Top 10 Sources for Free Stock Images
Stock photos can be laughably terrible if you don't know where to look (See: 50 Completely Unexplainable Stock Photos No One Will Ever Use) – especially the royalty-free ones.
The good news is that websites boasting beautiful collections of high-resolution, royalty-free images are popping up all over the place thanks to the good will of talented photographers and agencies.
Below is a list of the best websites to find royalty-free stock photos.
1. Unsplash
Every 10 days, Unsplash adds 10 new gorgeous royalty-free photos to its collection. They can be delivered straight to your inbox if you subscribe to its mailing list.
2. Picography
Picography boasts a wide and varied collection of photos from a group of professional photographers. The only downside is that the site isn't searchable.
3. Pixabay
Pixabay has over 300,000 brilliant royalty-free images to choose from. The site is searchable, and most images don't require any attribution.
4. StockSnap.io
StockSnap.io's large selection stock photos grows by the hundreds every week. None of the photos from this collection require any attribution.
5. Lock & Stock Photos
Lock & Stock Photos is photographer AJ Montpetit's way of giving back to the online community. His awesome photos are available for use under Creative Commons License ShareALike 4.0.
6. New Old Stock
New Old Stock's collection is made up of vintage and antique photos. A lot of them were found at estate sales or taken by government agencies.
7. Life of Pix
Life of Pix, created by the LEEROY creative agency based in Montreal, offers royalty-free photos sourced from its network of photographers. New photos are added weekly, and they are not beholden to any attribution requirements.
8. SplitShire
Splitshire is a collection of "delicious free stock photos for personal and commercial use." from web designer Daniel Nancescu.
9. Gratisography
Gratisography is amazing. All photos are taken by the very talented Ryan McGuire and are free of copy-right restrictions and attribution requirements.
10. Superfamous
Superfamous is the handy work of Dutch Artist Folkert Gorter and his graphic-design contemporaries at LA-based agency Superfamous. The carefully curated collection is available for use under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
