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Originally published in January 2020 / Updated January 2023

13 Cannabis Stock Photography Websites That Don’t Suck

These are our favourite free and paid cannabis stock photography websites and why we recommend them.

It’s been nearly five years since the legalization of cannabis in Canada and we have only scratched the surface of this plant’s potential.

While the excitement grows, marketers are learning to work with endless restrictions that are put in place to ensure that companies are ethically marketing their cannabis products that strictly appeal to adults.

As marketing professionals and content creators, we must find a balance between creativity and obligation to share factual information about cannabis through various marketing channels, including the usage of visual imagery which brings us to finding reliable stock photography websites.

What’s Special About Cannabis Stock Photos?

Stock photos play an essential role in evoking feelings in the reader that further set an impression of your article. Which means accurate visual representations can help bolster your idea! 

This also applies to marketing cannabis products, which is why I recommended creating a list of stock photography websites that would meet various blog posts' creative needs while following while respecting the rules and regulations.

Below you will find a tried and tested list of free and paid stock photography websites that each provide a varying range of cannabis stock photos to choose from.

We’ve grouped the database of photos into 11 overall categories:

  1. Medical and Laboratory
  2. Retail
  3. Cannabis Plant and Flower
  4. Growing and Cultivation
  5. Edibles
  6. Dried Flowers
  7. Pre-Rolled
  8. Topicals
  9. Oils and Tinctures
  10. Vectors and Graphics
  11. People Consuming Cannabis

Paid Cannabis Stock Photography Websites

Do you need photos for an advertisement? Printed material? Or your website’s homepage? If you want the highest quality of cannabis stock photography, it may be feasible for you to invest in licensing. These are my go-to websites. 

These websites are very well organized. Simply search the keyword “cannabis” on any of these websites and you’ll get all the results you need.

1. Shutterstock

Website: https://www.shutterstock.com/
Overall Aesthetic: Commercial and Natural

Shutterstock is one of the largest stock photography websites, and with nearly 300,000 cannabis photos, it has one of the largest databases of cannabis photography.

You can sign up for a 1-month free trial after which the website will charge you $29 USD per month for downloading 10 images per month.

Types of Photos: 

  • Medical and Laboratory
  • Cannabis Plant and Flower
  • Growing and Cultivation
  • Vectors and Graphics

2. Stocksy

Website: https://www.stocksy.com/
Overall Aesthetic: Natural and Candid

Stocksy prides themselves on preserving creative integrity and authenticity⁠—and it shows in their cannabis collection.

With more than 2,500 photos and videos of cannabis, we were impressed with the quality, diversity, and relevance. Their photos have been carefully curated to show cannabis and those consuming it in a positive light.

From $15 USD to $125 USD per image, their pricing plan is very simple.

Types of Photos: 

  1. Cannabis Plant and Flower
  2. Growing and Cultivation
  3. Edibles
  4. Dried Flowers
  5. People Consuming Cannabis

3. Adobe Stock Photos

Website: https://stock.adobe.com/
Overall Aesthetic: Commercial

Time and time again, our photographer and designer friends recommend this website to us for its broad range of exquisite stock photos. 

You can sign up for the 1-month free trial after which you will need to purchase a standard license or extended license depending upon your needs. If you have a monthly Adobe subscription, you may already have access to Stock Photos. 

Types of Photos: 

  • Cannabis Plant and Flower
  • Medical and Laboratory

4. 123rf

Website: https://www.123rf.com/
Overall Aesthetic: Natural

123rf is a popular stock photography website among content marketers. Here you will find several cannabis stock photos that accurately describe the look and feel of the plant.

While browsing through the websites and expanding photos, you’ll also notice their keyword suggestions to help narrow your search. 

Their prices are one of the most affordable but best suited for multiple purchases. Buy photos based on credits or choose one of their subscription models.

Types of Photos: 

  • Cannabis Plant and Flower
  • Oils and Tinctures
  • Medical and Laboratory


5. iStock by Getty Images

Website: https://www.istockphoto.com/
Overall Aesthetic: Commercial, Close-Ups and Natural

iStock Photo by Getty Images is a microstock photography website. That means the photos are sold at a higher volume, lower price and royalty free. 

With almost 100,000 images, this website has an impressive range of cannabis-friendly stock photos. 

You pay per download or choose one of their subscriptions for as low as $29 CAD a month.

Types of Photos:

  • Cannabis Plant and Flower
  • Growing and Cultivation
  • Dried Flowers
  • Edibles

6. Getty Images

Website: https://www.gettyimages.ca/
Overall Aesthetic: Commercial and Natural

Unlike iStock, Getty Images is a stock photography website. There is more exclusivity. If you’re willing to pay a premium to not have the same photos as everyone else, Getty is a good option.

The website has fewer photos – 35,000 to be exact – but a wide variety.  Their prices and packages start as $150 USD. 

