Photos
9 Resources for Beautiful, Free Stock Photos
I’m always on the hunt for new visual resources to share with you. Here are 9 resources for beautiful, free stock photos you can use on your blog and more.
1. Barn Images
Barn Images
license: Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license details here.
subjects: nature, city scenes, landscapes, lifestyle
search: by keyword, tags and categories
2. Cupcake
Cupcake
license: Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license details here.
subjects: small collection of landscapes, animals, lifestyle shots
search: no search just scroll or click “archive” to see selection
3. Fancy Crave
Fancy Crave
license: Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, details here.
subjects: wide variety of landscapes, lifestyle shots, objects; all high resolution
search: by keyword, or use “grid view” to see full selection
4. Jé Shoots
Jé Shoots
license: Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, details here.
subjects: animals, architecture, city scenes, device mockup shots, food, lights, nature, people
search: grouped by categories
5. Photo Collections
Photo Collections
license: Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, details here.
subjects: architecture, nature. Great for moody wilderness shots and wild animal shots.
search: by keyword and categories
6. Shutteroo
Shutteroo
license: custom license, details here.
subjects: bright travel photos, sunsets, beaches, nature
search: by keyword and categories
7. Snapwire Snaps
Snapwire Snaps
license: Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, details here under “why free” tab. Site also offers royalty free photos for purchase and option to request photos from photographers.
subjects: nature, landscapes, city scenes, 7 free each week or for purchase collections
search: by keyword
8. Skitterphoto
Skitterphoto
license: Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, details here.
subjects: animals, plants, landscapes, low light, people, transportation, urban.
search: by keyword and sort by popular, newest, and categories
9. Tookapic
Tookapic
license: Check individual photos for usage. Some photos are CC0 license, others are available for royalty-free purchase, details here.
subjects: a wide range of subjects all taken by photographers participating in Tookapic’s 365 day photo project and offering their photos as stock.
search: by keyword and categories
For more free for commercial use stock photo resources check out this post: Where to Find Free Stock Photos: 36 Sites and for one-on-one help finding the best stock sites for your brand, grab a Photo Picking Power Session with me!
Learn more about Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licensing here.
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
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
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
Crow the Stone no longer offers photos.
3. Death to the Stock Photo
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
Foodie’s Feed offers free, high resolution food photos. Yummy!
5. 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
Free Images offers a gallery of more than 350,000 stock photos.
7. Free Pixels
Free Pixels offers more than 5,000 images. Photo credit: Free Pixels
8. Free Range Stock
Free Range Stock offers high-resolution stock photos and textures.
9. Fresh
Fresh is no longer offered.
10. GetRefe
GetRefe Free offers high-quality images of people interacting with technology (free and for purchase).
11. Gratisography
Gratisography offers free high-resolution photos by abstract artist and designer Ryan McGuire.
12. IM Free
IM Free offers a curated collection of images, icons, templates, buttons. Photo credit: PhotoEveryWhere.co.uk
13. ISO Republic
ISO Republic offers high-resolution images.
14. Jay Mantri
Jay Mantri offers free photos to use as you wish.
15. Life of Pix
Life of Pix offers high-resolution public domain photos created by Leeroy Advertising Agency to use as you wish.
16. Little Visuals
Little Visuals offers 7 high-resolution images per week to use as you wish (no longer updated).
17. Magdeleine
Magdeleine offers a curated collection of Creative Commons licensed images. Some require attribution.
18. Morgue File
Morgue File offers high-resolution stock photos for your illustration, comp or design needs.
19. Moveast
Moveast offers photos from the journey of a Portuguese guy moving east to use as you wish.
20. New Old Stock
New Old Stock offers vintage photos from the public archives. Free of known copyright restrictions.
21. The Pattern Library
The Pattern Library compiles patterns shared by designers for you to use freely in your own designs.
22. Pexels
Pexels offers a curated collection of Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licensed images.
23. Photogen
Photogen offers high-resolution stock photos.
24. Picjumbo
Picjumbo offers totally free photos for your commercial and personal use. Premium packs available for $6/month.
25. Pickup Image
Pickup Image offers free stock images and public domain photos.
26. Picography
Picography offers high-resolution Creative Commons Public Domain CC0 licensed photos.
27. Pixabay
Pixabay offers more than 310,000 public domain photos, vectors and art illustrations.
28. Public Domain Archive
Public Domain Archive offers a public domain image repository. Premium membership available for $10/month.
29. 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
RGB Stock offers more than 100,000 stock photos.
31. Split Shire
Split Shire offers photos by Italian photographer and web/graphic designer Daniel Nanescu.
32. Startup Stock
Startup Stock offers free “start-up” focused photos by Iowa City-based social media marketing agency, Sculpt.
33. The Stocks
The Stocks compiles several of the sites on this list into on one site for easier searching.
34. Super Famous
Super Famous offers images by Folkert Gorter CC 3.0 license.
35. Travel Coffee Book
Travel Coffee Book offers travel photos via CC0 license.
36. Unsplash
Unsplash offers free high-resolution photos via CC0 1.0 license.
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.
Answers to 5 DIY Branding Resource Questions I Get Asked Most Often
Many of the questions I get about DIY design and branding center around what resources, tools, and software to use. Here are answers to 5 questions I get asked all the time.
PDF Design Software
Q: What software should I use to create my pdfs (freebies, worksheets, ebooks)?
A: Short answer: Word, Pages, InDesign, or Canva. Read 4 Software Options for Creating Beautiful PDFs and Documents for full details.
Fillable PDFs
Q: How can I create pdf worksheets will fillable forms?
A: Short answer: Acrobat Pro, PDFPen Pro, PDF Escape, Nitro Pro, CutePDF. Read How Can I Make Interactive and Fillable PDFs? for full details.
Stock Photos
Q: Where can I find inexpensive stock photos?
A: Short answer: Creative Commons, no-cost commercial use sites, Little Visuals, PicJumbo, Death to Stock Photo. More resources here under “Images” category.
Brand Colors
Q: I found a color I love online how can I get the color codes I need to use it on my site?
A: Short answer: Digital Color Meter (Mac) or Instant Eyedropper (PC). Read What’s That Color? for full details.
Brand Fonts
Q: I found a font I love! How can I figure out the name of the font?
A: Short answer: What the Font or Identifont. Read 2 Free Tools to Help You Identify Fonts for full details.
Have questions about branding, design, and software resources?
Ask away in the comments!