Do you wonder where to get blogging stock photos for free? Are you scared to hurt copyrights and get into a lawsuit that ruins you? Are you looking for a quick fix so you can finally create your awesome blog posts using stunning photos that are free? Learn where to find those awesome blogging images that will make your website and social media graphics look fabulous! Plus, grab the free photo bundle of stunning Pinterest perfect images. –
Ever heard we live in a visual world? Yes, a photo can have a strong message that conveys instantly. And with all these awesome blogs out there you will have not the slightest chance of lasting success if you have meh pictures on your website.
You also need kick-ass social media graphics to make people click through to your blog or share the post.
But you struggle to take stunning photos yourself. You’re not a professional photographer, you don’t have the equipment, and you surely cannot hire photography out.
Still.
You NEED great pictures for your website or you won’t survive. You won’t find success on Pinterest or social media. Your life blog depends on great pictures. No, GREAT pictures.
Magazine style pictures.
Curate the best free photos for bloggers
But where the heck do you get those if you can’t hire someone to take them for you? Do you have to give an arm and a leg for premium stock photography? Do you have to sift the interwebs for ages to find something workable?? What about learning about licenses and such?
Who has that much time?
Don’t worry. If you are a budgeted blogger and if time is your most valuable resource (I know!) then I have your back. Here comes a list of free and affordable options to find high-quality stock photos for your blog that are royalty-free to use!
Let’s see where you can find those stunning blogging pictures you need for your blog and brand.
Insiders of Mom Can Do This can download a photo bundle of Pinterest-ready images to create pins that stand out and get shared and clicked. Subscribe to get the newsletter and access to the subscriber exclusive free library. It’s free and you can unsubscribe anytime.
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Free Stock Photo Resources
There are quite a few places to find free royalty-free images that need no attribution. That means you don’t have to credit the photographer of a picture by posting her name next to the image. I have used many platforms but actually, you will only have to look into a few.
Many free pictures are shared on many different platforms so you will find the same images again, especially if you look into smaller collections.
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So, let’s start with one of the largest collections of free photos and images.
Pixabay is my number one place to look for any kind of photos. They have a large spectrum of photos and I always check what they have in stock for the blog post I’m writing. And photos on pixabay come with the CC0 license or do-as-you-like license.
Sometimes, graphic design platforms like Canva offer free and paid photos to use in your designs. Before you pay for a picture you might want to check if you can find it on Pixabay. I once have paid for an image that I later found for free on Pixabay. Yes, people can use CC0 licensed images unaltered for commercial purposes. It’s the only license that lets you do that. Most other prohibit selling unaltered images.
Keep in mind: Always check under which license an image is shared and what are the terms of use, whether it’s a free photo or paid one.
Unsplash is less broad but has some spectacular pictures to choose from. Unsplash aims for providing the most beautiful photos, provided by photographs, and free for everyone to use. Pictures shared on Unsplash come with the Unsplash license of use which is similar to CC0.
Pexels is a great photo platform for bloggers! They have a ton of pictures perfect for your blog or pin images. Pexels shares images with CC0 license or the slightly different pexels license. Check which license applies when downloading an image.
Downsides of big free photo collections
Of course, everybody is using platforms like Pixabay and for good reason. Unfortunately, some of the images are all over the blogging world or Pinterest. This can make your blog look a little bit generic.
On Pinterest, using a picture that a gazillion other people are using too is bad for your Pinterest SEO. There is strong evidence that Pinterest prefers unique images when evaluating and ranking pins.
Besides these issues, free platforms don’t always have everything you need, especially if you fancy those cute mockups as much as I do!
No worries, you can get hundreds of beautiful premium stock images for absolutely nothing! Here are a few of my favorite sources where you can sign up to grab a free bundle of stunning images. Make sure to check the license of each image you use.
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Always make sure to edit the picture to make a brand on the picture non-recognizable. (Hello Apple notebooks and Starbucks drinks) I know. Most people don’t care. But it is actually within your responsibility.
