Free Stock Images: Tips for Singapore Digital Marketers

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Among the essential parts of the design, is photography. In the past years, we have seen stock images composed of people in suits. These photos are expensive even though most of them are tacky. However, in the recent few years, there has been an increase in the number of websites offering amazing free stock photography. The good thing here is that these sites offer free stock images. In case you’re wondering which websites offer these services, you need to worry less. Below is a list of 27 excellent sites to find free stock images.

Points to Note

These images are free of copyright regulations. Therefore, you can copy, make changes and even distribute them at no charge. It also means that you can use them for commercial functions without no permission. However, some images need you to ask for permission. We have identified which license these photos fall under. We, however, advise that you engage in detailed research for more information.

  1. StockSnap.io

At StockSnap.io, they offer thousands of high-resolution stock images. They have simple-to-use search tools which makes it easy and simple to navigate through their pages. They also keep a record of downloads so you can easily figure out the most popular photos. They add hundreds of images on a daily basis, with all additions done via the common public domain. It means no attribution is necessary.

  1. Pexels

In the second position is Pexels. The site offers free but high-quality photos that are highlighted by virtually all website image guides posted online. The pictures get licensed under creative common zero licensing. Using their discover pages, you can easily tag, search and discover stock images. The library has more than half a million pictures. 

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All of them are free for commercial use, and no attribution is required. You can access the library on the platform’s mobile app, and this makes it easy for website developers in Singapore to select images for the next project and download them while on the go.

  1. Unsplash

Another great website with free high-resolution stock images is Unsplash. The website is among the best sources for these pictures, and all their imagery is completely free.

Unsplash started with only ten free photos per week, but today the platform is estimated to have more than 800,000 images. All of them are top quality and free for both non-commercial and commercial use. They are uploaded by professional photographers from all across the globe, and they all follow the same do-what-you-want license.

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Unlike other platforms, you do not have to give credit for photos that you grab and use on your website, but you can write something to show that you grabbed the picture from Unsplash if you want.

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  1. Burst

For all entrepreneurs, the burst will work as the best option. You can find their photos licensed under the Shopify photo license or the CC0. They offer the best stock photos you can imagine with most of them taken in-house, themed about different business ideas.

  1. Reshot

For handpicked stock photos, Reshot stands as the only best option you can find. Their images are good for freelancers, makers and startups. You can use them for commercial and editorial purposes.

  1. Pixabay

Pixabay does release its images licensed by Creative Common Zero, or the CC0. They have a large variety of stock photos, art illustrations and vectors all at free charge.

Pixabay provides images shared by other users who are part of its community. At the time of writing, there are more than 1.6 million videos and photos. All of them are royalty-free for commercial purposes. This means that you do not have to credit the photographer or the platform.

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The website has incorporated superior search filters that you can use to find images with specific qualities.

    • Colour
    • Size
    • Orientation

All you need to do is determine the parameters of the photos you are looking for and input that information in each filter section. You can also use Pixabay mobile application to find images while on the go or when it is not convenient to use your computer.

  1. FoodiesFeed

For free food images at high resolution, FoodiesFeed will be the best option you can consider. The site works best for all food bloggers. Make use of their images and see what difference you can experience.

  1. Gratisography

For personal or commercial stock photos, Gratisography will act as the best option. They offer high-quality pictures with new photos added on a weekly basis. The photos get captured by Ryan McGuire of the Bells designs.

  1. Freestocks.org

For the past few years, Freestocks.org has been releasing free stock pictures of high-quality resolution. All the release is under CC0 free of copyright restrictions.

  1. Picography

Stock photos at Picography are of high quality and captured by expert photographers including Dave Meier. They also do release their photos under Creative Common Zero license.

  1. MMT Stock

Photos at MMT get captured by Jeffrey Betts. The release is under CC0 licensing and mostly comprises pictures of workplaces, computers, nature and flowers as well. All photos are of free charge and taken under high resolution.

  1. Picjumbo

Another great website with free images for personal and commercial works is Picjumbo. They add new photos daily and from a wide range including fashion, technology, and abstract among other fields. Therefore, you have a variety to make a selection.

  1. Kaboom Pics

For high-quality free stock photos for commercial uses, Kaboom Pics is the place for you. They have a variety for you to make a selection. However, you cannot sell or redistribute their photos.

  1. SkitterPhoto

SkitterPhoto finds its basis in SkitterPhoto’s owners. They offer high-quality free photos and their release is under CC0. They also offer a variety of fields.

  1. Life of Pix

From LEEROY Agency, all photos on this site are high-resolution pictures and come with no copyright regulations. Also, they have a weekly update with new images to diversify your selection options.

