9 Free Stock Photography and Image Resources for Your Website

Images are more than just decorative elements — they capture attention, convey messages, and enhance your website’s user experience (UX). Every online platform needs them, from blogs to business sites. High-quality visuals engage your audience and make your content, and your website stand out. 

However, using licensed or copyrighted images without proper permission can lead to legal penalties and fines. For this reason, using free stock photos offers an innovative, cost-effective way to elevate your website while staying on the right side of the law. 

In this article, you’ll learn about the best free stock photo sites to elevate your website, intelligent strategies for finding the perfect images, and essential licensing tips to protect you legally. This way, you can confidently enhance your content without the risk of penalties. 

Free stock photo websites 

Below are popular free stock photo sites that offer a wide variety of high-quality images. Each site has unique features that cater to different creative needs, so let’s dive into what makes them stand out. 

1. Unsplash 

  • Description. Unsplash is one of the largest and most trusted platforms for free stock photos. Its vast collection of high-resolution images covers everything from nature and lifestyle to business and tech. 
  • Licensing Information. All images are accessible under the Unsplash License, which grants you the freedom to use photos for personal and commercial purposes without attribution. 
  • Unique Features. Unsplash offers curated collections of images that highlight the best works of top photographers. This makes it easy to find high-quality content aligned with specific themes. 
  • Pros and Cons. Unsplash uses a wide variety of images, royalty-free and excellent for personal and commercial use. However, due to its popularity, some new photos tend to be overused, which may reduce originality. 

2. Pexels 

  • Description. Pexels offers a vast collection of high-quality, free stock photos and videos. From business and tech to nature and lifestyle, it covers everything you need for your content, whether it’s a blog post, social media campaign, or marketing material. 
  • Licensing Information. All content is free for personal and commercial use, with no attribution required. This gives you complete creative freedom to use images and videos across your website, ads, and more without worrying about legal issues. 
  • Unique features. The site’s advanced search bar lets you narrow images by color, orientation, or mood. This makes finding the exact visual that fits your brand’s aesthetic in no time is easy. 
  • Pros and cons. Pexels deliver high-quality images and videos with easy licensing. The search filters make it quick to find the right content. However, many popular photos are widely used, so your visuals may need more uniqueness. While it covers a broad range, it falls short in niche industries, so you might not find everything you need. 

3. Pixabay 

  • Description. Pixabay offers over 1.7 million free photos, illustrations, vectors, and videos. Its collection covers business, nature, lifestyle, and more. It’s ideal for blog posts, social media, or marketing campaigns since it provides high-quality visuals for nearly every need.
  • Licensing Information. All Pixabay contents are free for personal and commercial use under the Pixabay License, and no attribution is required. This makes it an easy, hassle-free option for anyone, whether you’re working on a personal project or a business campaign. 
  • Unique Features. With Pixabay, you can access vectors, illustrations, and audio files all in one place. This makes it a great resource if you’re looking to create multimedia content, like videos, ads, or website graphics. 
  • Pros and Cons. Pixabay offers a large collection of free, high-quality content for businesses and creators. Importantly, it doesn’t require attribution. However, its popular images are often overused, reducing uniqueness. Also, while it meets most needs, it lacks content for specific industries or advanced technical fields. 

4. Burst (by Shopify) 

  • Description. Burst, developed by Shopify, focuses on providing free stock photos tailored specifically to entrepreneurs and e-commerce businesses. You’ll find images for product shots, retail marketing, and more. 
  • Licensing Information. Burst offers images under two licenses: most images are free for commercial use with no attribution required, while others may require attribution. 
  • Unique Features. Burst has curated collections for entrepreneurs and retail businesses, including images for marketing campaigns and product photos. 
  • Pros and Cons. No attribution is needed for most images that cover a range of industries and niches. It’s not just about images; a number of Burst photos come with tips and business ideas. This allows you to spark ideas that may contribute to business growth. However, it focuses mainly on business-related images, so there is a limited variety of personal or creative projects. 

Niche sites 

While the big players in free stock photos are excellent, sometimes you need specialized images for a particular industry or style. Here are a few niche stock photo sites that offer unique and hard-to-find content: 

1. FoodiesFeed 

Description. FoodiesFeed is a premium resource for high-resolution food photography. Whether you’re a food blogger, restaurant owner, or culinary brand manager, it offers a wide variety of professional, food-centric imagery. 

