Photography is such an integral part of design and is so key to helping any brand come to life. Unfortunately, we’ve grown used to seeing super cheesy stock images of people in suits “casually” smiling while they go about their day (uhhhhhh hello, no one smiles literally all day long). Not only are these types of photos super cliche and gross, they can also end up costing a lot of money!
Thankfully for us, there’s seems to be more and more websites with beautiful stock photography popping up all the time. Best of all, many of them are free! Now don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely a time and place for purchasing stock photos and even hiring a photographer for a brand photoshoot. But if you’re working on a budget or simply needing photos just for the sake of a mockup, free stock photos are the way to go.
In this post, I’ve curated a list of a few of my favorite stock photography websites.
Most or all of these photographs are free from copyright restrictions or licenses which means you’re free to use them even for commercial work, without having to asking permission.
However, sometimes photos require attribution or have rules that are different for personal vs commercial use. I’ve done my best to research which sites require what (and these should all be completely free) but I would still advise you to do your own research as it’s always best to be extra careful, and website’s rules can change over time.
Now let’s get into it!
I hope this was a helpful and informative list! Good luck with all of your photography needs!
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