You CAN get images for your blog, social media, website, newsletter, etc completely, honestly and absolutely free at www.Unsplash.com. Granted, they don’t have thousands of images (yet) and they’re not searchable in the traditional sense (where you type a keyword into their provided search field and receive a list of every image related to that keyword), but you may be able to find what you’re looking for using your browser’s Find on Page function. Update: there is now a keyword search function available at Unsplash! YIPPEE!!!
It’ll take you a good 20 minutes to “scroll” through what’s on the front page. A better bet would be to hit the Archive, where you can see thumbnails of everything that’s on the site. Then you can subscribe to get 10 new hi-res images sent to your inbox every 10 days absolutely FREE.
Every image on their site falls under the Public Domain Dedication Code, meaning the person who created the work has dedicated it to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.
You can copy, modify, and distribute the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. All the images you see here came from Unsplash.
Other suggestions for finding free images on the web:
UPDATE NOV 2018: Pikwizard – This site recently came to my attention and I decided it merited being added here. They offer a collection of over 100,000 completely free images (without attribution), over 20,000 of which are exclusive to their site. I noticed they have quite a few pictures of people, which tends to be kind of rare on free stock photo sites.
Pixabay – A vault full of stunning public domain pictures. Get free vectors, drawings and photos on this site. You can freely use any of the images in digital and/or printed format, for personal and/or commercial use, without attributing credit to the original creator of the work.
Death to the Stock Photo – They have no archive, just free monthly photos to your inbox, to use any way you want. When you sign up, they give you a free pack to download right away.
Gratisography – Get free high-res pictures you can use on your personal or business projects. New pictures are added weekly and they are all free of copyright restrictions.
morgueFile – Named from the popular term used in the newspaper business to describe the file that holds past issues’ flats. This site provides free image reference material for use in all creative pursuits. It is the world wide web’s morguefile, so to speak. Be aware that with a “MorgueFile License”, if you don’t alter the image (and leave it exactly as it is), then you must credit the photographer to use it.
So there are my recommendations for locating images on the web that are completely FREE for use on your website, blog, newsletter and so forth. Bear in mind when you’re visiting these sites, some of them have partnered with paid sites and display suggested images from THOSE sites on the same page as their FREE images. Be aware of what you’re clicking on!
Award-winning web professional Bonny Clayton, aka Your Web Chick, offers web design, support and maintenance for small business, with a specialty in WordPress.
A Tech Geek with a Creative Streak℠, she helps small business owners and entrepreneurs everywhere establish and maintain their online presence. She is committed to serving them according to their needs, whether that means “giving them a fish” or “teaching them to fish”.
What are some of the FREE image websites you have found that make your website, social media marketing and/or e-mail marketing life easier?
Share with Your Web Chick’s readers in the comments below.
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I bookmarked this page thank you!
Always happy to provide valuable resources, Roseann G!!
Hey Bonny – Nice newsletter and love the free pictures websites. I have bookmarked them!
Thanks, Kathy! As a small business owner myself, I’m always looking for great tools I can use in my business – the freer the better – and then I love sharing my great finds with my community!
Hi,
Please also check out http://www.goodfreephotos.com for thousands of public domain photos(CC0), free for personal or commercial use. I’d appreciate it if you could add it to your list. Thanks!
Thanks, Bob! I did check out Good Free Photos. I especially like the Plants and Textures galleries. Thank you for sharing!!
Hello there,
Excellent resources.
A handful of them I know and are awesome.
I have a further web-site that isn’t listed above and provides great images – http://blogpiks.com
Regards