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People stock photos and royalty free images

Of all the images from around the world, People images is that category that we can all relate to easily. We see ourselves in the images of other people, and it’s easy to interpret visual messages when they feature other people. With contributors from all over the world, Shutterstock has images of people from every corner of the globe — in multiple languages and in authentic, real-world settings. Scroll down to see our curated collection of stock photos and royalty free images of people.

Using images with people for social media

  • Images with people are great for social media. They’re easy to relate to, and they’re very good at conveying specific emotions without saying a word. When you want to convey a certain personality, experience, or brand, images with people are a fast and ready way to do this.

  • Using images with people for a Facebook cover, for example, can communicate a social, personable identity or brand. If you’re hosting a Facebook event, then images with people make it easy to demonstrate how much fun or how serious the event will be. Instagram posts commonly feature people going about their everyday lives in interesting formats, so they’re a great way to get in on the trend and capture a viewer’s attention.

  • If you need help formatting your image for social media, head over to Shutterstock Editor, where we’ve got you covered with the templates you need.

Using images with people for social media

Browse people images

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All about people images

Whether it’s an activity, a location, or an organization, if the image features people, we can quickly see how the idea relates to us. Whether you need images of business people, happy people, office people, or party people, showcasing authentic, real-world images of people can make your brand, project, event, or activity seem immediate and real. People icons, silhouette people, even crowds of people — they can all bring your project to life.

Questions about people images


What are images with people?

Images with people are just what they sound like: photographs, images, or illustrations featuring things like people walking, people eating, groups of people, young people, or seniors. The images can be serious and dramatic, portraying important events in people’s lives, or they can be lighthearted, portraying funny people having a good time. The most common forms of images with people are photographs, illustrations, or visual designs, though these images can (and do) take many other forms. We commonly see images of people in advertisements and social media posts because they’re easy for other people to relate to, meaning marketers and influencers can help you see yourself in the photo, and perhaps take a particular action. Images of people are especially compelling because the emotions they convey can be literal instead of figurative.


How to find the best images with people?

Finding the best images with people is easy, but you can’t just download them from anywhere. Many images are protected by copyright, so you need to be sure you have permission to use them. Head to Shutterstock.com, where all of our royalty free and stock images are set up for proper usage. Type what you’re looking for into the search field, and when you get your results, you can begin narrowing them down by clicking the filters on the left side of the page. You can select the orientation, size, color scheme, and image type. If you’ve seen an image somewhere, and you want something similar, simply save the original image to your computer, click on “search by image” to the right of the search field at the Shutterstock home page. Upload your saved image, and Shutterstock’s image reverse search will return images that look very similar.


What are popular images and photos with people?

Our most popular images and photos with people include happy people, groups of people, and people talking. Generally speaking, when you’re working with images of people in advertising, promotions, or announcements, you’re going to want images of happy people — images of sad people can quickly transfer those emotions to your audience, which can turn them away from your messaging. Groups are common because many of our normal activities are things we enjoy doing together. Meals, events, sports, or even just gathering to visit: these are all group activities that we enjoy under normal circumstances. Images of people talking are also common because it’s the method of communication we use most often. Talking with other people is a part of almost every aspect of modern life, so images of people talking remain popular.


What makes images with people engaging and interesting?

Images with people are predisposed to capture our attention because we relate better to other people than we do most anything else. We can see ourselves in the photographs of others, and that makes it easy to imagine a faraway destination, an exotic adventure, or the lives and feelings of other people. Since images of people are so popular, only the best will make the cut and end up in our creative projects. The most engaging images of people capture authentic emotions in realistic environments in visually compelling ways. That means high contrast, interesting lines, dramatic use of color, and angles we don’t always see in our everyday lives. When people become art objects, we can see ourselves in them, and that means savvy designers can lead us on any adventure they’d like.


How to download free people images?

If you need to download some free people images to begin experimenting with creative design, we’ve got a free people image collection here on this page. Scroll through, and help yourself to some of our favorite people images from the Shutterstock library.

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