A great blog is made of two things primarily – insightful content and of course, great images. Imagine having to read words after words without a break; wouldn’t it remind you that history book you dreaded all through school? It would to me!
For me, having great images is as important as creating content that will add value to my audience. That’s why when I started off my own blog, I quickly created a folder to save all the pictures I came across as relevant and made a ‘picture bucket’. Here’s where I found some amazing FREE stock images from and you could too.
1. Unsplash
Unsplash has always been my favourite. Even when I am writing for someone else’s blog, the first site I head to for images is this. They have just about everything! Whether I am looking for work space pictures, animal pictures or simply something goofy, their community of photographers has never let me down. I have subscribed to their newsletter as well, because they pick out the best of their lot and send it across straight to your inbox – so you don’t get overwhelmed by the wide choice you have. What’s more? You can even submit one of your own pictures on the platform!
2. Gratisography
Talking about something funky, another great place to find really creative images is Gratisography. They too have a wide range of categories for the images, but my favourite one is – whimsical. Trust me, the images here are simply perfect to add that little spunk to your blog and who doesn’t deserve to have a little fun with content?
3. Pixabay
If the typical stock images are what you’re looking for, but you don’t really want to pay for them, here’s an alternative site that I head to all the time – Pixabay. This website needs to get bookmarked right away because it offers free images and videos to you. There are also illustrations and vector graphics available on the site, if you are into a little bit of designing.
4. StockSnap.io
Another site to find beautiful stock images, is StockSnap.io. There are hundreds of high resolution images added to the website, with no copyright restrictions. Which only means, you can go ahead and use the most beautiful of images on your blog in any way you prefer. Be it as blog graphics, in presentations or more!
5. Death to Stock Photos
One of the very first recommendations made by a dear friend when I started out, was Death to Stock Photos. You won’t believe how gorgeous their images are. Minimalistic, modern, simple and yet so chic that they fit into just about any theme. They have a premium subscription though that gives you access to more of their content. So if you’re looking for exclusive images, don’t just settle for their free stock images, get the plan!
6. FoodiesFeed
This one is for all the foodies out there. There are so many times we want to capture a drink or the food that we’re having at a cafe, but are often not able to do justice to it. The dish looks delicious, while our pictures end up making them look a bit sad. That’s when I came across the FoodiesFeed – name one food item that you can’t find an image for on this site and I swear I’ll take the other recommendation you make.
7. Pikwizard
Another new site that I just came across while searching for blog images, is Pikwizard. You can find just about anything here – food, lifestyle, work, you name it! The pictures are all high quality and look absolutely real. But the great part about them is that you can edit these images via Design Wizard. So no one’s going to turn around and ask if you ‘used a free stock again’.
Where else do you guys head to whenever you need images for your blog or social channels? Do link me to the sites, because I love replenishing my picture bucket! 🙂
