Dear Amigos,
Content creators, designers, collage artists—everyone has spent too much time looking for a specific kind of picture that seems to exist only in our heads. Professional photography is a true differentiator when it comes to visual products, and while a personalized service can make the difference, it isn’t accessible for every project you encounter. So, what can we do? Do we stick to vectors all the time? Will I become a photographer before my next deadline? Everything is possible, but the best option for these kind of cases is to use free photo libraries. Here are some of our favorites:
1. BarnImages
A stunningly design website with a selection of curated photography founded by Igor Trepeshchenok and Roman Drits. Licensed under the Free Image License, the copyright remains with the original creator but you can use the pictures for both personal and commercial purposes. Discover it here.
Taking pride on the quirkyness and creativity of their collection, Gratisography was created in 2011 by photographer Ryan McGuire and offers a variety of both photographic and vectorial resources under the Free Photo License. Meet them here.
3. Lummi
If you’re exclusively looking for AI generated content, Lummi has a wide collection of over 20k free images that are carefully curated to avoid weird fingers. With their powerful platform you can apply filters to make your search easier and edit the pictures before downloading them. Take a look here. And if you’re still scared of AI, maybe our article can bring some comfort.
4. SnappyGoat
This library is a true throwback to the early 2000’s websites filled with simple yet overstimulating graphics, but their pounding +13 million collection of free public domain pictures is hard to beat. Licensed under the CC0 License, you can check out their library here.
5. Morguefile
Outstanding for its useful tagging system, Morguefile offers free, high-resolution stock photos for creative professionals and enthusiasts. It’s a valuable resource for illustrators, designers, and educators seeking reference images for public or commercial use. You can access their library here.
A digital initiative to connect the Smithsonians collections to people in new ways, allowing users to explore and reuse millions of digital items. All of the images and data they released into the public domain fall under the Creative Commons Zero license (CCO). Inmerse yourself into the collection here.
This library has a stunning photo collection of buildings and architecture that caught my eye, but they also have numerous categories of images all licensed under the CCO license. Browse their catalogue here.
9. Unsplash
Unsplash is one of the most popular image banks in the internet. They came to life with the same struggle that most creatives share: a difficulty to access high-quality images for their projects. Their user-friendly platform has allowed them to build a community of around 375k collaborators and a massive number of 6 million images to use. Join them here.
10. Pexels
Pexels, another of the big ones when it comes to photo libraries, offers a monumental library with photographers all over the world. Some of their perks include seamless integration with design tools, like Canva or WordPress, contests and challenges for photographers that are part of their community and a great user experience that allows customers to create and curate their own moodboards. Start using Pexels here.
Yours truly,
Since you are really into creativity, you might be interested in these other articles and resources:
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