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8 Awesome Stock Photo Websites (Paid and Free)

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In the age of the internet, visual content is essential. With attention spans getting shorter, readers prefer images and videos over reading words on a screen.  According to a study, 63% of businesses heavily rely on visual content in their marketing strategy.

The need for images and other visual media is constantly growing. In most cases, it is not feasible to hire a professional photographer due to cost constraints. And that is where stock photo websites come to the rescue. According to a survey, 40% of marketers said they use stock photos frequently.

Why Use Stock Photos?

Stock images are usually taken with the intent to sell through stock photo agencies. They’re not clicked for a specific project by the photographer.

Companies and individuals typically opt for stock images when they don’t have the resources to organize a photo shoot. They may also use these photos if taking original pictures is impractical.

Understanding Licenses

Some stock photography is permitted to be used for any purpose, while others come with restrictions. Each stock photo website has a license attached to its images.

You may have a limited time to utilize these images, may be restricted in types of use or how often you can utilize them. So it’s important to understand the license before using the photos to avoid legal issues later on.

Selecting the Best Stock Photo Websites

The best stock photography websites go beyond just selling stock photographs. Many are one-stop shops for a wide range of stock media, such as vectors, illustrations, fonts, music, video, and the like. It makes these stock photography web services a creative professional’s best friends.

Let’s dive in and have a look at some of the best stock photo websites out there.

1. Photocase (Paid)

 Photocase is a Berlin-based premium stock image website.

Their very close curation and strict audit principles make their collection somewhat small yet excellent.

Photocase offers diverse stock images that align with the reigning social mood in 2021. They also exceed niche-like concepts relevant today, such as positive disability images or senior stock images.

Photocase offers two types of pricing models, direct purchase and credit bundles. You can purchase images directly or buy cheap and convenient with a credit bundle.

Their direct purchase is ideal for occasional content requirements.

Price aware clients benefit from the attractive discounts of Credit packages to download their stock photos.

Best Features

  • Five free credits and a 10% discount
  • Features lightboxes an easy way to organize your photos by theme, project, or even client
  • Lowest prices with 20% discount for editorial use
  • Images can be used on social media handles like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. at no extra cost

2. Getty Images (Paid)

Getty Images is a very well-renowned stock photography agency.

It’s been around much before the advent of the Internet era. It evolved with changes and rapidly transformed into an online platform.

This stock photo agency has millions of exclusive images from all around the globe, in addition to an exceptionally massive collection of editorial content.

In Getty Images, you can purchase photographs under the Rights Managed license. This more conventional licensing model is tailored according to your specific needs and may include exclusive photo usage, among other perks.

They have a collection of Royalty-Free photos and editorial images that you can purchase in an Ultra pack upon request, with significant concessions for bulk buying.

Best Features

  • No daily or monthly download limitations
  • Available on Android and iOS platforms
  • Access to media manager
  • Supports multiple plugins and extensions
  • Offers creative insights

3. Stockphotos.com (Paid)

StockPhotos.com primarily focuses on small and medium-sized organizations. Created by a team of experts in the stock photography industry, it offers more than 7 million royalty-free pictures. They have flexible plans and also offer customized ones to suit your budget.

You can purchase images on demand with image packs, starting at 5 images for $39 and up to 100 images for $360.The well-known 99 club plan offers 200 downloads a year for $99.

Best Features

  • Quality royalty-free images for as low as 99 cents per image
  • Fre image upscaling tool
  • Supports multiple file formats and plugins
  • Provides special offers from renowned stock photo websites

4. Shutterstock (Paid)

Shutterstock is one of the most prominent stock photo destinations with an impressive collection of images and allied media.

With 190 million assets and counting, they have an endless variety of content. These images are very high quality as well.

You can purchase royalty-free stock pictures on-demand with picture packs, at five photographs for $49 or 25 for $229, coming about in the middle $9.16 and $9.80 per photograph. Yet, the best costs are those offered in their memberships.

You can now try their images and service quality for free with the new Shutterstock Free Trial that gives you ten free downloads for 30 days!

Best Features

  • Access to the free image resizer
  • Access to Shutterstock editor
  • Access to online file converter
  • Shutterstock is available on Android and iOS platforms

5. iStock (Paid)

iStock (formerly known as iStockphoto) was the pioneer organization in selling stock photographs online under a royalty-free license.

