Matching just the right photo to your article or lens can make the difference between being viewed as an amateur out to make a buck, or a professional who has expertise to share. Take advantage of these sites that offer free high quality photos to boost reader confidence in your ability to provide the information they need.
Open Photo is a collection of photos that are all under the creative commons license, which is great news for you. Creative Commons means you are free to use the photo for whatever purpose you want, as long as you credit the photographer with a link back to Open Photo. Open Photo is presented professionally, has a wonderful search feature, and a nice little tag cloud where you can quickly and easily browse through the varied topics. Once you have clicked on a category, another tag cloud appears to assist you in narrowing down the topic.
Free Range Stock offers a variety of free photos and has some unique images. You must register to download images, but registration is free. It is a little difficult to search, but if you know what you are looking for this site is a good option. Many of these free photos are high quality pieces of work worth exploring.
Morguefile is another wonderful resource for those looking for quality photos. They are free to download and use as you wish. Many photographers request that you drop them a line telling them how you are using their photo. To find photos on Morguefile, you can use the search feature. If you prefer to browse photos, click on Archive. You will then be able to browse by subject.
Dreamstime offers 15 pages of free photos that you can download. There are other photos that you can purchase on the site, but many of the photographers have donated a photo that you can download for free. There are some nice shots here and its worth the effort to check here if you can’t find that perfect photo you desire.
BigFoto.com provides free photos that are quick and easy to download. One of the best features of this site is that you can browse photos by country, as well as, by theme. There are some wonderful images of the countryside in various countries. These photos are ideal when writing about a specific country.
Stock.xchng provides access to over 250,000 stock photos that are free to download and use. It does require that you rate and comment on the photo, as well as, provide the photographer with a link to where you have used his/her photo. It is easy to search or browse photos and does not require a registration to access photos.
Yotophoto indexes free to use photos from the Public Domain, GNU FDL, and Creative Commons licenses. A search will return a wide variety of photos and images. If you know what you are looking for searching Yotophoto may be for you. The drawback here is that you cannot browse images and must rely on search results, which are not always as specific as I would like.
PD Photo offers a wide selection of photos that are easy to search. They are organized into interesting categories and it features some photos by location. Almost all the photos are in the public domain or creative commons; however there are a few that are not. Photos are clearly marked with the copyright license that applies. This site is worth looking through, as it has some unusual photos.
USA.Gov This site hosts various federal agencies that provide public domain images. This is a great resource for photos that are free to use for any purpose. There are; however, a few images that are not public domain. Read the terms of use before downloading or using any photos.
Geek Philosopher This is a small collection of free to use photos, but is worth investigating. There are some nice shots of fruits and veggies that you might not find elsewhere. Once you have selected a category, if you scroll to the bottom of the page, you will find a list of all the photos in that category. Clicking on the heading will take you directly to the image, avoiding browsing all images in each category.
Everystockphoto provides over 1 1/2 million images. These high quality photos can be browsed by category or located with a search. There are some truly magnificent photos here that will add a touch of class to any article or website. Most require a link back to the site.
FREEIMAGES.co.uk provides a nice topic index of its 2500 stock photos and is fully searchable. You must register and sign up for a newsletter before you can download images. It also requires a link back to the site and a credit to the site on each page you use the image.
Public Domain Photos Provides a wide variety of topics that allow you to browse through over 5,000 free photos. There are some unique photos in this collection. You can also search for a specific photo.
Always check the licensing, or terms of use agreements, on any site you are considering downloading free photos from. Make sure you follow the requirements for that specific site; the wording and/or requirements differ slightly from site to site. Remember to credit the photographer, as well as, the site you downloaded your free photo from when you post it. Following these simple precautions will protect both you and the photographer and will add a touch of class to your work.