With that being said, let’s dive in and grab those fabulous free blogging photos.
These are great for branding your website, too!
Go-to Places to find gorgeous blogging images for females
Haute Stock is a membership site with feminine stock photography. It offers an image bundle and monthly freebies for subscribers. Unfortunately, Haute Stock photos are very very popular. Especially those shared for free are less valuable for branding or outstanding pin images. But they are still very beautiful and you should check them out.
Styled Stock Society (affiliate link) has the most beautiful feminine image collections for members or sold as image bundles in a shop. Subscribers get a free image pack instantly and monthly freebies on top. The gorgeous images in this post, at the top of this post, and below this text are from one of her collections. If you are looking for feminine images to brand your website, browse the store and buy an image pack. They are really affordable and you don’t need to commit to an ongoing subscription. Use her images for your website and social media presence for branding with style and for recognition.
IvoryMix has a free resource library for subscribers with 550+ of images from different photographers. The cute camera image in this post is one of them! You should grab this bundle because these images are outstanding and the free selection is huge. If you fall in love with her pictures you can sign up for a paid membership which is very reasonably priced.
Shay Cochrane‘s images (SC Stockshop) are outstanding and pricey. They are of extraordinary quality and resolution. SC Insiders get 20 of her images in a free bundle plus a monthly freebie. Yay. The pink flower image I used in my Evernote post’s Pinterest image is one of hers as well as the popsicle image in this post.
Styled Stock is a free image collection with beautiful feminine stock photography for entrepreneurs.
She Bold Stock is a beautiful membership site that also sells some bundles. She gives away a package of 20 stock photos for free if you subscribe to the newsletter.
Kate Max is another photographer that shares free images with her subscribers. Her images are great for social media marketing or your website. If you love her style you can become a member or purchase individual images in her shop.
Creative Market gives away 6 goodies for free each week. Oftentimes, you’ll find social media templates, WordPress themes, fonts, or a bundle of stock images among them, for example, the images I used in this post. Make sure to check the weekly freebies out. Keep in mind that these freebies are not for commercial use.
A paid option for blogging photos if nothing else works
DepositPhotos. This stock photography website has pretty much everything you don’t find for free. Downside: You have to pay for them. But they are fantastic for blog posts if you can’t take great pictures yourself and don’t find exactly what you want for free. You don’t have to subscribe or pay monthly fees. You just pay for what you download. Psh… AppSumo has a great deal for DepositPhotos once or twice a year.
I turn to DepositPhotos whenever I can’t find what I need for free. And I’m never disappointed. The caramel images in this post, some shortbread images in this post, and the fridge images in this post are from DepositPhotos. Without them, I could not have published these posts. And the Scottish Shortbread post is a very popular evergreen post that is doing well on Pinterest.
There you have it! Places to find beautiful stock images to use for your blog – for absolutely free or at least affordable!
Now you have access to thousands of free blogging photos! You can totally find the images you need and want for your blog and social media.
Where do you go now to get fabulous blogging photos
If this list is a bit overwhelming, do this:
- Check out Pixabay to find free images with CC0 license for your blog posts
- Build your own library of stock images. Grab the free photo bundles, social media graphics and trainings of IvoryMix. Then, sign up at SheBoldStock if you like a dash of color. Apart from 20 free stock images, you’ll get lots of other great resources for bloggers. You now have hundreds of cool blogging images at your disposal.
- If you are looking for brand images consider purchasing an image bundle
Want a shortcut to stunning Pinterest images on top? Insiders of Mom Can Do This can download this free photo bundle of Pinterest-ready images. Just customize them and you have pins that get noticed! Subscribe now to get access to the insider-only library of free resources! It’s free and you can unsubscribe anytime.
Read my terms of service here and my privacy policy here.
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- How to create stunning Pinterest collage images for recipes and round-ups with free resources
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Don’t forget to grab your free photo bundle!
Please, pin this post for others to find fabulous photos! Thank you so much! (Or click on one of these beautiful images. :-))
Thank you!
Thank you!
