I love stumbling across a website that is beautifully designed. When that designe continues into the blog posts, I get goosebumps! Images serve several purposes in blog posts, but they won’t do you any good if the ones you choose are of less than stellar quality. Professional photos can be quite expensive, though, and the well-known stock photography sites have pricey membership fees. Don’t despair. You may be surprised to learn there are places you can find quality stock images for free. Keep reading to discover some of the best.

Gratisography

This one is a bit of a different spin on stock photo sites. It's curated by a photographer who shares his own photos. With new pictures added every week, you’re sure to find the perfect one for your blog posts. Photographer, Ryan McGuire, generously offers his quality images free with no copyright restrictions.

http://www.gratisography.com/​

Pixabay

Pixabay is a stock photo that offers a little something more. Not only can you get photos of all kinds, there are also offerings of vectors, illustrations and videos. You can use it all at no cost. Better yet, the search capabilities allow you to filter by type, color, category, size and more. For those of you that use WordSwag, Pixabay is the stock photo site that is built into the app search feature.

https://pixabay.com/

Picjumbo

Another talented photographer sharing his photos. Viktor Hanasek set up this site to share his photos back in 2013. You can search his vast library of free images, opt for premium membership or even purchase the All in One Pack of every image from the site. An email subscription will get a selection of new photos sent to your inbox weekly.

https://picjumbo.com/​

Lifeopix

Lifeofpix sets itself apart from other free stock image sites. Not only can you choose amazing photos from a slew of skilled artists, you can also set up an account that lets you curate a portfolio of images and follow your favorite photographers.

http://www.lifeofpix.com/​

Kaboompics

Whenever I come across a website that has a fun name, it sticks in my mind. And Kaboompics definitely fits the bill. This free photo site with the quirky name grants you access to tons of photos from a wide selection of topics. Easy to search by word or category, you can browse images for all your blogging needs.

http://kaboompics.com​

Unsplash

If you're an amateur photographer as I like to think I am, Unsplash is a photo lover’s dream. This site offers over 50,000 free images. You can subscribe to get an inspirational collection in your email each month or simply view by collection or search for a specific term. Unsplash is always my first stop when I'm searching for blog images and usually my last stop too!

https://unsplash.com/

This list of free stock image sites offer all types of photography. If you’re looking for photos from a specific niche, there are lots of places that cater to things like travel or food photography. A quick search engine query should find what you need. Do take time to read all license information, though. Some sites require attribution for use of their products or do not allow commercial use. Enjoy creating fantastic imagery with these fantastic resources.