The 40 Most Downloaded Images 2019: See What Sold Best This Year!

The last week of the year is a rather insightful time for the stock photography industry. Not only do we look ahead to the Photography Trends 2020 to predict what will be selling next year, but we also look back to what content was most popular and best-selling this year. 

This is a great way of knowing where the visual market is at, what are creatives looking for and where will the demand be in terms of graphic design, all the kind of knowledge that puts you one step ahead of everyone else in terms of finding the perfect marketing images for the coming year. 

The team at Stock Photo Secrets has reached out to the main stock photo agencies, and they have shared their most downloaded files with us, so we can share them with you! It's very interesting to compare them to the Most Downloaded Images in 2018, as well as contrast them against the Photography Trends 2019 predictions from earlier to see how accurate they were. 

So without further ado, here are the… 

Most Downloaded Photos in 2019

Photocase

photocase logo w > The 40 Most Downloaded Images 2019: See What Sold Best This Year!A stock photo agency based in Berlin, Photocase is the go-to source for quirky, fun-loving, and unconventional stock images, the type that stands out from the rest yet does the trick in any commercial-oriented design (hello, Instagram for business!). 

More info? Photocase review!

Ready to buy? Photocase Coupon Code with 5 free credits + 10% off!

 And these are the most downloaded photos from their library in 2020:  

1.

Woman eye seen through book

Copyright 2017 inkje / Photocase, all rights reserved.

2.

Fashion woman hair flowers

Copyright 2017 nanihta / Photocase, all rights reserved.

3.

Men sitting on bridge at sunset

Copyright 2016 BeneA / Photocase, all rights reserved.

4.

Woman walking behind wall

Copyright 2017 time. / Photocase, all rights reserved.

5.

Horses in green field with mist

Copyright 2016 Catalenca / Photocase, all rights reserved.

6.

Word on papel eraser pencil

Copyright 2017 kallejipp / Photocase, all rights reserved.

7.

Pine trees with snow inside cardboard box

Copyright 2018 ASIFE / Photocase, all rights reserved.

8.

Cityscape winter building river bridge

Copyright 2017 Tim T. / Photocase, all rights reserved.

9.

Children playing in puddle rain

Copyright 2016 REHvolution.de / Photocase, all rights reserved.

10.

Letter sign super

Copyright 2016 neal joup / Photocase, all rights reserved.

Shutterstock

shutterstock logo new p > The 40 Most Downloaded Images 2019: See What Sold Best This Year!Dubbed the stock photo giant by many, Shutterstock is one of the most popular stock photo agencies of today, famously known for its massive catalog with over 300 million files and counting. They specialize in sharp, uber-commercial, and modern pictures, and they have a huge variety in every possible topic and style you can think of. 

More info? Shutterstock's review! 

Ready to buy? Grab our Shutterstock Coupon Codes with up to 15% discount! 

These are the images people downloaded the most from Shutterstock this year: 

1.

Colourful ink spots on white

Copyright: Shutterstock / Uniyok

2.

Man mountain bike riding

Copyright: Shutterstock / Daxiao Productions

3.

Golden Geometric Shapes

Copyright: Shutterstock / Gluiki

4.

Abstract geometric patterns

Copyright: Shutterstock / Ron Dale

5.

Senior businesswoman in meeting

Copyright: Shutterstock / fizkes

6.

Marble gold and white texture

Copyright: Shutterstock / vectortwins

7.

People performing summer outdoor activities

Copyright: Shutterstock / GoodStudio

8.

3d graphic big data visualization futuristic

Copyright: Shutterstock / GarryKillian

9.

Modern Living room

Copyright: Shutterstock / Africa Studio

10.

Black 3d triangular pattern

Copyright: Shutterstock / chanchai howharn

Stock Photo Secrets 

StockPhotoSecrets Logo White e1500923744632 > The 40 Most Downloaded Images 2019: See What Sold Best This Year!Our very own Stock Photo Secrets Shop is a service oriented to small and medium-sized businesses, that aims at providing high-quality stock photography at affordable prices and with the best licensing terms. Our library has around 6 million images and we add up to 100,000 more every month, thriving to keep our collection fresh and up to date. 