With 18 years in the business and sponsored by the esteemed Getty Images, the iStock website sells photographs on-demand with credit packs and memberships.

iStock is renowned for its exceptionally curated library with many photographs in two essential groups. However, you can likewise utilize the site’s search feature or browse pictures by category.

The larger the plan and the extended the commitment, the lower the price per image. You can put in from $29 up to $199 per month and get photographs for money-making purposes for as little as 21 cents. You can also get a fantastic discount on istock images with the help of a promo code.

Best Features

  • Access to iStock editor
  • Boards to organize and share
  • Supports multiple plugins
  • Supports Adobe Creative Cloud Applications

6. Canva (Free + Paid)

Canva is a famous picture-altering tool for people who aren’t design-savvy. They also offer Canva Pro, a membership-based service intended for business users.

This platform offers a comprehensive library with more than 60 million pictures, illustrations, icons, templates, and more. Their membership accompanies limitless downloads at no additional expense!

However, what separates Canva Pro isn’t only the available download cap. Canva Pro adds a Brand Kit component to the easy-to-use altering apparatus to effectively make marked visuals for various purposes.

Another essential function is a Publishing assistant to manage and send out designs to your multiple channels from one place. And that’s to name a small number.

This full-pack of simplified design costs only $9.95 a month (when you pay once a year upfront, or else it’s $13.95 monthly).

Best Features

  • Access to a free online image editor
  • Supports image editing and sharing on social media platforms
  • Offers various stock and social media related short-courses
  • Available on Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows

7. Pixabay (Free)

Pixabay is a Germany-based free stock photography website. Pixabay provides pictures you can download and utilize for free that they crowdsourced from photographers.

They have a pool of over 1.4 million content and counting. The website also incorporates a blog and a community forum to guide its users on several areas of interest.

All images at Pixabay are licensed under the Creative Commons Zero license, and you can freely use them for individual and commercial projects.

Pixabay has dedicated staff that assesses the images’ quality and ensures that they are legal to use. This helps the users avoid any legal troubles later on.

Best Features

  • Massive collection of high-quality stock photos available for free
  • An advanced search engine with a safe search feature
  • You can utilize the content in individual and commercial projects
  • Supports sharing of content directly to social media handles

8. Unsplash (Free)

Unsplash is a free stock photo site owned by Crew – a platform that connects clients with freelance designers, web developers, and small studio services.

It was created five years ago as a humble Tumblr blog offering photographs from a custom photoshoot for free. Now it’s one of the most well-known free photo websites around, utilized by gigantic brands like Apple. Unsplash facilitates more than 500,000 free photographs from contributors.

Unsplash uses their custom license, which is essentially a Creative Commons Zero license.

On this website, all images are for free, without any catch. Their snapshots are high quality, modern, authentic, and they’re all available to download and use for free.

Best Features

  • Available on iOS platform
  • Supports multiple plugins
  • You can use the downloaded images without attribution freely
  • You can use pictures for commercial projects as well

The Bottom Line

The best stock photo websites maintain strict guidelines that filter out poor-quality or unprofessional content. Such strict quality guidelines ensure subscribers access to high-resolution, top-quality photos, videos, illustrations, vectors, and more.

Many stock photo websites offer free high-quality stock photos, illustrations, vector art, videos, etc. In contrast, some offer affordable monthly subscriptions and different licensing or pricing tiers. The different options enable designers, bloggers, marketers, and others to join a price point that suits them.

No single website can claim to be perfect. You can consider any of the sites mentioned above based on the kind of content that suits your particular needs and budget.

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Lifesytle

How to Pack a Mattress When Moving from Toronto to Los Angeles

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Like any item, a mattress requires careful handling and proper use. To avoid deformation during the move, the mattress needs to be packed and moved properly.

What are the nuances you need to take into account when moving a mattress?

Mattresses come in many shapes and sizes: frame, frame-less, with and without springs, and custom mattresses, custom shapes and sizes, so it’s important to figure out how to move your mattress specifically.

What Are the Risks of Improper Moving

  • Damage or contamination of the upholstery—this will not affect the operation, but the mattress may lose its original appearance;
  • Damage to the spring unit—a more serious risk that can affect the future operation of the mattress;
  • Filler slumping—there is a risk of losing the orthopedic properties of the mattress.

