choosing the right photo for your blog or creative project can be a little daunting…
People are visual creatures, preferring to see images rather than read the written word.
With visuals, you can catch a persons attention at first glance.
which makes choosing the right photo for your project pretty important…
If you’re just starting out with your blog, and perhaps haven’t quite mastered your camera, the following list of popular stock photography sites will get you started with beautiful and professional imagery for free!
1. Unsplash
Unsplash has a huge library of photos, with more being added every day.
I love the consistently high quality and unique photos on this site.
All photos on Unsplash can be used for free for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. You are able to copy, modify and distribute the photos, without having to ask permission from or provide credit to the photographer or Unsplash, although the photographers appreciate it as it helps them gain exposure.
UPDATE: this story – Photographer in Legal Battle Over Unsplash Image After a User Uploaded the Image to Photo-Sharing Site Illegally – caught my eye recently. The long and short of it is that a photographer has been hit with a copyright infringement notice after using a free image from Unsplash, that was not actually owned by the user who uploaded it, which means the usual license provided by the platform is not valid. Unsplash has confirmed that this is a fairly common occurence, where photographers are unaware that their images are being uploaded to the platform.
If you read the comments on this story you’ll see it has prompted a lot of debate and discussion. It’s messy and potentially will give people pause for concern when using images from this site.
My take away?
As I say at the end of this post, where possible, try to take your own images. They are then yours to use as you wish – no limitations or restrictions.
Of course you’re not going to be able to take certain images, which is where you need to decide whether to use these sites or to come up with an alternative.
Food for thought, though…
Photo by Iwona Pytlowska on Unsplash
2. rawpixel
Rawpixel is all for smashing the stereotypes of today’s society and is exploring new ways to represent creativity and authenticity.
They have quite a diverse range of stock photos, with both a free and premium membership option.
You are able to use free content for both personal and commercial projects, with a worldwide royalty-free commercial license.
You have to be signed in to download images, and while there is a 5 image limit per day for a free membership, you also have to option to download at web or original sizes.
And make sure to check out the Public Domain section where they are sourcing and digitally enhancing thousands of inspirational design treasures of the past.
Image from rawpixel.com / Rijksmuseum (Source)
3. Pixabay
Pixabay is a community of creatives, sharing copyright free images, vectors and videos – all of which have been released under the Pixabay License.
This means you can use images from Pixabay without asking for permission or giving credit to the artist – even for commercial purposes.
4. Pexels
Pexels mission is to help ‘designers, writers, artists, programmers and other creators to get access to beautiful photos that they can use freely which empowers them to create amazing products, designs, stories, websites, apps, art, and other work. We call it: “Empowering Creators”‘
They have thousands of free stock photos, with more high-resolution images added regularly. Pexels hand-picks from photos uploaded by their users or sourced from free image websites.
The Discover tool breaks photos into categories, or alternatively use the Search function to find images to suit your needs.
You can download images in a variety of sizes, and in the download information window it shows you where else you can find more of the photographers work.
Photo by Alex Andrews from Pexels
my best advice?
While there are a multitude of fantastic free stock photo websites out there, if you’re able to, create your own images. That way they’re yours, and you can use them as you wish, with no restrictions or limitations.
However, if you are looking for free stock images, use websites that explicitly state that images are free for both personal and commercial projects.
And attribute the image to the photographer… it really is the right thing to do!
I hope that my top 4 favourite free stock photo sites are helpful to you (and your budget!).
