From social media to blogs, lead magnets, and more—images are a prominent part of today’s marketing mix. But finding high-quality images for your marketing material takes time. Luckily there are a ton of awesome free sites full of stock images and photographs.
Images are so effective in marketing for a few reasons. They can:
- Evoke emotion and feeling.
- Add visual interest.
- Break up the text on a page to make it easier to read.
- Build brand recognition.
- Capture the interest of your target audience.
Images are also shown to increase information retention. Brain Rules states that you’ll remember 10% of something you only hear or read, but 65% if that same information is paired with an image.
Visual content is a must for any marketing strategy. Here are nine free photo sites to check out and who they might work best for.
9 Sites for Free High-Quality Photos
Unsplash
Unsplash has a beautiful collection of high-quality editorial photos. Their relevant categorization (i.e., Current Events, Business & Work, Food & Drink) make it easy to find what you’re looking for.
Another unique feature of Unsplash is that they highlight brand photos, so you can get the same top-of-the-line content as large companies.
License type: Free to use for commercial and personal use. Attribution isn’t required and modifications are allowed.
Best for: High-quality editorial photos.
Pexels
Pexels has a large database of high-quality images, searchable by theme, popular images, and color palettes. Through their leaderboard and challenges section, Pexels works hard to engage photographers on the platform, making it a good option for those interested in contributing their work.
License type: Free to use for commercial and personal use. Attribution isn’t required and modifications are allowed.
Best for: General stock images or photographers looking to join an active community.
Pixabay
With one of the largest libraries (2.6 million options and counting) of stock images, videos, and music, Pixabay is one of the go-to platforms for free stock images. To navigate their large database, Pixabay also offers curated collections, Editor’s Choices, and a popular images section.
License type: Free for commercial and personal use. Attribution isn’t required and modifications are allowed.
Best for: General stock image searches in a large library.
Google Images
We might Google just about everything, but it’s not always the first choice for stock images. Because of its massive search power and reach, there’s a lot to sift through on Google Images to find what you’re looking for.
That said, there are advanced search features that let you narrow options by size, color, type, and usage rights. This can help you find just what you need for a stock image.
License type: Don’t assume all photos are free to use on Google. Make sure you select only those images under a Creative Commons or Commercial license before using it. Filter these photos by clicking on “tools” and then “usage rights.”
Best for: Accessing the massive reach of Google to find photos that fit your needs.
Burst
Burst is hosted by Shopify, the popular e-commerce platform. Because of this, it is a great option for commercial photographs. They organize high-quality stock photos in easy-to-navigate categories.
The integration with Shopify makes it easy to create an e-commerce store by offering “photo kits” and industry insights based on what you want to sell (i.e., selling candles or fashion online).
License type: Free for commercial and personal use; attribution isn’t required.
Best for: E-commerce and business-focused stock images, especially if you’re already using the Shopify platform.
KaboomPics
KaboomPics boasts a large library of high-quality stock images. They heavily emphasize aesthetics on the platform, organizing photos by color palette to match the look you’re going for.
Another unique feature of KaboomPics is that their photos are organized in photoshoots, so you’ll always receive multiple options for your search.
License type: Free for commercial and personal use. Attribution isn’t required and modification is allowed.
Best for: Creatives who want to search by color palette.
Canva
Canva is a popular online graphic design tool, with thousands of template options for social media, presentations, logos, posters, or other options. Most people don’t actually know that they have their own stock image library.
Canva offers millions of high-quality photos, both for free and premium paid options. If you’re planning on using a Canva template for your graphic design, this is the obvious route to go.
License type: Check the original source of the photo—some are from Pexels or Pixabay and covered under their licenses (refer to #2 and 3 on this list). All Canva images are free for commercial and personal use. Attribution isn’t required and modifications are allowed.
Best for: Integration with Canva’s graphic design templates.
Flickr
Flickr is one of the oldest and largest photo platforms out there. They have billions of photographs from contributors all over the world.
And while you can find free stock images on Flickr, it is also a community of photographers. You can join groups and connect with other people on the platform. Many people use Flickr as a personal photo management program as well.
License type: Contributors choose the license type they want for their photos. Some photos on Flickr have a “Creative Commons” license that makes it downloadable by anyone. Others restrict who can download their content.
Best for: Joining a photography community and accessing a huge database of photos.
Death To Stock
Death to Stock (DTS) takes a totally different approach from other sites on this list. Instead of having you sift through thousands of images, they curate a handful of photos that get sent to your inbox each week.
DTS funds creative artists who provide new images that aren’t available anywhere else. You’re sure to get something unique with DTS.
With memberships starting at $12/month, this is the only paid service on the list… but they’re just too cool to leave out.
License type: Free for commercial or personal use. Attribution isn’t required, you own the images with your subscription, and can modify them as needed. It’s the DTS “do-what-you-wanna” license.
Best for: Professionals seeking curated, unique artwork and images without having to find it themselves.
We live in the digital era and just about every company and professional has an online presence. With that comes the need for photos! We’re drawn to imagery and high-quality photos go a long way to boost your marketing and make an impact.
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