Photos have been a major component in blogging and internet marketing.
It’s used on social media accounts like Instagram, Facebook and even Twitter. It captures the reader’s attention and direct them to read the blog at the presence of a photo.
Free photo stocks are becoming more and more available to everyone with major creators of these websites who are designers and developers. They are the ones who understand the client’s needs.
I find it sometimes boring to read an article unless there is a photo (although doesn’t happen all the time). However, most of the time the image captures my attention first before I proceed to read the title of the post. But as an internet marketer, blogger or business owner, it’s difficult to produce our own photographs to use (unless you are sharing your entire personal life in public). It is also not cheap to subscribe on various photo stock membership sites where you can download certain number of photos. The monthly cost can ran from $30-$1000 a month.
So, if you are just starting as a small business owner who is building your reputation online, finding free photo stocks without the fear of getting chased by the owner can be daunting. So, our studio has put together 10 best places to grab and use the photos. Some can be commercially used (for example on your product labels and some are for personal blog use only). Note: We do not recommend grabbing any photos you find via Google search.
Drum roll pleasseee…
- Pixabay – #1 on our list is Pixabay with over 1 million photos. You can’t go wrong with Pixabay because majority of the photographs are taken by professional photographers. All photographs in Pixabay are under Creative Commons which make it safe for you to use it on your blog, website or even commercial purposes.
- Unsplash – I started contributing in unsplash few months ago. I love the creative images uploaded on unsplash. Just like Pixabay, all creative photographs are free to use both for personal or commercial use. You are welcome to credit back the photographer though, for the purpose of supporting other creatives and encourage more photographers to upload on the website.
- PicJumbo – Another website where you can download free for personal and commercial use photographs. It’s easy to browse the website to find the images by using categories. Need a “food” image? Simply scroll down their homepage and find the FOOD category. They also have an affordable $10/month premium plan for unlimited downloads of images not published on the non-member pages.
- Negative Space – We like the wide range of categories to choose from at NegativeSpace. Looking for a macbook mock-up, you’ll find it here. How about Food & Drinks category for your health coaching blog? You’ll find that here too! All licensed under Creative Commons.
- Gratisography – High resolution photos free for commercial and personal use. The website features some creative and “whimsical” photos which could be great for marketing.
- TheHungryJPEG – Not necessary a photo stock website, but every week, they offer new designs. It can be a photo mock-up scene, a typography or promo images. There’s plenty of options to choose from. Although their freebie changes weekly.
- FreeFoodPhotos.com – The haven to find fantastic free food photographs in the internet. This website serve vegetables, bread & cereal, meats etc. All images are also licensed under Creative Commons, which means you can freely use it for personal and commercial use as well as modify it.
- Pexels – Another photo stock website that’s free for all (commercial and personal). Find beautiful and stunning photos from pexels. Almost everything are high-quality images.
- Freestocks.org – They have stunning nature images that are great for website backgrounds and most of the images are high-quality, which is great for making website banners. All images are also under Creative Commons license which makes you free to use it anywhere on your website at any purpose, even as eBook cover.
- FoodiesFeed – Looking for more food photos? Another resource for free food photography is FoodiesFeed. The photographs are well-curated that we recommend it for our health and wellness clients.
There are tons of other free photo stock websites that you can use on your blog, website or even print materials. Grab them and support these creators. They won’t be here without our support.
How can you support creators of these free photo stock websites?
By turning off your ad blocking browser app whenever you visit that site. They monetize from the ads on their website thus, making the website free for all. Find a “Donate” button…that’s one direct and kind way of saying Thank You!
Have fun blogging & business building!
Chie
As a Web Producer, I possess a diverse skill set that includes web design, graphics, marketing, software integration, and SEO. What I find fulfilling about my role is collaborating with fellow innovative marketers and assisting business owners and organizations in optimizing their digital footprint.
