I've collected a list of sources of stock photography that includes diverse populations, including queer and trans, people of colour, people with disabilities, etc.  See below for an explanation of what's included, as well as tips for finding more diverse photos.

Diverse stock photography

Diverse stock photography, including photos of LGBT, queer, trans, non-binary, non-white, disabled, elder, and larger-sized people.
NameLicenseSearchableQueer/TransNon-whiteDisabilityEldersBody diversityNotes
Broadly Gender Spectrum CollectionFreeYYFocus on trans and gender diverse people
BurstFreeYYGeneral stock photography site with many diverse photos available through search
Create Her StockCommercial/paidYYWomen of colour focus
Disabled and HereCC-BYYYYYFeaturing disabled BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color)
Diversity PhotosCommercial/paidYYY
IwariaFreeYYAfrican people, places and culture
Jopwell CollectionFreeYBusiness focus
Jopwell Collection - Intern EditionFreeYBusiness focus
Mocha StockCommercial/paidYYIncludes videos and illustrations
NappyFreeYYFocus on people of African descent
PexelsFreeYYYYGeneral stock photography site with many diverse photos available through search
PicnoiFreeY
RawpixelVariousYYYYYGeneral stock photography site with many diverse photos and illustrations available through search; can be filtered to only show free images.
Representation MattersCommercial/paidYYYYYFocus on body positivity/health at every size
TONLCommercial/paidYY
UK Black TechCC-BYYUK Black, Asian and Middle Eastern (BAME) people in tech
UnsplashFreeYYYYYYGeneral stock photography site with many diverse photos available through search
Women of Color in TechCC-BYYYTechnology focus

Support my work

Hi, I'm Alex. I'm an independent researcher, writer, educator and activist based in Ballarat, Australia. If you appreciate my work, please consider becoming a patron on Patreon. Even $1 a month helps!

Not only will you help me do more work like this, but you'll also get regular updates and sneak peeks at my work in progress.

How this list was created / guidelines for inclusion

  • Any "general" website must offer free images, and also have plenty of images in at least two "diversity" categories to be included.a
  • Whether a site is qualified for a category is based on searching for relevant terms and seeing if a good selection of images show up.
  • The terms I searched for include:
    • Body diversity: health, fat, body image, plus size
    • Disability: disability, wheelchair, prosthetic, braille
    • Non-white: black kids, muslim, asian mother, latina, ethnicity
    • Queer/Trans: queer, transgender, lgbt, lesbian, gay
    • Elders: elderly, old woman, retirement

If you have any to add to this list, drop me a line!

More tips on finding and using images

  • Creative Commons licenses allow you to use images free of charge, simply by attributing the creator and adhering to some other simple terms. For most uses you'll want to find images that are licensed as CC-BY (attribution required), CC-BY-NC (non-commercial use only), or CC-BY-ND (no derivatives - which means you can't edit the image, but you can use it as is). Those with "SA" (share alike) require your work (eg. any artwork you use making that image) to be licensed under the same terms. "CC-0" licenses allow you to use the image without any attribution at all.
  • Here are some more ways to search for CC-licensed images:
  • If you have an image and want to know where it came from, get a better resolution, find related images, or determine the license terms, you can use one of the following:
  • Google Image Search used to have a handy "View Image" button that took you direct to the full resolution image. These extensions re-enable it in Chrome and Firefox.
  • A "view background image" extension can also be handy. Here are versions for Chrome and Firefox, that add an item to your "right click" menu when you mouse over a part of a website with a background image.
  • As you search for images, and find ones that aren't quite right for your current needs, save them anyway and create an image bank for later use.
  • If you are downloading images with licensing terms you need to keep track of, use file tags to note things like "CC-BY", and keep a spreadsheet in the same folder with a link to where you got each image.

Contributors