I am a writer, not a photographer. But I know that high-quality images play an important role in building a brand’s aesthetic and identity. We bloggers, in particular, spend a lot of time searching for perfectly styled stock photos to spice up our blog or enhance the look and feel of our website.

Is it just me, or does it seem like all paid image subscriptions have the exact photo we’re looking for? Constantly! Right? After extensive research, I finally found a few promising sites. Let me tell y’all about them.

Building an image database is a gradual process. Don’t expect to start with more than 100 images. At least that’s not how it worked for me.

My preferred image library is Unsplash. If you’re specifically looking for photos that are feminine, just type terms like feminine, pink, and stationery into Unsplash‘s search function.

There are two other similar sites you can use if you want to find something quickly – pexel and pixabay.

In addition to these three, there are five other image libraries that I’d recommend to you. But there’s a catch. Do you remember I said at the beginning of this article that it’s a gradual process? Here’s why.

Most of these websites have tonnes of feminine-style photos, but like any other business, you’ve to pay to unlock them. However, you can also opt for a free subscription where you’ve to provide your name and email address. When you sign up, 5 or 10 images per month will be unlocked (this can vary depending on the website). You’ve to save them in your own stock. If you don’t already have one, you might want to start now.

I suggest you use a different email for this so it doesn’t get too spammy. But honestly, most of them don’t spam you with hundreds of emails. In fact, I often find that certain things they share are relevant and useful to us content creators and writers.
So here’s the list…

Oh, Tilly

I absolutely love her photos. They capture the feminine mood so beautifully. When you subscribe, you can unlock 15 images that you can use to enhance your brand’s aesthetic. As long as you subscribe, you’ll also get 15 styled stock images every month. Isn’t that great?

CGS Creative

When you register, you’ll receive an email in which you’ve to confirm your registration (and prove that you aren’t a robot!). Once this is done, you’ll receive another link with your login details to access the free image library. Always make sure to read the license details. For example, these images are licensed under the Creative Commons license. You can read more about it here.

Haute Stock

I just recently signed up and they have a great library for their members. There are many benefits to being a member, but if you’re a new blogger and want to stick to the free images, you should check out the free library to download free images. Sometimes the free downloads aren’t as good as the ones members have access to, but see if you can work with them. There are also some interesting posts on their blog. So definitely check out the site. Personally, I really like the look and feel of this site 🙂

Wonderlass

If your vibe is a more vibrant and modern aesthetic you might really like this site. Lots of hot pinks with sunny yellows, sky blues and other bold colors that can instantly grab the attention of (especially) a younger audience. Just sign up and get your 15 free female stock images today.

Dabbles and Babbles

Another minimalist image archive with some beautiful free images that will delight your readers. These high-quality feminine-style stock photos can be used for banners, mockups, text overlays, social media, and much more. Get eight beautiful free stock images that will give you an instant visual edge.

I could easily tell you a few more free female image libraries, but it’s best to start with a few. It’s not about downloading everything at once because it looks so pretty (unless you really want to), it’s about finding photos that add value to your brand image or enhance the aesthetic of your blog/business. Always try to categorize them so you don’t have to spend a lot of time (again) looking for the images in your own library.

Let me know if this was useful and if you found some good photos you like. If so, please share/reblog 🙂