Where to Find Free Stock Photos: 36 Sites

The number of sites offering beautiful, free photos for you to legally* use in your business branding, marketing, and blogging projects just keeps on growing! Hurray … the more resources the merrier, I say, because it means better visual communication for everyone!

Click to share these fabulous resources with your friends on Twitter!

Watch the resource slideshow or view as a list below. Grab the printable version of the list to keep this info close at hand (you’ll also get a series of tips on how to make searching for stock photos easier)!

1. Compfight

comfight

Compfight helps you search the photo sharing site flickr for images that are available for commercial use and licensed through Creative Commons. Always check licenses and attribution requirements. Photo Credit: gertrudster via Compfight CC

1. Compfight

comfight

Compfight helps you search the photo sharing site flickr for images that are available for commercial use and licensed through Creative Commons. Always check licenses and attribution requirements. Photo Credit: gertrudster via Compfight CC


2. Crow the Stone

crowthestone

Crow the Stone no longer offers photos.


3. Death to the Stock Photo

deathtothestock

Death to the Stock Photo offers free monthly packs of images from photographers Allie and David. Bonus packs and extended access available for $10/month.


4. Foodie’s Feed

foodiesfeed

Foodie’s Feed offers free, high resolution food photos. Yummy!


5. Foter

foter

Foter helps you search for free Creative Commons images from several online sources. Always check licenses and attribution requirements. Photo credit: mysza831 / Foter / CC BY 2.0


6. Free Images

freeimages

Free Images offers a gallery of more than 350,000 stock photos.


7. Free Pixels

freepixels

Free Pixels offers more than 5,000 images. Photo credit: Free Pixels


8. Free Range Stock

freerangestock

Free Range Stock offers high-resolution stock photos and textures.


9. Fresh

fresh

Fresh is no longer offered.


10. GetRefe

getrefre

GetRefe Free offers high-quality images of people interacting with technology (free and for purchase).


11. Gratisography

gratisography

Gratisography offers free high-resolution photos by abstract artist and designer Ryan McGuire.


12. IM Free

imfree

IM Free offers a curated collection of images, icons, templates, buttons. Photo credit: PhotoEveryWhere.co.uk


13. ISO Republic

isorepublic

ISO Republic offers high-resolution images.


14. Jay Mantri

jaymantri

Jay Mantri offers free photos to use as you wish.


15. Life of Pix

lifeofpix

Life of Pix offers high-resolution public domain photos created by Leeroy Advertising Agency to use as you wish.


16. Little Visuals

littlevisuals

Little Visuals offers 7 high-resolution images per week to use as you wish (no longer updated).


17. Magdeleine

magdeleine

Magdeleine offers a curated collection of Creative Commons licensed images. Some require attribution.


18. Morgue File

morguefile

Morgue File offers high-resolution stock photos for your illustration, comp or design needs.


19. Moveast

moveast

Moveast offers photos from the journey of a Portuguese guy moving east to use as you wish.


20. New Old Stock

newoldstock

New Old Stock offers vintage photos from the public archives. Free of known copyright restrictions.


21. The Pattern Library

thepatternlibrary

The Pattern Library compiles patterns shared by designers for you to use freely in your own designs.


22. Pexels

pexels

Pexels offers a curated collection of Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licensed images.


23. Photogen

photogen

Photogen offers high-resolution stock photos.


24. Picjumbo

picjumbo

Picjumbo offers totally free photos for your commercial and personal use. Premium packs available for $6/month.


25. Pickup Image

pickupimage

Pickup Image offers free stock images and public domain photos.


26. Picography

picography

Picography offers high-resolution Creative Commons Public Domain CC0 licensed photos.


27. Pixabay

pixabay

Pixabay offers more than 310,000 public domain photos, vectors and art illustrations.


28. Public Domain Archive

publicdomainarchive

Public Domain Archive offers a public domain image repository. Premium membership available for $10/month.


