Did you know that using an image on your blog post can increase your views by 94%? Yep, adding the perfect photo to your blog or website is important for both marketing and aesthetics, and can play a crucial role in making your company more visible and viable.
That said, it’s crucial you make sure you are not using someone else’s work and that you’re carefully paying attention to any copyright restrictions that may be in place.
Fortunately, you can buy photos for commercial use or find free photos online that are copyright-free and royalty-free from so many sources online these days. Plenty of artists are happy to distribute their photography on royalty-free and copyright-free websites, and often, images are released under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licence which means the image is free to use, even for commercial purposes with no attribution required.
Many traditional stock photo websites offer a variety of licenses depending on how you plan to use the photo. With that in mind, here are 8 IDEAL places to find photos for commercial use online.
UNSPLASH
Unsplash offers royalty-free, copyright-free images of a variety of different subjects, all free to use under the Unsplash license. You will not find cheesy or low-quality images on this website – the sheer quality of the photos on held here is second to none. In particular, Unsplash is one of the best sites to use if you’re looking for beautiful images of different countries and cultures around the world.
PEXELS
Pexels offers copyright-free pictures and photos. While all of the photos are free to download and use, there are some restrictions in place here which you must follow under the Pexels license. We’re also fans of Pexels stock of video footage which are free for personal and commercial use, too.
PIXABAY
Pixabay offers free, royalty-free pics, illustrations, vectors, videos, and music. Similar to Pexels, there are several “do’s and don’ts” you must follow under the Pixabay license. This is another site whose terms and conditions you’ll need to read carefully if you’re going to use their free images, music or videos, but once you’ve got your head around the small print, the photos on these sites are ideal for when you need high-quality images to use on your website, blog, or projects.
KABOOMPICS
We’re huge fans of Kaboompics which come under the Kaboompics License. This is a royalty-free service for stock images created and run by photographer extraordinaire Karolina. All photos on Kaboompics can be used for free for commercial and noncommercial use and no attribution is required (but greatly appreciated if you do).
One of our favourite things about this site is that each photo here comes with a complementary colour palette, generated from the photo and corresponding HEX colours.
RAWPIXEL
Rawpixel offers premium royalty-free, fully licensed photos alongside vectors, mockups and templates.
This site has different membership levels. For $19 a month under their business plan you can get access to their premium photos which are free to use for commercial use. For £4 a month you can get unlimited premium downloads for personal use, or from their free collection, you can download up to ten images a day, for both personal and commercial use.
SHUTTERSTOCK
Shutterstock images come with a standard license, but you can also purchase an enhanced license if need be. Shutterstock offers a monthly subscription or an on-demand image pack to download images whenever you need to.
ADOBE STOCK
Adobe Stock images come with a standard license, but you can also purchase enhanced, extended and editorial licenses. Adobe Stock offers a monthly subscription or you can purchase credits to use whenever you like. While many of the photos on Adobe Stock are paid, they do also offer some free images to use.
GETTY IMAGES
Getty Images’ photos come with a standard license, but you can also purchase a rights-managed or rights-ready license if you require it. These guys offer several on-demand packs based on the number of images and/or photos you need.
With Getty, you can purchase a low-resolution image pack, a medium resolution image and video pack, or a high-resolution image and video pack. Be warned; the licenses on these sites are lengthy and complex. Always read them scrupulously to ensure that you’re abiding by the terms.
BOTTOM LINE
If you are using a photo from any of these sites, make sure you read and strictly abide by the license and restrictions. Whether you buy photos for commercial use or enjoy free photos, you have many options to choose from whenever you need a stunning image for your project. Don’t forget to bookmark your favourite site and never miss a picture again!