Where to get great imagery for free

The best websites have great imagery. Whenever we get a client brief with lots of good photos, we know it’ll be a great looking site.

While there is a time and a place for professional photography, a lot of the time these clients have simply taken a photo on their phone or found some free stock imagery online. 

We’ve compiled a list of some of the best places to get pictures from, that cost nothing! 

Pixabay

One of the largest sources of free-to-use stock imagery on the web. Pixabay is owned by Canva, the free graphic design site loved by small business marketing professionals. You can find both photos and videos on the site. You’ll need to make an account before you can download any images, but it’s free to do and only takes a few minutes. 

Unsplash

Unsplash is a little more curated than Pixabay, meaning there are fewer images on the site. The upside of this is that the quality of each image is usually much higher. They’ve started to work with brands too, so it could be a good source of product photography in the future (though for now, unless you’re selling iconic boots, noisy motorbikes or fancy stoneware, the range is limited).

Pexels 

More free stock photography. More akin to Unsplash than Pixabay, you’ll find lots of (quite artistic) photos from a selection of photographers. 

Or… take your own photos

While you might not be a professional photographer, with your smartphone and a few tips you can take pretty good photos yourself. Make sure the lens is clean, tap the screen to focus, and make sure the lighting and composition are good. Remember that too much light (like direct sunlight) will make the photo look washed out, too little and it’ll be grainy and unusable. Review what you’ve shot at the time, and if it doesn’t look good, have another go! 

Of course, if none of these options quite suit your needs, get in touch with us to discuss our professional photography services.