29. Raumrot

raumrot

Raumrot offers 544 handpicked hi-resolution stockphotos for personal and commercial projects. Photo Credit: Markus Spiske / www.temporausch.com / CC-BY 2.0


30. RGB Stock

rgbstock

RGB Stock offers more than 100,000 stock photos.


31. Split Shire

splitshire

Split Shire offers photos by Italian photographer and web/graphic designer Daniel Nanescu.


32. Startup Stock

startupstock

Startup Stock offers free “start-up” focused photos by Iowa City-based social media marketing agency, Sculpt.


33. The Stocks

thestocks

The Stocks compiles several of the sites on this list into on one site for easier searching.


34. Super Famous

superfamous

Super Famous offers images by Folkert Gorter CC 3.0 license.


35. Travel Coffee Book

travelcoffeebook

Travel Coffee Book offers travel photos via CC0 license.


36. Unsplash

unsplash
Unsplash offers free high-resolution photos via CC0 1.0 license.

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Get photos from these free stock photo resources in your Twitter stream by following my list of sites here.

*Be legal: always check usage licenses! These sites offer free images for commercial (for your business) use. Exact licenses and attribution requirements vary by site and sometimes by image, and are subject to change, so always check usage licenses! Make sure what you plan to do with the photo is within the license granted and that you attribute (give credit) as required.

Giveaway

JBgiveaway

It’s Giveaway time at Jewels Branch!

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway! Giving does a body good!


Winners!

One year subscription to Jewels Branch

Went to Dayna House on Wednesday, May 7
Come learn how to design a beautiful brand you’re proud to show off. $588 value


$50 Creative Market Gift Certificate

Went to Michele Christensen on Thursday, May 1st
Feed your love of fonts, icons, photos, illustrations, etc.


$25 Amazon.com Gift Certificate

Went to Kris Duvall on Friday, May 2nd
Is your book wish list as long as mine?


$25 Etsy Gift Certificate

Went to Erica Strauss on Saturday, May 3
Inspirational posters and “I’m the Boss” nicknacks…got yours?


Moleskin Notebook

Went to Meg Marchiando on Sunday, May 4
For the notebook hoarders among us (ahem). (US addresses only)


A Mini Jewel Session

Went to Bianca Melling on Monday, May 5
One-on-one consulting to help you get your BIG branding and digital product projects planned. $299 value


A scholarship for The PDF Workshop

Went to Melissa Hottinga on Tuesday, May 6
Learn how to conceive, write, design, and produce your own beautiful PDF ebooks, course materials, magazines and more during this live workshop (coming soon!). $500 value


3 Sites for Color Scheme Exploration

As you’re developing all the elements of your visual brands you can start with one main brand color (mine is orange) and then expand out from that color to create a larger scheme or palette. If you’re still looking for that one main color go here for some inspiration.

You can use basic color theory (stuff you learned in high school art): color categories (warm, primary, secondary, cool, etc.), common color schemes (like complementary, analogous, triad), and shades/hues (adding white, black, and gray to that main color), to create these color palettes.

In my site redesign, for the launch of the new Jewels Branch Creative Community, I wanted to add a wider range of colors to my palette and freshen things up a bit. So I turned to the following color scheming sites to help me quickly add some new colors to my palette that would match my main brand color.

Color Scheming

1) Color Wizard

colorwizard

You can see my primary color, orange #CD5928, and “complementary” colors that I could use in my brand color palette.


2) Color Scheme Designer

colorschemedesigner

You can see my primary color, orange, and the “triad” colors that I could use in my brand color palette.


3) Color Schemer Online

colorschemeronline

You can see my primary color, orange, and many color choices that I could use in my brand color palette. Color Schemer lets you lighten and darken the scheme, too.

Give these sites a try and expand your brand color palette!

P.S. If you get all excited about color palettes, that’s a sign that your inner graphic designer is yearning to be set free. Come join the creative community and give that gal her wings. Early bird specials are good through May 1.