Sourcing high-quality stock photos for large format print can be challenging for graphic designers and businesses. The main challenge is finding high-quality stock photos that align with your brand as well as your target audience.
Coupled with the fact that the human brain processes visual content 80% quicker than written content – images are one of the most effective ways to catch the attention of target customers.
Many businesses feel they have to produce their own images to avoid using low-quality images that don’t convey their intended message. Particularly for businesses with a very specific or niche target audience, high-quality stock photos that represent their brand is a cost-effective alternative to having to produce their own content.
Knowing what you’re looking for is the first step to finding high-quality stock photos. Creating a connection using high-quality stock photos becomes even more important when targeting a niche audience. The right image will help you connect emotionally with your audience and communicate your message.
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Once you have a clear idea of the type of images you want, the next step is to find high-quality stock photos that connect with your audience. The goal is to finding stock photos that connect with your audience is stock photos that are not glaringly staged with a balance between being high quality and communicating your message.
Choosing stock photos that don’t reflect your brand might leave your target audience confused about the message you’re trying to communicate. This makes finding the right stock photos even more important if you want to connect with your audience on a deeper level.
Here we tell you all you need to know about large stock photos, why are they relevant for your business, and where to find them at affordable rates. So read on!
Why are Large Format Stock Images Important?
It goes without saying that striking imagery is usually the first thing that catches the reader's attention when looking at social media posts, banners, billboards, or magazines. However, finding high-quality stock photos suitable for both small and large format print can be a real challenge.
Large format stock photos are becoming increasingly essential due to high demand crystal clear images that can be used across websites, blogs, media, and magazines – in other words, images that are perfect for marketing purposes. Stock images for large format printing are very versatile as they’re easier to adapt providing more flexibility during the alteration process.
Perhaps you’ve printed a photo that you have downloaded only to realize that the quality is so low that it comes out blurry, even though it looked great on your computer? This is a common issue when trying to use low-quality images for large format print.
Stock photos with relatively small dimensions in pixels, such as standard image size 640 x 480, will look great on a computer screen which usually has around 72 pixels per inch. However, high-resolution devices, such as printers, need to print at a minimum of 300 pixels per inch if you want your printed photos to be crystal clear and without any distortion.
When searching for a stock photo, you should make sure you are using a site that provides high-quality options to ensure you are able to use them for large format print projects. In simple terms, high-quality stock photos are essential to large format print.
Where Can I Find Stock Photos for Large Format Print?
So, where’s the best place to find high-quality large stock images?
Large stock images are available across various stock photo agencies designed to save you time when searching for the perfect image. Thanks to these agencies you have access to millions of high-quality large-format photos available at very low cost.
However, the cost does not determine the quality of the stock photo, you don’t need to spend a lot of money on high-quality stock photos suitable for large format print.
Ultimately you want to find high-quality images that best represent your target audience at a price point that fits within your budget. Finding sites that provide stock images suitable for large format printing makes the process much easier.
Get inspired with beautiful photos without having to worry if they can be used across various marketing services such as advertising, large billboards, outdoor banners, websites, magazines, books, exhibition displays, video, brochures, business cards, and more.
Whether you have the budget for high-resolution photos needed for commercial purposes, or perhaps you need to download free high-quality photos that you can use for a blog, website or social media – our list of resources has something for everyone.
We’ve compiled a list of the best places to find stock images for large format print, with a combination of licenses including royalty-free, rights-managed and extended licenses allowing you to edit, redistribute and use images however you wish.
99Club by Stock Photo Secrets – Budget-Friendly Large Stock Images
99Club grants you access to over 5 million high-resolution images at a very affordable annual membership subscription fee of $99. To keep up to date with current trends, up to 100,000 images are added to the photo bank each month.
Offered by us at Stock Photo Secrets Shop, our agency that focuses on small and medium-sized businesses and their image needs, the 99club plan allows you to download 200 XXL images each year for only $99 – with additional package options to suit your needs if you require more than 200 XXL images.
This platform creates a stress-free process for small businesses, graphic designers, magazine companies, and freelancers to easily download large stock images for design projects and campaigns.
Click here to check out more details on the 99Club.
And if 99club doesn't quite cut it for you –if you need a bigger or a smaller number of downloads, for example– don't hesitate to check out our wide plans and pricing options, you're certain to find an offer tailored to your needs!
Photocase – High-Res Pictures with Unique Berlin Style
Looking for European vibe stock photos with high resolution, then look no further. Photocase is a German stock photo agency that specializes in authentically styled collections that will inspire you in any design project. Have a look at some of their lovely images in this selection curated just for you.
Take advantage of our exclusive Photocase coupon code and enjoy 5 free credits and 10% off your first purchase.
And for more info, check out our full Photocase review.
Shutterstock – Huge Library of Large Resolution Photos
Shutterstock is a creative platform that offers flexible packages designed to meet all your photography requirements. With royalty-free images, you can test out watermark photos before you buy them.
As one of the biggest stock photo companies with over 280 million royalty-free images and with 1,400,000 new stock images added on a weekly basis, you can be certain of finding high-resolution images for as little of $0.22.
Click here to learn more about Shutterstock’s pricing and remember to use our special Shutterstock coupon code to knock 15% off your purchase!
For more details on the agency, read our comprehensive Shutterstock review.
iStock – Exclusive Large Format Stock Photos
iStock provides high-quality photos and vector illustrations, many of them exclusive to their platform. Owned by prestigious stock photography giant Getty Images, they have millions of images suitable for large format printing in every topic. All you need to do is sign up, choose a tariff, and start using a vast collection of visual content with prices starting from $8 per download.