  1. Little Visuals

Little Visual owner Nic died a few years ago, but his photography work remains inspiring. All images here got a release under creative CC0 public domain. No copyright restrictions are involved, which makes it easy to download and use these photos.

  1. Death to Stock Photos

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When you register with Death to Stock Photos, they supply you with a package of 10 photos in a specific category monthly. Their main aim is to give you a variety you can use for blog posts, social media and mockups. They also have their own licensing which directs users to their website.

  1. New Old Stock

For free Vintage pictures from popular public archives, New Old Stock will be the best option for you. Their images come with no copyright restrictions.

  1. Jay Mantri

Jay Mantri releases seven new photos each Thursday. All the releases are under the CC0 license. Their photos are nice and also diverged under different themes.

  1. Epicantus

Daria originally takes most of the images in Epicantus. The photos are useful for bloggers, and website landing pages. The release of photos is under CC0 licensing with no copyright restrictions.

  1. ShotStash

Most of the photos here are under personal and commercial use licenses. Every day, they make release of new stock images over different fields giving you a variety to make a selection

  1. StyleStock

For all women entrepreneurs, StyleStock will be a perfect choice for free personal and commercial work images.

  1. Flickr

Flickr is another platform that you can be sure to find in any website images guide online. All the photos are free, and the site encourages photographers to upload, edit, share, and even organize the photos on desktop or mobile.

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The only difference between Flickr and Unsplash is that not all the images can be used for commercial purposes for free. Be sure to confirm the image rights before downloading to avoid challenges down the road. One of the easiest ways of doing this is by searching for images with the “Commercial Use Allowed” license. It is also important to note that most of the photos you will find on Flickr can be used on the website provided you include attribution. The attribution should be a reference link to the image’s specific location on Flickr.

Another beautiful aspect of this website is that once you land on the homepage, you will see all the trending categories in real-time, all-time, or weekly. If you want a site that is unique, go for images that are not listed in any of the trending categories.

  1. iStock

iStock has a large database of images that you can use to spice up your website. There is a search feature on the homepage that you can use to locate images that are grouped in specific categories that match your Singapore website development project. Save images that you like to your board for future access later.

One of the downsides is that it does not offer a feature for downloading or searching for royalty-free images. However, they do provide free videos, illustrations, and a photo per week to users who sign up for their newsletter.

Otherwise, all other images are sold through a credit system. This system does not work for all website designers in Singapore due to its structure. That is, the more credits you buy, the lower the price of each image.

    • $12 for 1 credit ($12 per image)
    • $60 for 6 credits ($10 per image)
    • $325 for 36 credits ($9 per image)
    • $2,400 for 300 credits ($8 per image)

They recently introduced subscription pricing that you can leverage to get a specific number of images per month. You can also use iStock to access high-quality audio files, videos, vectors, and illustrations. All these visuals will make your website more appealing to the target audience.

  1. Openphoto.net

Openphoto.net is an image-sharing platform that has been in existence for more than 2 decades now. Here, you can find free photos that you can use on your website under the Creative Commons license. The platform is easy to navigate and has search features that allow you to find images faster.

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They also have an inbuilt system that tracks the most popular images from today, yesterday and all-time. Every day, a high-quality photo is selected and displayed on the homepage as “Photo of the Day.” Credit is given to the photographer who uploaded it. Take a minute to check out other photos uploaded by the credited photographer; you might find other images that resonate with your website.

Different photographers have different photography styles; you may want to use images from a specific photographer whose style suits your preference. This will enhance uniformity throughout your website.

  1. Rbgstock.com

Rbgstock.com has more than 100,000 free stock photos, and you can easily find what you are looking for using keywords or categories. Alternatively, you can browse the images from a select group of photographers. You will need to create an account on the website to access the photos. Once you are a member, all the photos you find in the database are 100% free.

If you want to share photos with the broad Rbgstock community, you can do so by creating a photo gallery.

  1. Realistic Shots

Realistic Shots is a little bit different from all the seven platforms we have discussed so far in this website images guide. One of the differences is that they do not prioritize quantity. Every week, only seven new photos are added to the database. This is because they are very keen on quality.

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This quantity is quite astonishing based on the fact that more than 1.8 billion images are uploaded on the internet every day. Their main emphasis is on creativity, and the most popular categories are:

    • Nature
    • Travel
    • Architecture
    • People
    • Technology

Every photo that is available on Realistic Shots is top-quality and free for both commercial and personal use. Be sure to come to the site once a week for fresh photos that you can use on your site, but remember other website design experts also rely on these images as well.

