With everyone scrolling on their phones these days you need to be able to grab the attention of your readers.  It is a well-known fact that images speak louder than words. And what better way to grab your readers attention by displaying beautiful images on your websites, blog posts and socials

In this blog post we will share with you what stock images are and where you can get stock images for free. Also, make sure you check out the “tip of the day” at the end of this blog post as we share how you can easily find free stock images.

What are Stock Images?

Stock images are professional photographs, illustrations, and graphics that are licensed and made available for use by individuals, businesses, and organisations. These images are created by photographers and artists and are typically sold through stock photography agencies, which provide a platform for photographers and buyers to connect.

Stock images are commonly used in marketing, advertising, design, and editorial projects, as they offer a cost-effective way to access high-quality visual content. They can be licensed for a variety of uses, including websites, brochures, presentations, social media, and more.

There are so many stock photography agencies and websites available that offer a wide range of images to choose from, with different pricing options and licensing terms. Some of the popular stock photography agencies include Shutterstock, Getty Images, iStock, and Adobe Stock, however these usually have a fee associated with them.

Below is a list of 5 free websites where you can find endless stock images for free to suit your needs.

1. Negative Space

Negative Space is a website that offers a large collection of high-quality, stock images for free that can be used for personal and commercial projects. The platform was launched in 2016 and is based in the United Kingdom.

The photos on Negative Space are contributed by a community of photographers from around the world. The platform’s library includes a wide variety of images, including landscapes, food, technology, and people. The platform’s search function allows users to find images based on keywords or browse collections curated by Negative Space.

One of the unique features of Negative Space is its focus on quality. The platform’s curators review each photo before it is added to the library to ensure that it meets the platform’s high standards. Negative Space also offers a colour search feature that allows users to find images based on specific colours.

Negative Space is completely free to use, and no attribution is required for the photos downloaded from the platform. The website has become a popular resource for designers, bloggers, and marketers who are looking for high-quality, royalty-free images to use in their projects.

2. Pexels

Pexels is a stock photo and video website that offers a large collection of high-quality images and videos that can be used for personal and commercial purposes. The platform was launched in 2014 with the goal of helping creators find beautiful and high-quality visuals for their projects without the need to pay hefty licensing fees or worry about copyright issues.

Pexels has an extensive library of over 1 million free images, graphics and videos, with new content added daily. The search function is easy to use and allows users to find specific images and videos based on keywords or browse collections of photos and videos curated by Pexels. 

Pexels is completely free to use, and no acknowlegement is required for the photos, videos, and other assets downloaded from the platform. It has become a popular resource for designers, bloggers, marketers, and anyone else looking for high-quality, royalty-free visual content.

Pexels also offers a premium subscription service called Pexels Pro, which provides access to even more high-quality visuals, along with exclusive content that is not available on the free platform. Pexels Pro is a paid service that offers a range of pricing plans based on your specific needs and requirements.

3. Pixabay

Pixabay is a website that is completely free to use for any purpose which provides a large collection of stock photos, illustrations, and videos. The platform was launched in 2010 and has grown to become one of the most popular free stock photo websites on the internet.

The platform’s search function allows users to find images and videos based on keywords or browse through various categories.  Pixabay offers an “Editors’ Choice” section that showcases the platform’s top picks for the best images and videos and also offers a wide variety of formats and sizes for its images and videos.

Pixabay’s library includes over 1.9 million images and videos contributed by a large community of photographers, artists, and videographers. This has made Pixabay become a popular resource for designers, bloggers, marketers, and anyone else who needs high-quality, royalty-free visual content.

5. Canva

Canva is an Australian owned graphic design platform launched in 2013 that allows users to create logos, graphics, presentations, social media posts and other visual content with ease. Canva is widely used by individuals, small businesses, and larger organisations. It is particularly popular among social media managers, marketers, and bloggers who use the platform to create eye-catching graphics and posts for their social media channels. 

We love canva and use this on a daily basis to organise designs for our clients and our own social media. Canva has an amazing stock image collection that you can use both for free and also paid images. This is a must have tool if you want to create your own graphics using stunning stock images for free.

6. Unsplash

Unsplash was launched in 2013 and has grown to become one of the largest and most popular sources of free stock images on the internet. With over 3 million free high-resolution images brought to you by a community of over 200,000 photographers.

Users can search for specific images or browse through a number of curated collections, and can download and use the images for personal or commercial purposes absolutely free. Unsplash also offers a premium subscription service called Unsplash for Brands, which provides access to exclusive content and additional features.

There are many other popular websites for finding stock images for free however I wanted to share the main ones that we use here at Thomas Web Designs.

Here is a quick list of some other popular websites that are equal in terms of size of collections and features which offer both stock images for free and premium memberships.

Picjumbo
Gratisography
Creative Market
Life of Pix
Death of Stock
Alamy
Vecteezy
Freestocks

Tip for the day

The easiest way to find the perfect image is simply do a Google search and click on Images. This will result in millions of images coming up. However to make sure you pick an image that is allowed for personal or commercial use click on my video now and see how to alter your search to only display free images.

Conclusion

We hope this article has been helpful and points you in the right direction to find stock images for free to display on your websites, blogs, social media and even in your email newsletters.

If you would like to keep following along for more tips make sure you follow us.

I’m Jacinta Thomas, also known as your humble wordpress web design tech whiz and online marketing consultant.

I’m a reserved yet highly motivated and adaptable digital marketing expert ready to use my online marketing knowledge to help your business be seen online and ramp up your sales. I love horses, dogs, cats, country music, chocolate and most of all helping people.

I help family focused entrepreneurs build top ranking, self-managed websites, help work through any wordpress tech issues and get set up with hosting, blogging, SEO and social media, so they can earn more money and live their dream life.

If you’re ready to get your business online, and seen on social media and all search engines then check out my blog, biz resources, jump into my free Facebook group and of course contact me at any time.