Top 8 Websites For Free Stock Photos
by Naomi Allen
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a graphic designer is worth a million.
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
Unsplash
Our fave free site! Unsplash is a great resource for high-quality free photographs, although attribution is appreciated if possible. The site features a wide range of images, from landscapes to cityscapes to portraits, and everything in between. Whether you're looking for inspiration for your next project or just want to enjoy some stunning photography, with over 300,000 photos to choose from, Unsplash is definitely worth checking out.
Photo by Pixabay
Another one of our favourites! Pixabay has a absolutely huge library of almost 3 million free photos, video, illustrations, and even sound effects. As with most free sites, they ask for attribution when possible, but it is not essential. (Always nice to give a shout out to a hard working artist though!). The site is easy to navigate and has a incredible variety of images to choose from. Whether you're looking for photos for your website or blog, or just some nice pictures to browse through, Pixabay is absolutely worth a look.
Photo by Tricia Gray on StockSnap
StockSnap.io
We absolutely love StockSnap.io! It's an amazing site that offers a ton of high quality, free stock photos. The photos are organized well and easy to find. The site is also constantly updating with new photos, so there's always something new to choose from. Overall, an excellent resource for finding free stock photos.
Photo by @asadphotography on Pexels
Pexels
Pexels is a site that we have been using for a while now and we absolutely love it! The site offers a huge range of high quality, free stock photos that you can use for personal or commercial projects. The photos are Licensed Under Creative Commons Zero (CC0), which means that you can use them for anything you want, without having to give attribution.
The site is easy to use and offers a great search function so you can find the perfect photo for your project. The photos are all high quality and there is a good selection to choose from. We have never had any problems with copyright or attribution when using their photos.
Photo by @ededchechine on Freepik
Freepik
Freepik is an online graphic design platform that offers users access to over a million free vector images, illustrations, and icons. The platform is easy to use and offers a wide range of features, making it a great option for those looking for a simple, yet effective, way to create professional-looking designs.
The only downside is that the free version of the platform only offers a limited selection of images, so users will need to upgrade to the paid subscription in order to access the full range of options.
Photo by Bruno Passos on Burst
Burst
is a free stock photo site powered by Shopify. Their image library includes thousands of high-resolution images taken by a global community of photographers. New high-definition photos are added every week. These public domain images are free to use for commercial or personal use, whether you’re a designer, blogger, or entrepreneur who needs beautiful stock photography.
Photo by Karolina on Kaboompics
Kaboompics
Kaboompics is another popular free stock image site, with close to 30,000 photos, with new photos added every day. It’s owned by one photographer, entrepreneur and fellow caffeine addict, Karolina, and has a stock photo license that covers both personal and commercial purposes without attribution (although it’s appreciated). The site search helps you find photos in over 1,500 collections, with advanced sorting options to find the best match. The Kaboompics blog is also full of expert advice on marketing and design.
Photo by souvenirpixels on Vecteezy
Vecteezy
Vecteezy is a user-friendly graphic design platform that enables users to create professional designs with ease. The platform provides access to over 1 million+ vector graphics, illustrations, and icons, making it a one-stop shop for all your design needs. The variety of design elements makes it a great resource for both beginner and experienced designers alike.
One of the best features is the ability to search for specific design elements using keywords. This makes it easy to find the exact imagery you need to create your desired look. Another great feature is the ability to filter results by license type, so you can be sure you're only selecting graphics that you have the rights to use.
The quality of graphics is generally quite good, although there are definitely some that are better than others. The platform offers both free and premium graphics, with the latter being of higher quality. Pricing for premium graphics starts at €10.99 for a single vector graphic, making it very affordable for those on a tight budget.
Now that you have your free photos, it's time to optimise them. Luckily for you we wrote a guide all about photo editing! Learn about the process here, and go place those assets to good use!