Where to Get Free Stock Photos

If you search the web for free images you will find thousands of results. No matter what combination of words you use, the result is the same. Thousands of websites offer images with a giant watermark. If you have been there and wonder what’s the point in that, this guide will help you find truly free images.

Where to Find Free Images
The following sites do not require filling in any personal information, paying for images nor signing up for anything.

The most well known companies to find free images are Wikipedia Commons, www.commons.wikimedia.org and Flickr, www.flickr.com. These two sites have several things in common. They both have a vast stock of images. This means that no matter what images you are looking for, they will probably have them. Both sites make images available for download in different sizes. From high definition downloads to more accessible sizes, the images offered are free.

Usage, Style and License

Wikipedia Commons stock photography exists thanks to the thousands of users that upload their images. Wikipedia Commons photographs are usually more documentative. They host a lot of government sourced and nature photography. Wikipedia Commons is a serious classic photography website.

Wikipedia Commons images are generally free to use. Their copyright attributions are either public domain, creative commons, or GNU free documentation. This means that the images can be downloaded, and used in almost every media. Depending on the license, images can be printed in magazines, books, on products, manuals, uploaded on the web and even modified. Some of these licenses require credit to the author.

Flickr also works thanks to the thousands of collaborators who upload their images. However, the images of Flickr are more personal in general. You will find everything, from professional images to more youthful upbeat sources. If you use both sites in combination, you can choose from the best free images online. Flickr users also use different licenses. There are a great number of images in Flickr that are licensed as creative commons. This means they can be used for printing, uploading online, or other uses. Contacting the author may be required.
Find Flickr Creative Commons at www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

Other Free Sites
There are several other sites that offer free images and are worth checking out. Once you get to know how free stock photography works, it will be easy to spot a free stock photography website. Free stock images are simple to download, licensed for general uses, and have no watermark, nor fee. Some sites worth checking out are www.morguefile.com,
www.morguefile.com or www.freemediagoo.com.

Other sites like, PhotoRogue, take free images into a different direction. They ask users to fill in their request for an image. Volunteer photographers will “go out and attempt” to take the picture you want. The concept is interesting. They are part of this guide, because they have an original concept. Find them at www.photorogue.com.

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