In order not to have an unpleasant experience when moving the mattress, it is necessary to approach the preparation and comply with the conditions below carefully.

How to Pack a Mattress When Moving from Toronto to Los Angeles

If the construction allows, remove the mattress cover and wash and dry it. Before moving, the mattress must be packed securely so that it will not get dirty or damaged.

Different materials are used for each type of mattress. But, as a rule, it is cardboard, bubble wrap and stretch wrap. It is very important not to over-stretch the mattress.

Movers pack some types of mattresses together with the bed grid (orthopedic base) to give rigidity.

Carrying By Stairs Or Elevator

Springless mattresses can twist—this type of mattress is more mobile and will not cause trouble when moving. It is worth noting that some types of spring mattresses also can twist; they are initially supplied as twisted and vacuum-packed.

If you don’t remember how exactly the new mattress was delivered, you shouldn’t risk twisting the mattress.

Round, orthopedic, spring and rigid-shaped mattresses must not be bent or twisted.

Many people mistakenly believe that moving oversized mattresses (massive or non-standard shapes) does not require special efforts, but this is not the case. Such mattresses may have a different spring structure, mixed filler, etc.

Moving these mattresses is worth paying special attention to; otherwise, failure to follow some rules may entail unfavourable consequences.

If you do not follow these rules, the mattress’s service life is significantly reduced, and damage to the springs is possible, which threatens unpleasant squeaking and uncomfortable sleep.

Moving Process

A passenger car will be sufficient for moving twisted mattresses, but other types of mattresses will require a truck or a furniture van.

Do not place heavy objects on top of the mattress. The surface may be dented, and the mattress may not return to its original position.

Place the mattress indoors or in a vehicle on the long edge of the mattress to reduce the load and the time the mattress is on the edge without support.

Unpacking at the New Place

Unpacking should be done very carefully. If the mattress has been twisted, unpack it and give it as much as possible 24 hours to recover its original shape.

Conclusion

In conclusion, successfully moving a mattress or other things from Toronto to Los Angeles requires more than just physical relocation; it demands meticulous planning, proper packing, and careful moving to preserve its integrity.

Remembering the dos and don’ts—from using the right materials to avoiding bending or twisting certain types—can make all the difference.

With the right approach and a team experienced in long distance moving, your mattress can arrive in Los Angeles in perfect condition, ensuring you continue to enjoy comfortable, restful sleep.

Trust in the process and the professionals, and your move will be smooth and worry-free.

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Fashion

Unveiling the Allure: Your Guide to Precious Stones

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Humanity’s quest for beauty and rarity has long captivated mankind’s fascination with precious stones. From sparking legends to donning crowns of royalty, these natural wonders continue to capture our fascination. This guide takes us deep inside Earth’s treasured gems, understanding and appreciating their presence among its mineral kingdom.

A Gemstone’s Journey: From Earth to Exquisite

Precious stone formation is a fascinating feat of nature that occurs over millions of years beneath Earth’s surface. Starting with minerals, heat, and pressure combining in perfect balance to produce gems with unparalleled structures and hues.

As they rise from beneath our feet their journey ends at our hands where each gem is mined, cut, polished into an artistic masterpiece. One can hold such gem and witness how it was transformed from raw earth into exquisite beauty – increasing both visually as well as financially and sentimentally value as it happens under our very eyes!

Diamonds Are Supreme

Diamonds represent luxury and endurance at their core. Crafted by carbon, heated to extreme temperatures deep underground and subjected to immense pressure, diamonds are prized for their unparalleled hardness and brilliant fire.

Beyond their physical qualities, gemstones have come to symbolize everlasting love and commitment. Each diamond tells its own timeless tale, one as timeless and clear as its reflective surface.

Cutting and shaping these gems expertly is what allows them to show their true splendor – an exact process that balances proportions, symmetry, polish, and light reflection for maximum sparkle and appeal. Wholesale diamonds in particular are selected and cut carefully so as to maximize both value and appeal.

Sapphires: Serenity in Blue

Sapphires have long been recognized for the serene and deep oceanic blue hue they represent, which has come to symbolize serenity, nobility and sincerity for centuries – far beyond aesthetic considerations alone. Corundum gems similar to rubies can often feature trace elements such as iron and titanium that give them their characteristic blue hues.

