Sometimes you just need that special something in order to bolster your blog post, social media post, or maybe even part of your art. But you can’t just pull down any picture off of Google image search, so what should you do? Use AI to make something for you? No, stop that… We’ve got something better. Check out these great resources we’ve gathered for places you can go to grab totally free to use stock images!
#1 Pixabay
We use Pixabay almost on a daily basis. Not only is it a fantastic resource for grabbing that quick graphic you need, but you can also submit things for usage as well. In fact, submitting a work and getting it approved will grant you with an ad-free account. We call that a win!
#2 Unsplash
Another fantastic free-to-use stock source, Unsplash typically has really huge images, so if you need something a little larger than the usual you can find on Pixabay, try Unsplash. On top of this, Unsplash also allows you to tip users whose images you find particularly compelling. On the downside, we find that Unsplash’s search engine is lacking and can come up with a lot more random pictures than ones that fulfill your search query. Still, we find Unsplash’s quality of images to be very high and satisfactory.
#3 Pexels
Like Pixabay and Unsplash, Pexels has a repertoire of uploaded images that you can use for your social media, blogging, or other needs. Like the others, you can contribute photos as well. Since Canva, WordPress, and others also share Pexels’ library, you may even be using it without knowing. Definitely sign up for a free account at the least here!
#4 Library of Congress
The “free to use and reuse” area of the Library of Congress site has a plethora of creative commons images and works that you can utilize to make just about anything. Most of the items in the library are historical ones, but sometimes just such a thing will do. Definitely bookmark the Library of Congress for some great royalty-free images.
#5 New York Public Library
The New York Public Library has a collection of public domain works as well that, like the Library of Congress site, are free to use and reuse. Many local libraries have this resource too: simply search for “public domain images archive” in your favorite search engine to uncover even more fun places to source images.