virtualDavis

Free High-Resolution Photos

I create a lot of images. I photograph. I doodle. I collage.

But I also create a lot of blog posts for a lot of blogs, and sometimes I don’t have the time, access, resources, or skills to create the right image(s) for a post. Fortunately there are more and more ace sources for free high-resolution photos online these days. In fact, there are so many I’ve begun to lose track. So I’m going to follow the lead of Dustin Senos who’s compiling a list of his favorite sites for downloading free high-resolution photos called, “Stock photos that don’t suck“.

I’ll include some of his go-to sources below, but first I want to lead off with one of my favorites (and second on Dustin’s list), a simple but well stocked stock photo site called Unsplash. This isn’t the best site for finding ultra specific free high-resolution photos of a Canada Goose or a fresh-roasted poblano chile. But if you’re looking for evocative nature, travel, environment, residential, monumental stock photos that will arrest readers/viewers, you’ll like what you find at Unsplash. They offer the same Creative Commons licensing terms that most of these sites use, so I’ll share that to help you see what a motherload these sites can be.

All photos published on Unsplash are licensed under Creative Commons Zero which means you can can copy, modify, distribute and use the photos, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. (Unsplash)

Amazing! And super helpful for bloggers, designers and artists who have an insatiable appetite for free high-resolution photos.

Another personal favorite that serves quite well for the ultra specific scenarios I describe above is Pixabay. It offers a user-friendly search engine, lots of options, and simple, easy-to-use interface.

Here is Dustin Senos‘s list, “Stock photos that don’t suck“. (Nota bene: This is current as of Nov. 6, 2014, but I’ve edited slightly.)

• Little Visuals 
  • http://littlevisuals.co/
• Death to the Stock Photo
  • http://join.deathtothestockphoto.com/
• New Old Stock
  • http://nos.twnsnd.co/
• Picjumbo 
  • http://picjumbo.com/
• The Pattern Library
  • http://thepatternlibrary.com/
• Gratisography
  • http://www.gratisography.com/
• Getrefe
  • http://getrefe.tumblr.com/
• Jay Mantri 
  • http://jaymantri.com/
• Public Domain Archive
  • http://publicdomainarchive.com/
• Magdeleine
  • http://magdeleine.co/
• Foodiesfeed
  • http://foodiesfeed.com
• Picography
  • http://picography.co/
• Raumrot
  • http://www.raumrot.com/
• ISO Republic 
  • http://isorepublic.com/
• Superfamous (requires attribution) 
  • http://superfamous.com/
• IM Free (requires attribution)
  • http://imcreator.com/free

More Free High-Resolution Photos

It’s been 2+ years since I published this post and it’s still the go-to resource for me — and a daily flood of bloggers and other creatives — hunting for free high-resolution photos. So I’m updating the page with another excellent post/list to help you find the perfect images for your project:

• Free Stock Photos from Canva Design School
  • https://designschool.canva.com/blog/free-stock-photos/