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Awesome Creative Image Ideas to Spruce up Your Design

Wondering what to do with these images? Understanding this problem, we devoted our time to searching for trending designs. These are what we found:

  • Use HD Photos

Including photography in your web design should make the site useful. For quality results, consider using HD photography only. The images used should be of top-notch quality. Think of a website that features blurry photos. Such a site will create doubts for the visitors about the services offered and professionalism. There are a variety of online shops where you can purchase the images, a good example being Depositphotos. Therefore, pay attention and buy only the best.

  • Consider Using Colour Overlays

The colour overlay is the addition of transparent colour boxes on top of the images. The use of the colour boxes identifies the brand and also attracts emotional responses from the customers. The technique brings a complete change in the field of photography. You should, however, make the colour selected contrast with the CTAs and text on that page. Follow the link provided and see how well SSK used colour overlay on their website, https://www.ssk.com/.

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  • Don’t Ignore Black and White Colours

The use of bold colours can attract customers more, but the same can apply to the black and white illustrations. Using black and white images can help in branding your website in a unique style. Monochrome photography is among the few options whose popularity has been on the rise among web designers. It offers sharper contrast making it ideal. Consider following this link and see what black and white can do for your site, https://platinumseed.com/.

  • Consider using Hero Images

One of the things that improve your SEO ranking is the user experience. A great way to make it enhanced is through the use of Hero Images. It’s also the ways that you can hold on visitor’s attention and make them stay for a long while. Use the link provided to view Diamond Website a good example that illustrates how you can use hero images to enhance your website, http://www.dimond.com.au/.

  • Use Photo Manipulation in a Creative Way

This stage, involves editing images making them more exciting. There are several tools that you can consider for photo manipulation and image editing, a good example being Crello. In this way, you’re able to realize images about your brand. An excellent example of a website that used this technique in bringing something unexpected into the website is Olafur Arnalds’s site. Use this link to view the effects, http://olafurarnalds.com/.

  • Minimalism Is Always in Style

The minimalism technique works well when you’re in doubt. On stock photos sites, you can shop for photos which are minimalistic in their composition. The images are simple, but the effect they have on your site is dramatic. They have a beautiful symmetry with a soothing tone. An excellent example of a website that employs this style is Frank Wijns’ page accessed through http://frankwijn.com/ link. If you go this way, consider such an example.

  • Add Dramatic Typography to Photos

If you want to multiply the effects of the site visuals, combine photos with dramatic typography. It’s the best way to come out unique from the crowd. However, select the fonts carefully as they make a difference in the interpretation of the images. An excellent example is the London Loom website, https://www.thelondonloom.com/. The design uses a video paired with a bold font to make a striking visual. It’s an example to emulate.  Those are the top seven ways through which you can use photography to impress your site visitors. Others include;

  • Use White Overlay

The White overlay is another way that you can use to create a dramatic contrast. It helps to tone down images while contrasting page CTAs and logos. An excellent example is the Webiwo website. Consider viewing the site via the http://www.webiwo.com/ link.

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  • Illustrations Are Also Good Options

If you cannot find perfect images, you can consider using drawings as a compelling option. If you need a perfect example, consider visiting the Maztri website using the http://www.maztri.com/en/ link. When you choose illustrations, make them outstanding as used in the example website.

  • Make the Photos Funny

You don’t have to use the images as downloaded. You can make them animated using bold colours and funnily use them. An excellent example of a site with great work on this is Full Force Wolf Horse, accessible via http://fullforcewolfhorse.com/ link.

  • Use Accent Color in Black and White Images

Among the current trends is the use of black-and-white images paired with an accent colour. The technique makes the photos appear funny to view. The result is an image that’s eye-catching to the visitors. Consider visiting the Lunatic Monk site at http://www.lunaticmonk.com/ and see how best you can use the trick.

You were wondering how you can improve your website design and increase the number of your visitors. Now you know how you can go about the matter. Don’t waste any more chances and implement a style that you love for better website performance.

Get in touch with us for the best website design service in Singapore. 

Conclusion

Visual elements will not only make your website more appealing to the target audience but also add credibility. Your target audience in Singapore will get an idea about your brand even before they read other content by just looking at the images. There are hundreds of other websites that you can access to find images. Get in touch with us for more details about this and other Singapore digital marketing services that we offer.

About the Author

Tom Koh

Tom is the CEO and Principal Consultant of MediaOne, a leading digital marketing agency. He has consulted for MNCs like Canon, Maybank, Capitaland, SingTel, ST Engineering, WWF, Cambridge University, as well as Government organisations like Enterprise Singapore, Ministry of Law, National Galleries, NTUC, e2i, SingHealth. His articles are published and referenced in CNA, Straits Times, MoneyFM, Financial Times, Yahoo! Finance, Hubspot, Zendesk, CIO Advisor.

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