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We all know it’s important to use high-quality images on our blog, but this can challenging if for those of us that are not great photographers. Today I’m going to share with you 9 websites that offer free stock photos that you can use on your blog.
9 Best Websites to get Free Stock Photos for your blog
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I am a huge fan of using stock photos. Try as I might, I am just not a great photographer. When I do I post that requires me to actually take the photo myself, it takes forever for me to actually get a photo that is good enough to use on my blog. Luckily, I can use stock photos for most of my post.
Stock photos are beautiful, professional photos that can be used for many commercial purposes. These images add value to the content of my blog. They’re much more visually appealing than any image I could create myself.
It’s important to be careful when choosing a stock photo. You do not want to get in trouble for breaking the rules of a photos license.
If you don’t know where to find high-quality stock photos
Better yet, as of the last time I checked, all of them provide photos that are copyright-free, and can be edited and used on your blog without crediting the photographer.
Please note: Before using photos from any of these websites, you should read their license to ensure that you are following their rules.
Here are the most popular free stock photo sources
- Pixabay – Pixabay is probably the most widely-used, well-known provider of free stock photos. Their collection of images is huge! You are sure to find a ton of images that fit your needs on Pixabay.
- Unsplash – Unsplash provides high-resolution stock photos. I love the quality of the photos I find on there! These photos are usually on Pixabay too but since there are less photos on Unsplash I think it’s easier to find what I need there.
- Pexels – Pexels is another popular provider of free, high-quality photos. However, Pexels is unique because they are constantly adding new photos. In fact, there are 100 photos added to Pexels each day.
- StockSnap.io – I’ve just starting using this resource, but it clearly contains some beautiful images. It’s created by Snappa, which is a photo-editing tool. I haven’t used Snappa (because PicMonkey has my heart) but I’m looking forward to browsing the stock photos at StockSnap.io.
All 4 of these stock photo providers are commonly used. You’ll see these stock photos again and again. I like to crop my photos in a different way than I think others would. I think this makes those stock photos seem more unique.
Here are some less common resources
- Death to the Stock Photo – This source is a little different because you have to sign up for their email subscription and then they send you a free photo pack once a month and sometimes more often. You just get the photos they give you so it’s just luck if they work for your blog. But these photos are stunning and artistic. I recommend signing up for their email list now and saving the photos in case you can use them in the future.
- New Old Stock – This is a really cool resource for historic photos that are available for public use. I haven’t had a post that these photos were a good fit for yet, but I think if you’re creative you could do something unique with the photos on New Old Stock.
- Minimography – There aren’t a lot of photos on Minimography, but boy, the ones that are there are good. There are currently 12 photos on the website. These photos are simple and could be used for a variety of blog and post subjects.
- Morguefile – Don’t let to unconventional name deter you, Morguefile has some great stuff! They offer a large selection of beautiful, unique photos that are free for commercial use.
- Negative Space – Negative Space is exactly my cup of tea. I am in love with these photos! I always add text to the images that I use and these photos are just perfect for that because they feature a good amount of blank space.
I hope you find some great stock photos with these resources!
When you’re ready to step up the images on your blog and move beyond free stock photos, I highly recommend that you check out DepositPhotos. This is what I’m currently using and I can’t tell you how much I love them. They have a HUGE library of high-quality images. I can always find exactly what I’m looking for. Plus, they’re really affordable. I’m not someone who makes an investment without doing extensive research and DepositPhotos was a much better value than their competitors (and at least as good – but probably better quality!)
Remember that findinga greatstock photo is just the firststep towards having theperfect image on your blog. The next step is editing the photo.
My favorite photo editing tool is PicMonkey. It’s so easy to use and has so many great features. I highly recommendexperimenting withPicMonkey if you haven’t tried it yet.
What are your favorite stock photo resources? Share them in the comments below.
Want more? Here are some of my best posts:
How I Rocked My First Month Blogging
Is it Time to Quit your Job
How to Get Paid for Shopping Online
My Blogging Education: I’m learning how to blog from the best and it’s working!
You can read more about my story here: A Spender and A Saver Fall in Love
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