7 Stock Photography Websites That Feel Illegal To Know
The world of stock photography is a complicated one. Many people are surprised to learn that most stock images are not free for commercial use, and many of the best options aren’t even available on Creative Commons site. Luckily, there are some websites where you can find copyright-free images that are perfect for your next project.
Unsplash
Unsplash, my personal favorite, is a stock photography website that provides high-resolution, royalty-free images. The library is updated daily with new images, and you can use them for whatever project you want to create. We’ve found Unsplash to be a great source for free images that we can easily search for and use in our content squarespace templates.
Pexels
Pexels is a free stock photo website that offers high-quality images, videos and audio clips. You can use Pexels’s content for commercial purposes and there’s no attribution required.
Pexels also has an excellent search function so you can easily find the right image for your project, whether you need something relevant to the topic at hand or want to look at a particular category of pictures (e.g., nature). If you do decide to choose one of Pexel’s photos as a starting point for your project, make sure that you read the license agreement carefully. While most of their images are available for both commercial and personal use without any restrictions on size or number of downloads per day, some require attribution or allow only limited uses (e.g., not allowed in logos).
Pixabay
Pixabay is a free stock photo website with over 1 million images that are free of copyright restrictions. They also allow you to use these images for personal or commercial purposes, modify them, crop them and change the color if needed.
PngTree
PngTree is a great resource for free stock images. The site makes it easy to find images. You can filter by color, size and category, or even search by keyword. Images are high-resolution (up to 40 MB) so you can use them without worrying about file size or resolution issues. The only downside is that the photos are low quality, so if you want something with more detail you may have to look elsewhere. However if you’re just looking for something simple that gets the job done then this is a good place to start!
Stock Snap.io
StockSnap is an excellent resource for finding high quality images. The site is free to use, and the photos are high quality. There’s also a wide selection of categories to choose from, making it easy to find the right photo for your project. And because so many of the photographs on StockSnap are free of copyright restrictions, they’re ideal for any type of project you’re working on.
There’s no denying that StockSnap has some great features: good search functionality; a clean and user-friendly interface; easy navigation through its huge library of photos; and a wide variety of categories (including animals, nature, people and food). However – as with most stock photography websites – there are limitations that may prevent some users from uploading their own unique content or downloading it anywhere else in order to protect ownership rights
PicJumbo
PicJumbo is a great place to find high-quality, royalty-free photos.
The site claims to have over 100,000 photos, vectors and videos available.
The website is very easy to navigate, and the search function is very effective.
Nappy.co
Nappy.co is a free stock photography website that does not require registration or watermarks. This feature makes it easy for you to get started with a search and find what you need without having to worry about getting in your way. What makes this organization so special is that they provide something that is actually incredibly difficult to find in other photography websites, diversity.
The search tool is super sleek, allowing users to search by category or keyword, color, size and format—making it easy to narrow down your results based on what fits best with your specific needs.
If you want to find photography that is free of copyright restrictions, here are some good places to start.
If you’re looking to use stock photography in your next design project, then you should know that this is a very important decision. Stock photography can be expensive and time-consuming to find, and it’s always good to have back-up plans.
If you have a limited budget but still want access to quality images, consider using free stock photography instead of having to pay for every image. While not all free images are perfect (or even usable), there are many websites that offer high-quality photos at no cost—and those types of sites can save you money in the long run.
The difference between “free” and “paid” stock photo websites isn’t just about price; it also has everything to do with how copyright restrictions work on each site. If you’re looking for photos without any restrictions whatsoever, here are some helpful resources:
With so many options to choose from, finding the perfect stock photo for your next project is easier than ever. So get out there and start searching!