Types of Photos: 

  • Medical and Laboratory
  • Dried Flowers
  • People Consuming Cannabis


7. Dreamstime

Website: https://www.dreamstime.com/
Overall Aesthetic: Candid, Close-Up and Commercial

This website’s cannabis stock photos overlap with many of the ones listed above. This website will need patience and researching with different keywords.

This website offers a list of subscription options starting at $34 CAD a month.

Types of Photos: 

  • Medical and Laboratory
  • Retail
  • Cannabis Plant and Flower
  • Growing and Cultivation
  • Dried Flowers
  • Pre-Rolled

8. The Cannabiz Agency

Website: https://thecannabizagency.com/
Overall Aesthetic: Minimalist and Flat-Lay

What we like most about The Cannabiz Agency is their website design. 

We appreciate how pristine and catalogued the website looks and the organized categories cut down a chunk of searching and scrolling time.

Prices range between $2 to $5 USD, depending on the size you choose. You can also sign up at the bottom of their homepage to receive “VIP-only” offers.

Types of Photos: 

  • People Consuming Cannabis
  • Edibles
  • Dried Flowers

9. A Pot Farmer’s Daughter

Website: https://apotfarmersdaughter.com/
Overall Aesthetic: Candid, Close-Up and Landscape

Created by photojournalist Kristen Angelo, A Pot Farmer’s Daughter is a membership-only cannabis stock photography website. As the name implies, photos are predominately on a grow-op.

You will need to sign up with them and once your account is confirmed you can browse through their collections and bookmark or purchase and download photos. You can also pay an annual membership fee to gain access to new content regularly.

If you are looking for something specific and are unable to find it, email and (hello@apotfarmersdaughter.com) get in touch with them directly. 

Types of Photos: 

  • Cannabis Plant and Flower
  • Growing and Cultivation
  • People Consuming Cannabis

Free Cannabis Stock Photography Websites

If you’re willing to compromise on quality and you don’t mind having the same photos as most, these free stock photography websites are easy on your wallet.

Not every website will be able to fulfil your varying or even specific needs but remain patient. Try different keywords and scroll past the first page.

Heads up⁠—most of the websites require that you accredit and link back to their website.

10. Pixabay

Website: https://pixabay.com/
Overall Aesthetic: Candid and Pre-Legalisation

I have personally used this website an endless number of times since they carry a huge reserve of valid stock photos. You will further notice the various keywords tagged to the image in question that will help refine your search. 

You can download the photos for free and it doesn’t demand too much scrolling time to find decent cannabis stock photography photos. They showed 400+ images for the keyword cannabis and some of them remind of the pre-legalization idea of cannabis.

Types of Photos: 

  • Cannabis Plant and Flower
  • Growing and Cultivation
  • Vectors and Graphics
  • Dried Flowers

11. Pexels

Website: https://www.pexels.com/
Overall Aesthetic: Commercial and Natural

Pexels is well stocked with photos that portray cannabis in a positive light. I especially appreciated the various photos of people adding CBD oil to their beverage to get their day started. Their database carries 100+ stocks photos for the keyword cannabis.

Types of Photos:  

  • Cannabis Plant and Flower
  • Vectors and Graphics
  • Growing and Cultivation

12. Unsplash

Website: https://unsplash.com/
Overall Aesthetic: Commercial and Candid

Depending on the keywords used, Unsplash lists over 400 images that consist of both accurate and good quality cannabis stock photos.  

Types of Photos:

  • Topicals
  • People Consuming Cannabis
  • Pre-rolls
  • Oils and Tinctures
  • Growing and Cultivation

13. Cannaclusive

Website: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cannaclusive/
Overall Aesthetic: Candid

Cannaclusive, an organization that is pushing for inclusivity in the cannabis industry, has a database of BIPOC  consuming cannabis.

Cannaclusive which is an account on the website, based in New York. Between 4 albums on Flickr, their account consists of 300+ photographs of real people and legitimate cannabis.

To download, click on the image to expand it and then click on the downward-facing arrow button found on the bottom right. The images are free but don’t forget to credit @cannaclusive.

Types of Photos:

  • People Consuming Cannabis
  • Oils and Tinctures
  • Retail
  • Topicals

Suggestions and Other Useful Reads

Here are our suggestions to find the best image for your needs.

  • Go to more than one website. Different websites have different photographs and update their database at different times. From my personal experience, it’s best to have a combination of websites that you can go to regularly to find the freshest photos.
  • Be patient. Scroll past first the first pages and try different filters until you discover the best fit.
  • Try different keywords. Some websites shadow ban terms like weed or marijuana. Use neutral words like hemp or cannabis instead to find best matches.
Finally, I would like to suggest an insightful read about the emerging need to update cannabis stock photos because these images are capable of influencing or reshaping the impression of cannabis.

Written by

Puja Vaz

Puja Vaz is a former writer at our parent agency, Findable Digital Marketing.

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