From close-ups of vibrant ingredients to beautifully plated dishes, these images are fitting for creating mouth-watering content. The collection is diverse, covering everything from street food to fine dining, ensuring you find visuals that align with your brand’s aesthetic. 

Licensing Information. Free for both personal and commercial use, with no attribution required. 

Unique Features. FoodiesFeed’s exclusive focus on food photography makes it stand out from general stock platforms. It delivers authentic, high-quality food images that are AI-generated, making it a go-to resource for food-related projects. 

Pros and Cons. FoodiesFeed offers free, high-quality food images without requiring attribution. It’s ideal for culinary content creators.  However, its niche focus limits its use for non-food visuals. If you need images from other sectors, you’ll have to look at broader stock platforms. 

2. New Old Stock 

Description. New Old Stock offers a collection of vintage photos and public domain images sourced from historical archives. It’s the place to be for rare, historical, and retro visuals for your creative projects. Whether you’re working on vintage branding, a historical article, or artistic projects, these images provide an authentic touch that’s difficult to find elsewhere. 

Licensing Information. Public domain—completely free to use, with no restrictions. 

Unique Features. New Old Stock offers a treasure trove of rare historical images, sourced from public archives that can add a unique, nostalgic element to your content. 

Pros and Cons. New Old Stock gives you access to authentic vintage images that are perfect for retro or historical-themed projects, and because they’re in the public domain, they’re completely free to use. However, the narrow, vintage focus means it’s not suitable if you’re looking for modern or general stock images. 

3. Kaboompics 

Description. Kaboompics is a modern stock photo site that specializes in lifestyle, fashion, and interior design imagery. If you’re running a fashion blog, lifestyle brand, or e-commerce store, it offers a collection of stylish, trendy photos that perfectly align with current visual trends. The site also offers excellent images for blogs, social media campaigns, and advertising materials. 

Licensing Information. Free for commercial and personal use, but redistribution is not allowed. 

Unique Features. Kaboompics lets you search for images based on dominant color, making it easier to find visuals that fit your brand’s color scheme and aesthetic. 

Pros and Cons. Kaboompics provides high-quality, trendy images ideal for fashion, lifestyle, and interior design brands. Its color search tool is optimal for brand consistency. However, its focus on fashion and lifestyle limits its range for other industries, and the redistribution restriction can be an issue if you need to share or repurpose images for broader use. 

4. Styled Stock

Description: Styled Stock is a premium stock photography website focusing on feminine, lifestyle, and business-related imagery. If you’re a blogger, entrepreneur, or small business owner in the beauty, wellness, or lifestyle industries, Styled Stock offers a curated selection of stylish and modern photos that perfectly capture the essence of these niches.

Licensing Information: Free for personal use, but commercial use requires a subscription or purchase.

Unique Features: The site specializes in feminine imagery with a strong focus on branding, offering photos with a clean, polished aesthetic. This makes it perfect for businesses looking for images that align with a high-end or personal brand.

Pros and Cons: Styled Stock is ideal for businesses and creators in lifestyle or feminine-focused industries who want images that reflect their brand’s aesthetic. However, it’s not as versatile for other industries, and the free images are limited, with more options available only through a paid subscription.

5. Picography

Description: Picography is a beautiful collection of high-resolution photos contributed by a community of photographers. It’s particularly suited for those seeking modern, creative visuals with an artistic touch. Whether you’re designing a website for a creative business or a personal blog.

Licensing Information: Free for personal and commercial use, with no attribution required.

Unique Features: Picography is known for its strikingly artistic and creative photography, often featuring unique perspectives and compositions that set it apart from more traditional stock sites. The high-resolution images make it ideal for web use and printing.

Pros and Cons: Picography offers free, high-quality, and distinctive imagery with no attribution requirements. The artistic and sometimes abstract nature of the photos makes it less suitable for corporate or conventional uses, but it’s perfect for creative projects.

5 Tips for finding the right images 

Finding a perfect stock photo doesn’t have to be time-wasting. These tips will help you cut through the noise and get the visuals that match your brand, fast: 

1. Use specific keywords 

Go straight to the point with keywords that match exactly what you’re looking for. If you run a mental health brand, search for words like healthy lifestyle, self-care, or work-life balance. The more specific you are, the faster you’ll find images that fit your brand’s style and message. 

