We have now entered an age where people are doing less reading and more scrolling.
The best way to capture a user’s attention is quality content accompanied by captivating imagery. So what do you do when you need some quality imagery but don’t have the luxury of a photo shoot and your budget is $0?
Rule #1: Don’t Google Image Search what you need and swipe the first thing you see. You’ll open a whole other can of worms regarding copyright and permissions.
Rule #2: Don’t immediately sign up for an expensive stock photo service. There are too many great free resources available. Spoiler alert: keep scrolling.
Rule #3: Don’t use clipart.
Instead, check out some of our favorite places to get FREE high-quality stock images.
1. Pexels
All of Pexels’ images are free for personal and even for commercial use. It takes out the hassle of having to worry about copyright, attributes, etc. so you can focus on getting high-quality (and high-res) images for your needs. It’s simple, easy and it’s the first site I visit when I need a stock photo.
2. Unsplash
One of the most popular places for free stock photos, Unsplash has a booming community of contributors. The images are top-quality and very well-organized, making it easy to find what you need. They tend to have a larger library than Pexels, so if I’m looking for something a little more specific, I go here.
3. Death to Stock Photo
Sign up and every month Death to Stock Photo will email you a fresh set of images for FREE. This one is nice if you want to build up your own library of stock photos with some out-of-the-ordinary images.
