Images speak volumes.
Adding a great image to your content can really help tell your story. In fact, research shows that using great imagery can increase someone’s desire to finish an article by 80%. Research also shows that a social media post will receive 94% more views than a post without imagery.
We understand it can be a costly exercise finding new imagery to complete your new brochure, website or social media demands. This is where our article comes in handy. There are lots of free stock photo websites out there with high quality images. Take a look at our top 7 websites:
1. Unsplash – www.unsplash.com
We are a big fan of Unsplash at The Design Hive. Every 10 days, they upload 10 new images under something called the Creative Commons Zero licence. You will find a large amount of high quality, unique images on Unsplash, bringing touch of colour to your projects.
2. Pixabay – www.pixabay.com
Another favourite of ours is Pixabay. There is a huge amount of photos, videos, vectors and illustrations ready for you to download and use.
Your can choose between vertical, or horizontal orientation. This is a great way to save time when searching for the perfect image. You can also search by keyword.
3. Pexels – www.pexels.com
Our creative team loves Pexels. This websites allows you to use their great range of images for any purpose. Every week they have around 350 new additions to their range. Keep in mind that their images aren’t solely unique to Pexels. The images are provided by a range of stock photos websites, however you can select different categories and contributors.
4. SplitShire – www.splitshire.com
A very passionate Italian, Daniel Nanescu, created SplitShire. If you are anything like us, you may often wonder where all the photos that don’t quite cut it, end up. Well the answer is here! Daniels intention was to give those photos a place and bring them back to life in the form of a free stock photo. Some stock images on SplitShire have received more than 6 million-page views, and over 600,000 downloads. Incredible! This is a great place to find a suitable image for your social media posts or blog updates.
5. Gratisography – www.gratisography.com
On Gratisography the images certainly are unique. There is a story behind this website, as all the photos are taken by Ryan McGuire from Bells Design. All photos are free of copyright restrictions and can be used for personal and commercial purposes. The site has the ability to search by category, for example; animals, nature, objects, people, urban and whimsical. If you subscribe to their newsletter, you will be notified when new images are added.
6. Magdeleine – www.magdeleine.co
This site features a great collection of handpicked photography for your inspiration. The categories include nature, city & architecture, people, animals, food, technology, objects and abstract. There is a great range of colour and black and white photos. All images come under the Creative Commons Zero licence, but do require attribution.
7. StockSnap – www.stocksnap.io
Last, but not least is StockSnap. They claim to be the number one place for stunning, free stock photos. They provide high quality and high-resolution images free from all copyright restrictions and no attribution required. Every week, they add hundreds of high-resolution photos. They have a vast range of categories for you to explore and a handy search bar. You can also sort photos by date and number of views.
The Creative Commons Zero licence
In case you’re not aware, the CC0 license was released by the non-profit organisation Creative Commons. If an image is licensed under the CC0 license then they are free to use for any legal purpose, be it personal or commercial use. They can be modified, copied and distributed however you like and you don’t need to ask permission. The images do not require attribution.
If you’re looking for a creative design team to make great use of these images in your next brochure, flyer, leaflet or other print designs, please get in touch.
