WHERE TO FIND FREE *AND PAID* STOCK PHOTOS OF BUSINESS WOMEN OF COLOR

Representation, inclusion and diversity matters. But finding the right stock photos of 40-plus professional women,  people of color or disabled people can be hard.  I work with female entrepreneurs -  Real People  - and I made this list for them. And now you can use it too.

HERE IS A LIST OF FREE - AND PAID -SOURCES.

A word of warning.  Many of these photographs are free from copyright restrictions or licensed under creative commons public domain dedication - meaning you can copy, distribute,  perform or change the work of photographers without asking permission. However,  photos often require attribution. Every site has its own rules,  do your own research and determine how these images can be used. I usually alternate between buying and free downloads.

Invest in these small photography businesses! Their work really matters.

HOW TO USE YOUR PHOTOS
You can use the entire image or crop an image to get a more personalized look and feel. Play with your photos in Canva or give them to your team for more magic.

Can't find the perfect image?

Take your own photos. Give your phone to a friend and be your own model. We need to see the Real You! No one around? Take a selfie, photograph your hands, your computer with a cup of tea. You add a personal touch when you alternate between professional images and some DIY. You are the creative entrepreneur! Be bold.

SHARE YOUR SUGGESTIONS! 
Share your suggestions at the bottom of the page.  There is still a huge lack of photos of 40 plus professional women and full figured women.  Reach out to stock websites and photographers. 

Update 2024: Canva has edit so many great photos since 2022. I Highly advice you to check it out. The only thing I miss are more women with bigger bodies and more over 50 and 60 + women who are active, successful. You know, like real people.

CANVA 

Canva contacted me about their Natural Woman Collection, and I'm glad they did.
I knew - and love - Canva's creative editor, but didn't know that they had a Free Stock Photo library.

The Natural  Woman Collection contains images that are tagged: plus size, curvy, mixed race, mixed ethnicity, black, caucasian, cancer, down, DNS, downs syndrome, burn victim, scars, wheelchair, achiever, PWD, person with disability etc.

A smiling two-time cancer survivor, a young women down syndrome - ablaze with confidence, a confident plus size woman in her underwear... these are the real women whose pictures we need to use in our blogpost. Representation is a very fast and effective way to empower every woman and end the shaming.
This is a growing  collection, and hopefully many photographers and models will contribute!

P.S. Here's my wish list: more business women of all ages, sizes, colour  
=>  CANVA FREE PHOTO LIBRARY

UNSPLASH

Offers a large collection of free high-resolution photos and has become one of the best sources for stock images. Some - not that many, but it's bound to change eventually,  of 40 plus professional women and people of color.
=> UNSPLASH

CREATEHER STOCK

CreateHER Stock offers free and paid relatable stock curated for female bloggers, creatives, and online influencers of color. Every month you get One Free image.
=>CREATEHER STOCK

JOPWELL 

Jopwell is a POC recruiting website who change the world of stock by sharing images of their own community. Comes with a huge amount of good material. From golf to professional women at a meeting. 
=>JOPWELL 

THE PHOTO FOREST 

The Photo Forest focusses on wellness, yoga, coaches, lightworkers of all ages and color. Women with real bodies and real wrinkles. There is a weekly free stockphoto and very reasonable priced bundle deals. They also organize fun photo and instagram challenges.
=>THE PHOTO FOREST

TONL  

Tonl is set up with the mission to help humanize and hopefully diminish the stereotypes and prejudice against black and brown people, especially of stock photography by displaying images of diverse people and their stories around the world. You can purchase a single photo or take a monthly subscription. 
=>TONL

DISABILITY IMAGES.COM 

DisabilityImages.com creates and distributes royalty free stock photography of positive lifestyle, containing authentic people with real disabilities. People with Down, people in wheelchairs, blind people or any other disability are not represented in the major stock photo sites.  They are part of our society and need to be included.
Disabilityimages.com took it upon themselves to make photos available. All images are fully model and property released and available for commercial publishing.  They only have paid stock photos.
=>DISABILITY IMAGES.COM 

WOCINTECH

This is a dream come true for every online entrepreneur. Professional women of Color in Tech!  Loads of working women and computers!  Free to use. New photos are being added. This really is another great find.
=>WOCinTech

PEXELS

Pexels has and interesting mix of images. There are LGBT and People of Color photos (and some very sad wheelchair photos). But very few 'Over 40 years old photos. Their free videos are very helpful when you want to create your own videos. Fun for color lovers:  is the color database that helps you find pink or blue images.  
=>PEXELS

BLENDLE

Blendle has a solid database - with slightly posed -) and highly styled photos. If these are the kind of photos you need, this  site will do the trick. You pay per image. BLENDLE

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