The internet has a plethora of awesome websites catering to free stock images! So why do people still believe in copying images from licensed websites?
Anyway, here is a collection of some of the best places that allow you to download free images for personal and/or commercial use.
Pexels
As per a user review received in our comments, Pexels comes highly recommended. Its got free stock photos in quite a few categories. The website has a simple elegant interface with Ajax/infinity loading. Simply pick a photo a hit the download button to save the image. They offer a number of image sizes that you can choose from. The images all fall under creative commons license. If you are looking for free videos then Pexels has a separate website for that. You don’t need to attribute images but if you do, kindness is always appreciated.
Pixabay
Pixabay contains images that are free of copyrights and that are all published under Creative Commons, into the public domain. There is a wide variety of free stock photos available, such as illustrations, photos and also vector graphics. The library of images is over 830,000, all of which are high-quality images that can be freely used and shared. Simply search for what you are looking for and download free images.
Morguefile
With over 400,000 free stock images, Morguefile is a large and expansive free stock photo website. It is a website where you can find images of any and everything you can think of. If you can’t find something you are looking for; you can submit a request to the Quest system. Whereby they create a challenge for their contributors which involves them capturing and uploading in-demand photos that are unavailable on the site. Users can like and mark ‘favorite’ the images they like and can also message the contributors of these images.
Gratisography
If you’re looking for a free stock photo that will make your marketing stand out from the rest? Something quirky, unique, and utterly different from the numerous stock images out there, then, Gratisography is where you should head. The images are free in every sense of the word. You can use them for personal and commercial use, including, as part of a social media campaign, as a company logo, and for a blog post, among others.
ISO
ISO is a small, but well-run free stock image website with a catalogue that is in the thousands. Tom Eversley, a photographer, founded this website in 2014, and it has only grown since then. It offers high-quality, high-resolution free stock images. However, you will especially love the website for the variety it offers. It has a well-balanced mix of traditional stock photography shots and artistic, viral images. Finally, it has a blog where you can find tips and tricks of photography. It also has a small, curated collection of free stock videos.
Negative Space
If you are looking for a highly curated collection of free stock photos where quality is not compromised, Negative Space is the place to go. Before a photographer’s work can be featured on the website, it undergoes a review process to ensure it meets a certain standard and is suitable for professional use. Negative Space is based in the UK, so it has a lot of images of British architecture and landscape. It is updated quite frequently, which means you’ll always find something new!
Unsplash
Unsplash, is like a blog and the images are nothing short of breathtaking! The website is easy to navigate and has a search bar that makes it easy to directly find images unique to your needs. What’s more? The images are not only creative but are also of superb quality. And yes, they are free to download, use and share as you wish.
Stock Vault
Another great pool of free stock photos, is the Stock Vault. To download free images, search and click on them. Every image comes in a decent dimension of over 3500 x 2400 px, and there is a box on the right with particulars of every image including the kind of license it has. StockVault also has an interesting feature of “coffee” which means that you can donate to them if you like. You can donate $5 via Skrill/Moneybookers or any amount via PayPal. There is a download button which gives you access to the JPG file, all for free. Do read up on their FAQ because they do have certain “Yes” and “No’s” that you should read before starting to use their images.
Stock Snap
StockSnap is a great website if you want to download free images. All free stock photos on this website fall under the Creative Commons license which essentially means that you can copy, modify, distribute any photo (even for commercial purposes). The process to download image is fairly simple. They have a graphic editing tool by the name of Snappa as well, which is a lot like Canva if you know what that is, so do check them out, if you are really into editing pictures and building image layouts.
Stok Pic
StokPic is once again a good website for free stock images. Simply search for the one you are looking for, or go directly into the category of the image you want, and click the picture. You will be directed to a page which shows the kind of license the image falls under. Click “download,” and you are done! StokPic has a premium membership which can be paid for via PayPal or Credi Card. The benefit of the membership is that you get access to premium photos for a month.
Picography
Picography is a free stock image website you will enjoy using. From the very moment you land on the website’s homepage and encounter its simplistic, yet aesthetic interface to the moment you leave after downloading the image you wanted. Picography is not well-known among creatives. And while that is not fair, seeing as the website has loads of top quality, high-resolution images, it helps ensure that the images you will find here will have not been seen by many eyes. What’s more? You can easily locate the photos you want by browsing through categories or by using hashtags.
Reshot
Reshot was established in 2018, so it doesn’t have a massive catalogue just yet. But with the commitment to high standards apparent in its relatively small collection, the potential of this website looks promising even after they launch their contributor network. Reshot’s tagline includes the words “Handpicked, non-stocky images,” and we think that frames them perfectly. The images on offer are all very professional, unique, and appealing; they are nothing like the traditional, cliché stock images that the big stock photo websites are riddled with these days. This makes this website a must-visit for creatives looking to stand out from others.
Good Stock.Photos
What’s different about GoodStock? Well, as per the owner, he publishes a new image daily, so it’s always fresh. All the photos are taken by him and not sourced from somewhere else, so you’re guaranteed that these are unique and won’t appear on other stock photo sites (since many of the sites just source their photos from other sites, so you see a lot of repeats). And, his photos don’t require any attribution. BUT! Kindness is always appreciated. Free images from GoodStock can be used in personal and commercial projects.
Free Images
Free Images has a section where you can view available images in thumbnail size. The website is clear on the license front, and to download all you have to do is, click on the image you want and an unwatermarked stock photo will be made available for you. However, you are required to provide attribution. Failure to do so could lead to legal hassles. Also, you are not allowed to redistribute or sell these images, which is a general rule about all free stock photos.
Burst
Burst is a free stock image website established by an e-commerce giant, Shopify. This website was created to provide free stock images for use by e-merchants to drive sales for their online businesses. Because of this, most of its images are oriented commercially. Burst has a large and impressive catalogue of images. And while it was created by Shopify, its images are available for use to everybody and for every purpose imaginable. The images are sharp, professional, and of excellent quality. Also, they cover a wide range of topics from lifestyle to fashion to yoga and even weddings.
Libre Shot
The final free stock images website on our list, Libre Shot, is the brainchild of Martin Vorel, a photographer. Libre Shot is small since it is managed by a single photographer. However, this is precisely the reason why you can rely on it for stock images of superb quality. The images are all under the Creative Commons license and, as such, are free to use.
With the plethora of free stock image websites now available at your fingertips, you can finally meet all your creative needs without risking a run-in with the law.
Which website do you use for downloading free stock images? Let us know in the comments section below. We will check them out and update our list accordingly.
This made my day! i appreciate your research