Although Kashmir was historically famed for producing the world’s finest blue sapphires, today they can be found all across the world, from Australia and Sri Lanka alike. Lauded for both their celestial beauty and remarkable durability, sapphires make a wonderful statement piece or engagement ring choice and promise a bond as eternal as the stone itself.

Emeralds: Lush Green Mystique

Emeralds evoke nature’s bounty through their lush green hue, from pale mint to deep forest green. Emeralds have long been associated with fertility, rebirth and love throughout history. Ancient civilizations revered them, with Egyptian Queen Cleopatra famously donning herself with them as her jewelry of choice.

Their color has become so synonymous with nature that the term emerald green often refers to all vibrant green shades outside its range; even their inclusions – known as jardin – have come to symbolize their perfection making flaws part of each emerald’s perfection!

Conclusion: The Eternal Allure of Precious Stones

Precious stones represent an immense and diverse world that spans millennia of Earth history, human achievement and artistic expression. No matter your taste in jewelry or precious stones, their timeless appeal cannot be denied. Here we only scratched the surface, like when cutting diamonds unleashes their flame.

Discovering and appreciating these earthly treasures that add special moments of wonder is part of life, so whenever you find yourself mesmerized by an eye-catching piece of gemstone jewelry, remember its unspoken legacy is waiting to be unlocked and enjoyed.

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Pets

How to Treat Anxiety in Dogs

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Does your dog have anxiety? Just like humans, dogs can experience anxiety. In fact, most dogs will experience anxiety at some point in their life. This anxiety can become more serious and long-term if action is not taken to control it, which could lead to debilitating behavioural issues and all kinds of health problems.

As a result, it’s important to know the signs of anxiety in dogs and how to treat it.

This post takes a look at some of the common causes of anxiety in dogs, as well as a few of the signs of anxiety to look out, before delving into some of the ways in which you can help treat your dog’s anxiety.

What causes anxiety in dogs?

Many things can trigger anxiety in a dog. Some of the most common causes include:

Separation from loved ones

Dogs are very prone to separation anxiety – especially when they’re still young. Most dogs will first experience separation anxiety as a puppy after being separated from their mother and litter. This does not last too long providing a puppy is properly adjusted to their new home (this post delves more into adjusting a puppy to their new home).

Many dogs also experience separation anxiety when separated from their owner. Dogs that are left alone are particularly likely to experience anxiety. Having some familiar company can reduce these feelings of anxiety, but most dogs will still be unsettled.

Changes in routine/lack of routine

Just like many humans, dogs love routine. It helps them know what to expect and to relax. Without routine, dogs may feel that they have to constantly be on guard and may act more erratically.

Big changes in routine can also throw dogs off and make them feel anxious. This includes things like moving home or changing their food.

New members of the household

Dogs may become anxious when new pets or people are introduced to a household. They may see them as competition or even a threat. While dogs are very territorial and will behave aggressively to people they don’t know, others may behave more timidly. It varies depending on the dog and the new arrival.

Abuse/trauma

Some rescue dogs may have been abused by previous owners, which could result in them being naturally more anxious. Certain traumatic events can also cause phobias in dogs just like humans. For example, a dog may become afraid of young kids if one child previously injured them, or they may become afraid of getting in a car if they experienced an unpleasant car journey.

Lack of stimulation

Some dog breeds need to be kept regularly stimulated. Boredom may lead to restlessness and anxiety of not knowing what to do. An example could include locking a dog in a room all day with no toys.

Sensory overload

While not enough stimulation can make dogs anxious, so can too much stimulation. Dogs have heightened senses of hearing and smell, and so can become particularly anxious when exposed to frequent loud noises or lingering unpleasant smells. Many dogs get very anxious around times of the year when there are fireworks. Similarly, strong smells of citrus of vinegar may cause dogs to avoid certain rooms.

Are some dog breeds more anxious than others?

All dog breeds are prone to anxiety. However, some dogs are known to get more anxious to certain triggers.

Research has found that the breeds most prone to anxiety are Lagotto Romagnolos, Wheaten Terriers, Spanish Water Dogs, Shetland Sheepdogs and Miniature Schnauzers. Mixed-breed dogs have also been found to be more anxious than pure-bred dogs, although it’s worth noting that mixed breed dogs are less at risk of developing most other health problems.