More info? Stock Photo Secrets review!

Ready to buy? Head over to the Stock Photo Secrets Shop! And check out our popular 99club for a great deal!

Here are our most sold images this year: 

1.

Hand drawn vintage arrows, feathers, dividers and floral elements

Copyright: Ingram Images / Stock Photo Secrets

2.

Server room interior in datacenter

Copyright: Ingram Images / Stock Photo Secrets

3.

Abstract perspective futuristic technology geometric with light burst blue background.

Copyright: Ingram Images / Stock Photo Secrets

4.

Digital network connection lines of Hong Kong Downtown and Victoria Harbour. Financial district in smart city in technology concept. Skyscraper and high-rise buildings. Aerial view at night.

Copyright: Ingram Images / Stock Photo Secrets

5.

World Map in colours

Copyright: Ingram Images / Stock Photo Secrets

6.

senior woman and doctor with clipboard at hospital

Copyright: Ingram Images / Stock Photo Secrets

7.

Hands holding heart illustration

Copyright: Ingram Images / Stock Photo Secrets

8.

outlined icons communications

Copyright: Ingram Images / Stock Photo Secrets

9.

Winter white christmas bokeh blue and sparkling lights Festive background

Copyright: Ingram Images / Stock Photo Secrets

10.

abstract polygonal background

Copyright: Ingram Images / Stock Photo Secrets

Dreamstime

dreamstime logo e1567194341285 > The 40 Most Downloaded Images 2019: See What Sold Best This Year!Dreamstime is one of the top stock photo agencies in the industry, going strong since the early days of microstock. Their quality of service and flexible pricing sets them amongst the most chosen by many creatives, and their images are suitable for any professional use you have in mind. 

More info? Dreamstime review

Ready to buy? Head over to Dreamstime right now!

The most downloaded images 2020 from Dreamstime are: 

Business project meeting

Copyright: Mooshny | Dreamstime.com

Tree in hands

Copyright: Sarayut Thaneerat | Dreamstime.com

Colourful suitcases on the beach

Copyright: Hd3dsh | Dreamstime.com

Branches and globes on clear wooden board

Copyright: Valentin Jucov | Dreamstime.com

Tree made of colourful hearts

Copyright: Hakan Ertan | Dreamstime.com

Old wooden board background

Copyright: Rawin Tanpin | Dreamstime.com

abstract sun drawing

Copyright: Andrey Chaikin | Dreamstime.com

Milky Way panoramic view

Copyright: Panom Bounak | Dreamstime.com

Silhouette of pine trees

Copyright: Siarhei Nosyreu | Dreamstime.com

Speaker at business conference

Copyright: Kasto80 | Dreamstime.com

Seeing these 40 best-selling images from professional stock photo agencies shows that many of their experts nailed their visual trend predictions right on the head.

Just like they told us in our Photography Trends 2020 report, this year the most downloaded imagery was intimate and realistic, artistic, yet with great commercial value. For illustrations, minimalism, geometric patterns, and natural textures were constant. Don't miss out on our new Photography Trends 2020 report here to see any upcoming trends.

What do you think of the most downloaded photos of this year? Are you surprised by any of them? Let us know your thoughts!

Amos Struck
Amos Struck

Amos Struck, a renowned expert with over two decades in the stock photography industry, is known for his profound expertise in both stock imagery and artificial intelligence (AI). He is the founder of StockPhotoSecrets.com and a driving force behind the innovative AI-driven platform, Stockphotos.com. His pioneering work in visual AI is marked by co-founding Ximilar AI. Amos also established the Microstock Expo Conference, a key event in the stock photography sector. As a regular speaker at major industry conferences like DMLA and a prominent member of CEPIC, he consistently contributes to the industry's growth and evolution through a blend of technological innovation and market insight.

3 Comments
  1. Nice site. I actually used quite a bit of time here. Thank you. A lot of sites are 10% content 90% hype. I’ve bookmarked you!

  2. I found this article extremely enlightening in terms of what is images are popular.

    How did you obtain that information?

    I would love to be able to search for the most downloaded images of all time or most downloaded images by category such as fitness.

    Any guidance would be very much appreciated.

    Thanks so much and stay safe!

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