What is Stock Photography?
Stock photography is a type of photography that is licensed for specific uses. It is created with the intention of being sold and used multiple times, rather than being created for a specific client or project. Stock photography is often used by businesses, marketers, and designers to enhance the visual appeal of their products, websites, and other marketing materials. For example an advertiser might need a photo of a beach to put on a billboard. Instead of hiring a photographer to travel to a beach and shoot the sand it’s often cheaper to just license a pre-existing photograph. There are literally millions of stock photos these days and you can buy them or license them online.
Stock photography is typically sold through online agencies or marketplaces, and it is usually categorized by subject matter or theme. Some popular themes for stock photography include business, technology, nature, travel, and people. Stock photographers generally retain the copyright to their images, but they grant the purchaser a license to use the image in specific ways.
There are different types of licenses that can be purchased for stock photography, including rights-managed licenses and royalty-free licenses. Rights-managed licenses allow the purchaser to use the image for a specific purpose, such as in a particular advertisement or on a specific website, and the price of the license is based on the intended use of the image. Royalty-free licenses, on the other hand, allow the purchaser to use the image for an unlimited number of uses, and the price of the license is based on the size and resolution of the image.
How Can I Get Free Stock Photos?
- Pexels: Pexels is a popular source for high-quality, royalty-free stock photos. The site has a large selection of images covering a wide range of subjects, including nature, people, business, and technology.
- scx.hu: is also a great place to get free stock photos. Yes the URL is weird but it’s a good website!
- Unsplash: Unsplash is another well-known source for free stock photos. The site features a large collection of high-resolution images that are free to use for any purpose, including commercial projects.
- Freepik: Freepik is a site that offers a mix of free and paid stock photos and graphics. The site has a large selection of images and graphics covering a wide range of subjects, including business, nature, and people.
- StockSnap: StockSnap is a site that offers a large collection of high-resolution, royalty-free stock photos. The site features a wide range of images covering a variety of subjects, including nature, business, and people.
- Gratisography: Gratisography is a site that offers a unique collection of free stock photos that are free to use for any purpose, including commercial projects. The site features a variety of images covering a wide range of subjects, including animals, cityscapes, and people.
- Canva: Canva is a design platform that offers a selection of free stock photos and graphics. The site has a large collection of images covering a wide range of subjects, including business, technology, and people.
- Kaboompics: Kaboompics is a site that offers a large collection of high-resolution, royalty-free stock photos. The site features a wide range of images covering a variety of subjects, including nature, business, and people.
- Life of Pix: Life of Pix is a site that offers a large collection of high-resolution, royalty-free stock photos. The site features a wide range of images covering a variety of subjects, including nature, business, and people.
- NegativeSpace: NegativeSpace is a site that offers a collection of free, high-resolution stock photos. The site has a large selection of images covering a variety of subjects, including nature, business, and people.
Another useful resource is to use Creative Commons photographs from Flickr. Just be sure to honor the license and respect the attribution of the image! A final thing to do is check out PhotoShelter’s archive.