Signs of anxiety in dogs

Some dogs are quite good at hiding their anxiety. However, most will exhibit some symptoms that show that they are in distress. Some of the telltale signs that a dog is anxious include:

  • Whining/barking: Many dogs bark when exposed to threats to whine when lonely or bored.
  • Eyes, ears and tail: When anxious, it is common for dogs’ eyes to widen, their ears to go back and their tail to go between their legs.
  • Pacing and restlessness: A lot of dogs pace up and down when stressed. Some try to sleep or sit down but keep changing position or getting up.
  • Excessive yawning/drooling/licking: Some dogs keep yawning as a way of relieving stress (most commonly from boredom, although it can be due to other stress triggers). Others start drooling a lot, or start licking their lips or themselves to stay stimulated.
  • Trying to hide or escape: Many dogs will try to run away from stress triggers. For example, some dogs will run away from a vacuum cleaner and hide in another room.
  • Changes in appetite: If a dog is in a state of constant stress, they may refuse to eat. Others may become extra ravenous and try to eat foods they wouldn’t usually try to go for.
  • Changes in bowel movements: Anxiety can also cause some dogs to develop diarrhoea. During periods of extreme stress, some dogs may also feel unable to hold their bowels and may poo inside – even if long trained not to.
  • Panting/shaking: A lot of dogs pant a lot when stressed. When under a lot of stress, dogs may start to tremble too.
  • Foul smells: A lot of dogs express their anal glands when stressed. This can lead to a foul fishy odour.
  • Excessive shedding: Very stressful situations or prolonged stress can also cause some dogs to lose their hair. It is natural for many dogs to shed their coat regularly. However, you should look out for lots of shedding in a short period of time or lack of hair regrowth.

How to relieve anxiety in your dog

There are several measures you can take to help alleviate feelings of anxiety in your dog. A few examples are included below.

Play with/exercise them daily

Regular physical activity and bonding time can help alleviate boredom. It can also tire out your dog, so that they’re able to deal with separation anxiety more easily (many dogs will take a nap after a long walk). Some breeds need more exercise and play time than others. Make sure you understand your dog’s needs.

Enjoy strokes and cuddles

Many dogs can also be calmed simply by providing physical contact. Petting your dog or even allowing them to lie by you while touching you could help them feel calmer in stressful situations such as a fireworks display.

Allow them some private space

While dogs love attention, they can still get overwhelmed by too much physical contact. This is common in families with young kids or when guests are coming around. In these cases, dogs may need a private space to retreat to in order to relax. A crate is the best option for this – just make sure to tell everyone not to bother your dog if they retreat to their crate.

Play music/put the radio on

Dogs can get more anxious when left alone in a quiet environment. Studies have shown that playing a radio or some background music can help put dogs at ease by giving them a sense of being around people. Music can also be used to drown out loud sounds like fireworks or traffic, which may frighten your dog at certain times.

Use calming familiar scents

You can also calm your dog by introducing familiar soothing scents. For example, separation anxiety in puppies can be reduced by leaving them with a blanket that smells of their mother. Similarly, leaving a dog with an item of clothing that smells of you could calm them if they are staying around someone else’s house.

Try anxiety medication for dogs

There are many supplements containing natural anxiety-relieving ingredients that you can buy for dogs. Ingredients to look out for include l-theanine, lemon balm, valerian and chamomile. These supplements can be added to their food. You can also buy supplements including ingredients like melatonin to improve your dog’s sleep quality. Stronger anxiety medication can be prescribed by a vet.

Should you get professional help?

Professional intervention is sometimes necessary with very anxious dogs. There are a few professionals that you can talk to.

An animal communicator is one professional you can look into. These professionals can help translate feelings that your dog may be having – which could include identifying sources of stress. This could include spending some time with your dog to truly understand their behaviours.

Animal behavioural therapists can meanwhile help diagnose sources of anxiety and help your dog to overcome them. This could include alternative training methods to help reduce stress triggers. Thi can be very useful for dogs that have experienced trauma or abuse.

Finally, you can consult a vet. On top of prescribing medication, vets can check that anxiety isn’t caused by a physical health issue. For example, joint pain may make a dog afraid of stairs, while toothache could make a dog anxious of food.

Conclusion

Anxiety in dogs has many causes and there are many possible ways to treat it. By taking your time to identify triggers and explore treatment options, you can look after your dog’s mental health.

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