There are also various cost-saving subscription plans starting from $29 per month and you can get up to 20% off on your purchase by using our special iStock Promo Code!
Learn it all about this company in our iStock review.
Adobe Stock – Large Stock Images for Creative Cloud Users
Adobe Stock is Adobe's very own stock imagery service. Directly embed in the Creative Cloud platform you can get a wide variety of large stock images without ever leaving your favorite design applications. With a subscription fee that starts at $29.99 per month, exploring diverse collections of amazing high-resolution images makes it worthwhile.
Plus, you can now take advantage of the Adobe Stock Free Trial and enjoy up to 10 high-resolution images.
Read more about this stock photography resource in our Adobe Stock review.
Note: If you like Adobe products, you'll love to know you can use Adobe Stock's images in pro tools like Photoshop and Illustrator, but also in user-friendly ones like Creative Cloud Express (formerly Adobe Spark). And if you're not a fan, don't worry, you can still use these images in other editing tools, such as the ones from this long list of Adobe Creative Cloud Express alternatives.
Getty Images – Premium Images for Large Format Printing
If you are looking for images to use for your projects, you'll definitely find something suitable on Getty Images. This globally renowned platform has one of the largest assets of varied digitized images in the world, offering quality stock photos in different sizes, resolution, and usage rights, stacked into various categories. And you can save up to 30% on Ultrapacks by using the Stock Photo Secrets’ discount code. Discover all the perks in this service in our Getty Images review.
Bigstock – Affordable High-Res Photos
Bigstock has an amazing 7-day trial that allows you to check out the stock photos before making a commitment. Bigstock’s large stock photos cost between 1 to 6 credits per image with credits costing between $0.90 and $3.00 USD. Take advantage of a special deal with our Bigstock Coupon Code: 15% off on your purchase (plus access the one-week free trial)! For more info, check out our Bigstock review.
123RF – Well-known Source for Large Stock Photos
123RF was established in 2005 and has helped millions of clients around the world tell their stories using amazing imagery. With a high-profile client list including Google, Apple, Microsoft, American Express, and Deloitte, you’re in safe hands with 123RF. Before you visit their site, remember to redeem your 123RF coupon issued by Stock Photo Secrets to save up to 25%. And to read our 123RF review for full details on the agency.
BONUS: Free Stock Photo Sites
If you don't have a budget for photography at the moment, you will be happy to hear the web proliferates in free stock photo sites that let you download and use images in your designs without paying (check also some info on stock illustrations here). Even better, some of them have large enough photos that will look sharp and clear when printed in large format.
But there's a catch: not all free photo sites are safe to use. In fact, the vast majority hide a big legal risk in their online catalogs. See, most of these websites operate by offering files under a free use license, meaning they are all still copyrighted images but you get to use them at no charge. But the actual copyright owner must consent to this free usage for the license to be valid, and free sites hardly ever police the copyright and licensing status of the files they include. So while you are technically downloading a licensed image, there is always the chance its license is invalid and you may find yourself in legal black waters if you use it commercially. More details on this (that you should definitely know) in our article about the dangers of using free photos from the web.
Luckily, at Stock Photo Secrets we dedicated time to curate a huge list of almost 30 of the best free stock photo sites that have stock images that are both large and legally safer to use in your work. Here are some of them:
Unsplash
Unsplash is an ideal source for those who are looking for high definition photos but don’t have money to pay for them. With over 110,000 contributors and expert editors working diligently to curate every single photo, rest assured you’ll find quality high-resolution images for your project work. Registration is also optional.
Pexels
Pexels provide high definition images, licensed under CC0, and adds fresh images each month. There are no requirements for registration or membership. All photos are tagged helping reduce the time it would take to search for an image.
With some amazing free stock photos and videos, Pexels is considered a favorite amongst graphic designers and businesses across the globe.
Negative Space
On Negative Space’s stock photo site, you'll have access to beautiful high-resolution images that are completely free for personal and commercial purposes. It has a slick user interface that allows even the least experienced users to quickly navigate their large collection of images.
Burst
Owned by the eCommerce platform giant Shopify, Burst is a stock photo resource that offers bright, high-quality images without any copyright for commercial or personal use, with great high-resolution collections.
A simple interface, easy navigation, and quick downloads in a few clicks make Burst one of the most popular sites for eCommerce brands across the globe. No registration is required and all images are completely free.
FoodiesFeed
FoodiesFeed is a great site for food bloggers or graphic designers working on a food-based project. A small collection of highly appealing delicious images that are almost good enough to eat available in high resolution makes it a wonderful resource for design tasks for the food industry.
With some images available for free download, and iStock pricing for others, there is something here for everyone.
Stocksnap.io
Stocksnap.io is another source where anyone can find free large stock images in high definition. Whether you are looking for a striking image for your marketing campaign, creating a brochure, or building a website, stocksnap.io offers great images that will amplify your messaging and captivate your audience.
Large Photos
Large Photos provide free high-resolution images that are suitable for commercial purposes. With no attribution needed, you can reuse, modify, and redistribute any images downloaded under their creative zero license policy.
Find The Perfect Stock Photo
Whether you're a designer or responsible for creating content for your business, stand out images are proven to attract and engage new customers. Each of these stock photo sites has something for every business, but if you’re looking for more check out this list of Best Stock Photo Sites. Our in-depth article about standard photo sizes might also be a help for you.
If you’re looking for more advice on finding high-quality stock photos that will communicate your brand to your target audience, StockPhotoPress.com has something for everyone. We provide advice for all your stock photo requirements, no matter what industry you’re in or what audience you want to target.
Which sites are you planning on testing out? Which ones have you already used? Are there any sites that should be added to our list? We’d love to hear from you!
