2015-05-05



Are you looking for great photographs to include with your content?

Blog posts, landing pages, and all other forms of content receive 2x the traffic when corresponding images are included.

For many, the problem is finding an image that can be used for free.

Royalty-free stock photography is not the same as 100% free.

It simply means you do not need to pay any ongoing royalties to use the image within your content.

You might have to pay an upfront fee for a license to use the image, provide specific forms of accreditation, or follow other stipulations to use the image.

Public domain images can be used in commercial projects and attribution is not needed for them, but if you have the information of the artist, giving credit where it is due gives your content an extra level of class. The outgoing link also provides the artist with some link equity.

There are some rules that still apply to these free image websites that must be followed, even if you do not pay for the rights to the image up front.

Personality rights. Sometimes this is referred to as Model rights or Property rights. What it means is that if a person can be clearly identified in an image that you intend to use commercially, you will need a signed release.

There are several different licenses. Some free images can only be used on a personal website. Others are allowed for commercial purposes. You must comply with the terms of the license to use the image, even when it is royalty-free.

Copyrights automatically apply. All images are copyrighted from the instant they are created. Using any image without the permission of the creator violates the copyright of the image. Changing an image or using it beyond the scope of the authorized license are actions that are considered copyright violations and can result in fines and penalties.

On many of these free image websites, you will find specific information regarding the licensing structure of the image. As long as you comply with the license (and not use the image commercially without the model or property release) then you are generally safe to use it.

Image creators can add specific licensing terms that apply individually. If it’s possible it’s always best to check the profile page of the image creator to ensure that there are no specific terms outside of the standard license language that must be met in order to stay in compliance.

If your preferred websites are not listed here, please feel free to let me know in the comments section and I will consider including them in this post after review.

#1. Pexels.com

Creek and Trees

All photos on this site are licensed under the Creative Commons Zero license, which means you can copy, modify and ditribute them even for commercial purposes.

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#2. Kozzi.com



Over 2 million stock photos that you can use for free. Just copy and paste the embed code into your website or blog and you’re done.

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#3. PublicDomainArchive.com

Mountains

All images on this site may be used for personal or commercial purposes without any restrictions or limitations. Attribution is not required, but is always appreciated. Terms and Conditions

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#4. FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of marcolm at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Royalty free photos. If you want to use an image for free you must publish an acknowledgement to FreeDigitalPhotos.net and the image creator on the same page where the image has been used. However if for some reasons you do not want to publish an acknowledgement then you must pay for the image.

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#5. StockPhotos.io

On this site you will find around 27,000 images. They are either in the Public Domain or Creative Commons licensed, which means you can use them freely and for commercial purposes, but you must attribute the author. FAQ

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#6. Pixabay

Tobias Breyer

One of the most popular websites where you will find copyright-free images published under Creative Commons (over 330, 000 free photos). You can use them even for commercial purposes. FAQ

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#7. Rgbstock

Image courtesy of Cristiano Galbiati

It is a site created by a group of photographers and graphic artists. You will find there more than 100,000 free stock photos. If you want to upload or download images you must be a member. Membership is free! FAQ

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#8. Gratisography.com

Image by Ryan Mcguire

Free images that you can use for personal or commercial projects. All pictures are under Creative Commons Zero. Terms and Conditions

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#9. PhotoPin

On this site you will find a lot of Creative Commons images. Thanks to PhotoPin adding images to your article is very easy – you just need to copy an HTML code and paste it in your blog post. FAQ

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#10. Unsplash

Image by James Pritchett

High-resolution photos, all licensed under Creative Commons Zero, which means you can do whatever you want with them.

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#11. Stokpic.com

Image by Ed Gregory

Free photos for personal and commercial use, all under Creative Commons Zero license. Attribution is appreciated, but not necessary. Frequently Asked Questions

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#12. Libreshot.com

Free images in different categories that you can use any way you wish (commercial use allowed). All photos are licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 so attribution to LibreShot.com is required.

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#13. Morguefile.com

Image by froggidonna

Free high resolution images for personal or commercial use. Attribution is not required, but is appreciated. morgueFile license and FAQ

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#14. FreeRangeStock.com

Image by Flash Alexander

High-quality, high-resolution images that you can use for free even commercially. While a credit is always appreciated, it is not required. FAQ

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#15. BigFoto.com

You can download all the pictures for free and use them for personal or commercial purposes. The photo gallery on bigfoto.com is big and constantly growing. Registration is not required. In return for free download bigfoto.com asks you to place a link to the bigfoto website on your own website. Copyright

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#16. Little Visuals

Free pictures licensed under Creative Commons Zero, which means you can use them anyway you want.

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#17. UPICM.com

Free images for personal and commercial use. No attribution required. Frequently Asked Questions

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#18. Opixx.org

Free images for private and commercial purposes. However if you want to use them on your commercial blog, you must include a backlink to http://www.opixx.org. Terms and Conditions

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#19. Magdeleine

Image by Ales Krivec

Some images on this website are in the Public Domain and some require an attribution. You can search by category such as: nature, people, animals, food etc.

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#20. Freephotosbank.com

Free pictures, but you have to link back to freephotosbank.com if you decide to use any of them. Terms of Use.

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#21. Stockvault.net

Stock photo sharing website with free images for personal and non-commercial usage. All the photographs and images on this website are submitted by photographers and artists from all over the world.

