Calling all Content Marketers! Are you bored of using the same old stock images? Looking to spice up your content without spending a penny?
If that’s the case, listen up, because this post is for you.
Stocked and Loaded
Let’s face it – the majority of standard stock photography isn’t great. At its best, it’s generic and bland, and at its worst, well, things just get plain weird. I’m tired of stale boardroom pictures filled with fake smiles and phony actors; and baffled by the deluge of random images which make absolutely no sense.
Disillusioned by the quality (and often extortionate price) of images on offer, I decided to search elsewhere, to see if there was such a thing as high-quality, usable, royalty-free stock images.
The results blew me away.
There are so many sites out there with such amazing images freely available, that I felt the need to put together the following mega-list, compiling all my research into one easy-to-browse blog post.
But why stop at images? I’ve also gathered a number of free resources to help spruce up your content even further, including free stock video, free data visualisation tools and free web design templates.
A Quick Note on Legality
Licensing is a huge issue when it comes to the use of images. Before you use any images or content from the following sources, be sure to check whether you need to give credit to the original creator, or whether you’re allowed to alter the images in any way.
The brilliant Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licence allows you to both use and edit images for private or commercial purposes, completely free of charge. However, it’s still worth checking with the source of the photos if you’re unsure of where you stand. Do this now, and avoid a nasty fine turning up on your proverbial doorstep at a later date.
So, with that settled, let’s get cracking.
Free Stock Image List
Barn Images
A great resource for both free and premium non-stock nature photography.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Crow The Stone
Candid photos from across the world. Subscribe to their newsletter and receive new photos in your inbox each week.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Death To Stock
Another subscription-based service, you can either sign up to receive a free batch of photos each month, or go premium and have access to everything.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Designer Pics
High-resolution stock photos, free for both commercial and personal use.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Free Nature Stock
Looking for stunning snaps of the outdoors? Look no further than Free Nature Stock. Updated daily.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Get Refe
Find royalty-free, high-quality photos for free, or purchase pre-curated packs for all your visual needs. You can even use the site to start selling your own snaps!
Restrictions: Royalty-Free Licence
Gratisography
Photographer Ryan McGuire has set up this brilliant collection of weird and wonderful images that he offers completely free. Updated weekly!
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Iso Republic
Fantastic free resource filled with creative images. Sign up to get the latest pictures delivered directly to your inbox.
Restrictions: Bespoke Licence
Jay Mantri
Jay manages to perfectly capture the magic of his surroundings in these gorgeous shots. As he says on his site: “Free pics. Do anything. Make magic.”
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Jé Shoots
Free and premium photos sent directly to your inbox as and when they’re uploaded.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Kaboom Pics
With 1,153 photos and 439,444 downloads at the time of writing, Kaboom Pics is an amazing resource for free photos.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Life of Pix
A stunning collection of high-resolution photos that have all been donated to the public domain.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Little Visuals
A saddening entry on the list, as Nic, the creator of Little Visuals, tragically passed away in 2013. His family, however, have been kind enough to maintain the site and its beautiful collection of nature photography.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Lock & Stock Photos
AJ Montpetit does his bit to give back to the online community by posting freely downloadable photos on a daily basis.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Move East
Follow one Portuguese man’s journey through life by downloading all of his photos for free.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
My Stock Photos
Enjoy a collection of stunning photos for free, because, as the site says, “not everything in life has a price.”
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
New Old Stock
If you’re looking for vintage photography, this is the ideal resource for you. All photos are taken from public archives and free of any known restrictions.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Pexels
Download and submit awesome free stock photography!
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Picjumbo
A brilliant resource that offers hundreds of free photos. You can even pay a small fee to download all of their photos in one go!
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Picography
Awesome free photos offered by Irish web design studio Hidden Depths.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Realistic Shots
With 7 realistic new photos added every week, there’s plenty to see at Realistic Shots.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Shutteroo
Fantastic free images from Australian web developer Klaye Morrison. Sign up to their newsletter for special, exclusive photos.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Skitterphoto
The Skitterphoto team have been posting original photos every day since May 2014, and because of that, they’ve built up an amazing collection of authentic images.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Skuawk
Artistically loud images that stand out from the crowd.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Snapwire
Can’t find the images you’re looking for? As well as housing a decent library of free photos, Snapwire lets you submit a request for a specific photo which you can then buy.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
SplitShire
A cool selection of copyright photos from all over the world.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Startup Stock Photos
If you’re looking for office-based images that aren’t completely banal, check out this site.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Stocka
As the site’s by-line says: “stocka.co wants to be your source for free stock photos.”
