As a professional content writer part of my job is scouring the web for the best FREE copyright free images to use in my articles. While I probably use them more than the average blogger and I know we all strive to create our own images and take amazing photos ourselves, sometimes you need a little help whether it's a beautiful photographic image, a background, vector image or blog buttons and social media icons.
In no particular order, here is my top 10 list of Copyright free FREE image sources for bloggers.
Freeimages (formerly Stock Exchange)
Pixabay
Flickr
Microsoft Office
Yep, the old Microsoft Office is still a great source for finding pics. I use it for work all the time! Always check the details as usual. They have lots of great photos and vector art and of course a huge selection of business oriented pics.
Unsplash is absolutely my new favourite copyright free photo source. While it's not a great tool if you're looking for something very specific ALL of the photographs are absolutely amazing! The top pic in this post is also from there. Unsplash is a blog with 10 new photos every 10 days and all the images are free to do what you like with!
Wikimedia Commons is another great source for searching for copyright free images. I don't use it too often but it's usually my number one source when I need photographs of celebrities. It's licenses are also extremely easy to understand but once again, always make sure you check before sharing.
By Mdf (Taken by Mdf) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Finally, finally Google is helping us search for copyright free images through google image searches. All you need to do is search for what you want, as usual, click on search tools and select "labeled for reuse". After you find the image you'd like make certain to click through to the original site and check for the license.
Morgue File has another huge selection of copyright free images to use for free. It's easy to search too!
Another good source is Free Range Stock. You do need to sign up, however signing up is free and the only catch is you'll get an email from them once a month.
Freepik is my favourite source of vector and illustrations to use for blogging. The only catch is you do need to credit them. But look how beautiful they are!
So, have a missed anything? What's you're favourite source of copyright free images for Free OR do you pay for them or simply ONLY use your own?
Great list! I have been a fan of Stock Exchange for years. Love there name change!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fab resource - I'm bookmarking this post!
ReplyDelete#Welcometotheweekend
http://fashion-mommy.com
Great! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteLabeled for reuse? REALLY? Oh, where has this information been? Thank you thank you thank you. PIXABAY is great, isn't it. I'm totally going to try Microsoft Office. That's a new one to me. Hey, ever tried Freedigital Photos? Very good source as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of MorgueFile - I've been using them a few years. I've been using OpenClipArt.org to get little clip art things that I can use to create my own graphics on my blog.
ReplyDeleteLOVE THIS! I've been looking for free images, but didn't know where to start. Thanks for sharing! This will come in handy
ReplyDeleteGreat list-thanks!
ReplyDeletegreat post. really helpful, will be coming back to this a lot me thinks #weekendbloghop
ReplyDeleteAwesome list, I've book marked this post!
ReplyDeleteoooo pinning this list. Thanks gorgeous girl - some great sources here xx
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for all the resources - both my husband and I write on a few blogs, and, as you might imagine, finding low-cost photos is a constant challenge!
ReplyDeleteVery useful collections for blogger, thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteI always used Fotolia for stock photos, but you have to pay for those. This is wonderful info you have passed along, thank you!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! I love the last picture the most!
ReplyDeletePINNED to BLOG STUFF. Thanks for the resource. I checked out some of the sources. Great. Not specific but beautiful. Linda Crafts a la mode
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome list! I'm pinning for future reference. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI love Death to Stock Photo. They send you 10 photos a month of great quality images that are free to use.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kirsty for sharing these resources with us!
ReplyDeleteI am featuring you at this week's Inspire Me Monday party at Create With Joy! :-)
Thanks for this resources! So helpful :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! Hello from Inspire Me Monday!
ReplyDeleteGreat list! Have you tried http://all-free-download.com/free-photos
ReplyDeleteReally great list, a few I didn't know of. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGreat resources, a lot I didn't know about. Free Images has been my go to for ages now but I am going to have to check out the others too. I love having a range to select from.
ReplyDeleteHelpful list! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this list, very useful while I struggle to improve my photography skills
ReplyDeleteAnother one with really high-quality free photos: http://albumarium.com
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great resource! Thank you for putting this list together!
ReplyDeleteRidiculously helpful and permanently pinned, thank you!
ReplyDeleteHave to be careful with Wikimedia and some of the others because people upload photos which are still protected by copyright. They assume the photos are public domain without checking. Celeb photogs can be the worst. Be aware if your blog has ads, affiliate banners, PayPal donation buttons, etc., it most likely falls under the commercial category and this prevents you from using the CCL stuff designated as non-commercial only.
ReplyDeleteHi Kirsty, and other readers :)
ReplyDeleteI would like to make you aware of a website I'm working on, which I think would be of use to some readers, it only recently went live in August, it is www.freestockimages.net
The aim is to offer something slightly different from similar websites. Rather then just have the glossy professional photos I also am going for a mix of more amateur style photos, which are still suitable for plenty of bloggers in different niches. As a blogger myself I would often want amateur style photos for my blog posts, but wouldn't be able to find them in stock photo galleries where the criteria for the agency would understandably be looking at; focus, lighting, noise, compression, lens flare etc.
There are many really useful photos taken which traditionally get declined on stock photo sites. I am trying to make a home for them where people looking for not-so-perfect photos can get them at no cost. As well as still a blend of amazing photos taken by professionals too.
Hopefully the site can grow and be a good go-to resource for lots of stock photography users :)
Great list. I added a couple more to my bookmarks!
ReplyDeleteGuys, http://www.iregioes.com.br site has photos of various locations in Brazil, worth checking out.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this list. It's sometimes a struggle to find a free pic that you need
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Kirsty! I recently started blogging and this list is super helpful!
ReplyDeletehttp://blue-moon-moments.blogspot.com/
Thanks for these!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this resourse. I am always looking for images for my blog www.inspiredredesign.com.
ReplyDelete