2. Apply filters 

Most stock photo sites allow you to filter images by color, orientation, and subject. If you have a specific theme or brand color palette, filter accordingly. This helps you quickly find images that match your design goals, ensuring consistency across your visuals. 

3. Explore curated collections 

Curated collections are a great way to find top-notch images that fit a specific trend, theme, or season. Websites like Pexels and Unsplash offer these pre-picked selections. It saves you the hassle of searching through countless photos and lets you jump right into the best content. They’re already filtered to match what you’re looking for. 

4. Search by mood or tone 

Every piece of content should have a vibe. Whether you’re going for inspiration, fun, or professionalism, searching by mood ensures that your images hit the right tone. This makes your content feel more authentic and impactful and connects better with your audience. 

5. Check image licensing 

Image licensing specifies how and where to use a photo. It indicates if an image is free for personal use, needs credit, or is for commercial use. Always check the license before using an image. This step prevents legal problems and ensures correct usage. 

Best practices for using stock photos 

Once you’ve found high-quality stock photos, it’s time to integrate them into your website. Here are best practices to make sure you’re using stock photos effectively. 

  • Align with your brand’s visual identity. The images you choose should complement your brand’s core message. If your brand is minimalist, go for clean, simple images. If you’re a more vibrant or youthful brand, select bold and dynamic images. 
  • Use images with negative space. Negative space is essential for adding text, overlays, or logos without cluttering the image. This is particularly important for headers, call-to-action buttons, or hero images. 
  • Optimize image size for speed. Large images can drastically affect your website’s loading time, which can harm your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rankings. Image compression tools like TinyJPG or JPEG-Optimizer can be used to reduce file size without sacrificing image quality. 
  • Maintain consistency across your visuals. Apply a consistent editing style across all your images. Whether it’s through color grading, filters, or overall tone, keeping a unified visual style helps reinforce your brand identity. If you’re using photos from multiple sources, consider editing them to match in terms of brightness, contrast, and saturation. This ensures your website feels cohesive and professionally curated. 
  • Incorporate images that match your content’s theme. The visuals on your site should support the narrative of your content. For example, if you’re writing a post about mindfulness, choose images that convey peace and relaxation. Relevant imagery not only strengthens your message but also helps improve your website’s emotional connection with visitors. 
  • Use images in the right context. Always ensure your images align with the text or product you’re presenting. For example, avoid using generic stock images for sensitive topics or products that require authentic representation. Images that feel out of place can confuse or alienate your audience. 
  • Check licensing. Always verify the license of each image to ensure you’re legally covered for both personal and commercial use. Be mindful of whether the image requires attribution or if it’s free for any purpose. 
  • Use alt text. For SEO and accessibility purposes, always add alt text to your images. This helps search engines index your images and makes your site accessible to users with visual impairments. 

Optimize your website with the right images. 

Choosing the right stock images is crucial for improving your website’s user experience, SEO, and overall performance. Focus on specific keywords for targeted image searches and use filters to narrow results by color, orientation, or mood. Always verify image licensing to ensure legal compliance, especially for commercial use. 

Domain.com‘s website builder makes it easy to choose themed images that align with your brand’s visual identity, resulting in a website that is both professional and optimized for growth. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Are there any truly free stock photo sites? 

Yes, several platforms offer high-quality images for free, including Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay. These sites provide free stock images for both personal and commercial use with no hidden fees. 

Is Unsplash still free? 

Yes, Unsplash is still free to use for personal and commercial purposes. Always check the updated licensing terms to stay compliant. 

How can I get copyright-free images? 

Use sites offering Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licensed content, like Unsplash, Pexels, or Pixabay, which grant you full rights to use the images without attribution. 

Is Pixabay completely free? 

Yes, Pixabay offers over 1.7 million images and videos that are completely free to use for personal and commercial projects. No attribution is required, but it’s always a good practice to credit the photographer when possible. 


Vladimir Rosaupan
Vladimir Rosaupan

Vlad loves writing content that is both insightful and engaging. He crafts each piece with a keen eye and an open mind, bringing depth, clarity, and fun to complex topics.

Vladimir Rosaupan
Vladimir Rosaupan

Vlad loves writing content that is both insightful and engaging. He crafts each piece with a keen eye and an open mind, bringing depth, clarity, and fun to complex topics.