Do you get the “Wow” feeling when you visit a popular blog or website because the images it’s using are just awesome? I often do. The same goes for Instagram channels and pins on Pinterest. But where the heck are these people finding all those cool photos? Well, let me tell you that most don’t buy them from expensive stock sites. And most bloggers are not professional photographers. So, I present to you 10 places to find free stock photos for your business. And I’m talking high-quality photos, too.
Unsplash is by far my favourite site for finding great-looking professional photos. They have everything and using images from the site is completely free. You are invited to credit the authors, but you don’t have to (you should if you can, though. It’s nice to be polite).
2. Pixabay
Pixabay is a fully-stocked free stock photo site (pardon the pun). There, you can find lots of professional photos and illustrations for your website. You can also use Pixabay’s API to integrate it with your own service.
3. Pexels
Another free stock photo site. It’s very similar to Pixabay in terms of looks but it has lots of great unique photos. Just like Pixabay, Pexels offers an API. Plus there are PC and Mac apps, and a Photoshop plugin. Cool!
4. Free Images
Previously known as sxc.hu, this website is packed with free photos you can use. I’ve been a member for years and I even used to have some contributions there. What I like about Free Images is that you get download options for different sizes. I find that really convenient because sometimes you may not want to download a huge image.
5. StockSnap.io
This site has tons of top quality high-resolution images you can use without any copyright restrictions. If you’re a photographer, you’re welcome to submit photos, too. That’s a great way to promote yourself.
6. Burst by Shopify
Shopify, one of the leading eCommerce platforms, created a great resource to help you “fuel your next project”. Photos on Burst are high quality and they are conveniently sorted into categories on the home page.
7. FoodiesFeed
If you run a food blog or a restaurant review site, FoodiesFeed is the stock photo website for you. They have thousands of amazing magazine-quality stock photos of food, glorious food. Currently, there are less than a 1,000 of photos, but there will be more. All free to download and use. Oh, if you use an AdBlocker, they kindly ask you to disable it. And why not indeed?
8. New Old Stock
If you are a history enthusiast looking for free to use vintage photos, you’re in luck. New Old Stock has tons of pics at your disposal. All of the vintage photos are from public archives, so you can use them any way you want. Just make sure you read the usage rights for every image you download – some are available for commercial use, some are not.
9. Styled Stock
If you are a mompreneur, a female freelancer or a blogger with a girly style, Styled Stock has stuff you’ll adore. The images there are elegant, professional and high quality. If you subscribe to their newsletter, you’ll get exclusive free images by email.
10. FreeStocks
The last on my list, FreeStocks is a nice site with lots of useful free-to-use images. Not all of the images there are great, but you’ll find what you’re looking for if you look hard enough.
Want More?
If you haven’t found the right images on any of these sites, here are two more for you to check out. Dreamstime has a nice collection of free photos and illustration, and Canva has some too (although some of them come from Unsplash designers).
Bonus: Elna from Twins Mommy, a Facebook mate of mine, has put up a cool list of free feminine stock photos sites. Enjoy!
I have used Pixaby. It is actually my go to for images (and videos). I will be checking out the others. Thanks for this!
Good list! I wanted to let you know that Dreamstime also has a free section, with thousands of free stock images donated by contributors, but also public domain photos. You can check it out here: https://www.dreamstime.com/free-photos
Thanks, Vio! You have a good selection there.