Multimedia files, such as photos or videos, very often determine the attractiveness of a message. No wonder we always try to find the best ones.
Where can you find attractive photos for private projects? Or how to handle photos for a campaign on a very limited budget? Talented photographers from around the world come to the rescue by sharing their photos on stock services. Thanks to sites like Pexels or Pixabay, you get access to thousands of wonderful free photos that you can use in your projects, often without crediting the source.
License
How does the CC0 license work?
How does it look from the legal side? Photos or other files available under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license can be downloaded, used in projects, and distributed (even for commercial purposes) without asking for permission. If a given image is available under the CC0 license, it means that the author has waived all rights to their work arising from copyright law.
Services may also make their resources available under other Creative Commons licenses that impose various conditions on the user. Each time, you should check whether a given portal provides photos with restrictions marked or not. Sometimes it is required to provide information about the author and the source of the image (this is always good practice!), while in other cases, a given photo can only be used for non-commercial purposes without the possibility of any modification.
What should you watch out for?
However, it should be remembered that many of the listed websites contain works by amateur photographers, so there is a concern that people photographed in the images did not sign documents waiving rights to their likeness. In case of doubt, it is always best to contact the website where you found the photo you are interested in.
Below we have compiled a list of several services that offer free photos. Feel free to use their resources in your projects!
UNSPLASH
UNSPLASH has one of the largest collections of free high-resolution photos. Beautiful photos donated by professional photographers do not lag in quality, so when searching for works, we can be sure of the high resolution of the image. An advantage of the service is also that photos are sorted into collections by topic. After creating an account, you can also create your own collections, and the available mobile app makes it easier to use the site in any conditions. The images are available under the CC0 license.
PIXABAY
How to choose the ideal service with free photos?
PIXABAY offers a collection of not only high-resolution free photos; the site also has illustrations and vector files. All photos are made available under the Creative Commons CC0 license.
PEXELS
PEXELS allows you to download free high-quality photos under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. The photos on the site are well tagged, you can search in Polish, and the service itself suggests interesting images. On pexels.com you can also find free video files!
MORGUEFILE
The idea behind MORGUEFILE was a free exchange of images for creative professionals to use in their work. Created in 1996, the service therefore assumed an exchange of works by its users, and the MORGUEFILE community still actively creates an ever-growing collection of files to use.
GRATISOGRAPHY
GRATISOGRAPHY itself prides itself on its amazing collection. According to its assurances, you will find unconventional and the most creative photos here - ones that are not available anywhere else! Information about the license for files from the service can be found here.