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#22. FreePicturesPhotos.com

High-resolution photos that you can use free of charge for both personal and commercial purposes. However an attribution to www.free-pictures-photos.com is required.

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#23. Imagefree.com

Free images for personal and commercial purposes. In exchange for using their pictures they ask you to link back to the website. To download the images you need to register first. Terms of Use

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#24. Death to the Stock Photo

Every month they will send you beautiful photos to your inbox, you just need to sign up. The images can be used even for commercial purposes. Plain English License

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#25. Openphoto.net

Photo sharing platform where contributors offer their images for free under Creative Commons License. You have to give credit to the photographer by using the code available on the website. License terms and conditions vary from image to image.

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#26. Isorepublic.com

Image by Tom Eversley

High-resolution images free to use both in commercial and personal creative projects. Attribution is not required but is appreciated. Terms and Conditions.

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#27. Lock and Stock Photos

Free stock photos released under the Creative Commons License ShareAlike 4.0. You can use them any way you want just link back to http://www.ajmontpetit.com.  If you want to receive a pack of exclusive photos sign up for a monthly email.

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#28. Raumrot.com

Hi-resolution stock photos for free. You can use them in personal and commercial projects. You must give appropriate credit to the creator.

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#29. MMT

Stock photos by Jeffrey Betts. All of them are licensed under Creative Commons Zero. You can use them for both personal and commercial purposes.

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#30. Ancestryimages.com

Images of antique prints and maps for non-commercial use. A link back to the website, such as: “Image courtesy of ancestryimages.com” is appreciated. If you want to use some of the images for commercial purposes, please contact the author of the site.

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#31. PickUpImage.com

Bernina Mountains

Huge collection of free, Public Domain images. You can use them for commercial purposes without asking for permission. You can search images by category such as: Food and Drink, Space, People, Travel, Nature etc.

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#32. Jeshoots.com

Image by Jan Vasek

Free images published under the Creative Commons Zero license, so you can use them any way you want. FAQ

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#33. Jaymantri.com

Free Public Domain images. 7 new photos are published once a week.

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#34. Superfamous

Image by Folkert Gorter

Images for private and commercial purposes available under the conditions of a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.

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#35. Kaboompics.com

Photo by Staffage

A collection of good quality photos for free. You can even use them in your commercial projects. A link back to the website is highly appreciated. Special hi-resolution images are available for subscribers. Terms of Use

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#36. 4FreePhotos.com

The images on this website are offered for free under the Creative Commons License. You can search pictures by category such as: business, food, nature, science etc. Terms of Use

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#37. DesignersPicks.com

Image by Jeshu John

Hi-resolution photos for your personal and commercial use. Attribution is not required, but is highly appreciated. FAQ and Terms.

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#38. Albumarium.com

Images for personal and commercial use. Attribution is required. Terms of Service.

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#39. Epicantus

Image by Daria

Free hi-resolution photos for your landing pages and graphic designs. Attribution is not required. All photos are licensed under Creative Commons Zero.

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#40. Picjumbo.com

Image by Viktor Hanacek

Free photos for personal and commercial works. Attribution is greatly appreciated. You can search images by category: food, nature, people, roads and more. FAQ and Terms.

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#41. Dreamstime.com

On this website you will find high-resolution Royalty Free stock images. You can use them under their RF-LL terms. They ask you to add linked credit line to author/agency (you will find it on the download page).

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#42. Lifeofpix.com

Image by John Price

Free high-resolution images for personal and commercial use. All of them are donated to the Public Domain. New photographies are added weekly.

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#43. Winephoto.co

Do you have a wine blog? If you do, then you should like these images. You can use them however you want and no attribution is required although a link back to winephoto.co is welcomed.

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#44. Splashbase.co

Image by Go Wild Images

Splashbase aggregates free (Public Domain) high-resolution photos from different sources.

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#45. Splitshire.com

Light Rays Trees

Free high quality images by Daniel Nanescu with no copyright restrictions for personal and commercial use. Attribution is not required, but appreciated.

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#46. Camarama.de

Free, Public Domain, stock images for personal and commercial use. New images are added every week. FAQ

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#47. Moveast.me

Free images by Joao Pacheco. All of them are available under CC0.

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#48. Imcreator.com

Free images for both personal and commercial use. Attribution to the creator is required. You can search images by category, such as: business, technology, food & drinks, nature and more.

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#49. Freemediagoo.com

Bison Image

Free stock photos for commercial and private purposes, you can use them in print, film, TV, Internet or other media. Attribution is not required, but a link back would be appreciated. Terms of Use

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#50. Foter.com

Millions of free Creative Commons images from many online sources. You can search for images by keywords and then use the embed code to insert them into your blog post. Terms of Service.

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#51. Goodstock.photos

Niagara Falls

High quality and high resolution photos that you can use for free anywhere you want. You don’t have to credit the author or this site, but it is always welcomed. A new photo is published daily. Terms of Use

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#52. PacHD.com

Crystal Springs

Free high-resolution images in different categories: food, flowers, nature & scenics, world travel and more.  You can use them for private or commercial purposes, but you must provide a clickable link to www.pachd.com. Terms of Use

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#53. Skitterphoto.com

Sunrise River

High quality photos free to use, even commercially. All of them are licensed under the Creative Commons Zero license. You can search images by categories. Terms of

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