Don’t go that route or do so VERY sparingly.
@Darragh – Yes, agreed, agents should invest in a decent camera and learn the basics of taking a good photo. For Neighborhood photos and nearby amenities, the agent is the best option to take photos that accurately represent the area. Typically we will suggest stock images for general photos of the town / city as they will be much nicer than what the average agent would take. As you said, images with models “posing” are easily spotted and not what I would suggest, as they tend to look fake. Thanks for your input.