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Stocksnap
With its beautiful collection of free, high-resolution photos, Stocksnap even lets you see which photos are trending, giving you an insight into the most popular images.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Superfamous
If you’re looking for something a little different, Superfamous is ideal for abstract landscapes and patterns.
Restrictions: CCA3 (Personal Use With Credit)
Tookapic
Tookapic has an insane collection of over 13,700 free and premium stock photos!
Restrictions: Bespoke Licences
Travel Coffee Book
Submit and share beautiful travel photography from all over the globe.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Unsplash
Unsplash publish jaw-dropping images of the outdoors, completely free to download.
Restrictions: CC0 (No Restrictions)
Stock Image Search Engines
Still can’t find the images you were looking for? Try these handy stock image search engines:
- Compfight: http://compfight.com/
- The Stocks: http://thestocks.im/
- Pixabay: http://pixabay.com
- Findaphoto: http://finda.photo/
- CC Search: http://ift.tt/wf3cdS
- Freerange: http://ift.tt/20ounzr
- Librestock: http://librestock.com/
Gif Search Engines
Static images are so last summer. Gifs are the new black.
Giphy
Giphy has a huge library of readily accessible gifs, paired with a powerful set of advanced sharing options:
GIF Mood Board
Find a gif for every occasion with this handy mood search engine from Buffer:
Still can’t find a suitable reaction in gif form? Make your own instead:
Gif YouTube
Turn any video into an awesome gif with this handy tool:
Data Visualisation
Of course, you don’t just have to rely on awesome photographs to spruce up your content. If you’re working with some interesting data, why not turn these into a slick visualisation by using one of these handy free tools?
Word Clouds:
- Tagxedo: http://www.tagxedo.com/
Diagrams:
- Creately: http://creately.com/
Maps
- Leaflet JS: http://leafletjs.com/
- Google Fusion Tables: http://ift.tt/214y1Pl
Timelines
- Knightlab: http://ift.tt/1eIvMrg
- Read Write Think: http://ift.tt/1X0Qz3q;
Infographics
Ah, infographics, the format everyone loves to hate! Knock them all you want, but these colourful visualisations are still a powerful and effective way to showcase data. The below sites allow you to create fast and free infographics in all shapes and sizes:
- Easelly: http://www.easel.ly/
- Piktochart: http://piktochart.com/
- Infogram: https://infogr.am/
- Good Labs: http://labs.good.is/
- Venngage: https://venngage.com/
Free Video Footage
Take your visual game to the next level with awesome free video footage from one of the following sites:
- Videvo: http://www.videvo.net/
- Dissolve: http://ift.tt/1I0uJAS
- Motion Elements: http://ift.tt/NML3PJ
- Free HD Stock Footage on Vimeo: http://ift.tt/1juk3jr
- Free HD Footage: http://ift.tt/1aFjMZI
Web Design Resources
Last but in no way least, the following two sites offer a wealth of free web design resources, including templates, patterns and audio:
- IM Free: http://ift.tt/1goZPIY
- All The Free Stock: http://ift.tt/Yy2gSp
Crunch Time
Phew, what a list. I know what you’re thinking now though: “Harry, how am I meant to remember all these sites when it comes to crunch time?”
Don’t panic, dear reader, I’ve got you covered. You can download your own copy of all the links listed above in a handy Google spreadsheet, right here. Alternatively, bookmark this page and visit any time you need to find new resources.
Have I missed something off the list? Let me know in the comments below, or tweet me your favourite visual resources @hr_gardiner.
The post 61 Places to Find FREE Visual Content Marketing Resources appeared first on Koozai.com
from Donald Jarrett digital marketing news http://ift.tt/1X0QzjM via transformational marketing
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