Tip: Where to Find Great (Free!) Photos for Your Petition
We’ve talked before about why images are so critically important for making someone care about your cause — but we realized we haven’t told you how or where to find those great, non-copyrighted images.
So if you’re sold on the power of visuals and you’re ready to find a compelling photo to add to your petition and social media posts, here are a few great resources for you!
Note: Of all the resources below, my personal favorites are Unsplash (free) and Twenty20 (cheap but worth it!). They have an edgy, breathtakingly beautiful style that I adore and their photos cover pretty much every topic I want them to.
Free High Quality Stock Photos
- Unsplash: Posts 10 new, free images every day (though they have many more photos than that on their website). These high-quality photos range from nature shots to food to kids in school, but they all have one thing in common: they’re freakin’ gorgeous. (Website and Instagram)
- Pixabay: You’ll find a little bit of everything here, from clip-art to computer-generated graphics to free photos (Website)
- Pexels: You’ll find a little bit of everything here, from clip-art to computer-generated graphics to free photos (Website)
- Gratisography: Unusual, beautiful, and sometimes amusing (but sometimes serious) photos. Their main categories include: Animals, Nature, People, Objects, Urban and Whimsical. (Website)
- Life of Pix: Sustained by an awesome community of photographers with a huge variety of images to choose from. They feature a different “Photographer of the Week” every week, too, which we approve of! (Website and Instagram)
- Picography: Stunning free and curated photos to use however you like. Especially features lots of city scenes, art, and food, in addition to everything else. (Website)
- PikWizard: Free stock photos that cover a variety of subject areas. Lets you save favorites and view trending images. (Website)
- StockSnap.io: They claim they are “your #1 source for beautiful free stock photos”. So that’s cool. Their site is easy to search, and it offers a bazillion different photos in pretty much every category and subject-matter. (Website)
- SplitShire: They claim their free photos are “delicious,” and we agree! Featuring 18 top categories, including Animals, Fashion, Food, Nature, Street and Tech. (Website and Instagram)
- Picjumbo: They add new free images every day, and their collection runs the gambit in terms of issues covered! (Website and Instagram)
- Raumrot: Their entire ethos is pretty rad — they share “stunning lifestyle imagery” that are “authentic unstuck images for your next project.” They boast hand-picked, non-conforming photography which they want you to “take…and distribute…about the entire world.” So get to it! (Website and Instagram)
- Death to Stock: Their Instagram slogan says it best: “An art & inspiration ecosystem for the non-stock human”, specializing in lifestyle and adventure photos. (Website and Instagram)
- Women in Tech (Flickr): When all you need is photos of women of color working in the Tech world, this Flickr account has you covered! (Flickr Page)
Photos taken for the U.S. Government are also free to use, though you’ll have to search through a few different websites to find them. Here are some of those sites:
Free Government Photos
- Library of Congress Historical Images (Website)
- Library of Congress’s Science Reference Resources (Website)
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Website)
- National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration — the NOAA (Website)
- USA.gov (Website)
- Trump White House (Website)
- Obama White House (Website)
- Flickr group for Public Domain photos (Website)
If you’re ready to take a leap and spend a teensy tiny bit of dough to get a great image, there are some more amazing resources for that. Some of our favorites are below!
Low Cost & High Quality Stock Photos
And, if you’re ready to start taking your own photos, check out our guide with the 10 ten tips for home photographers here. Then, head over to read our post about how to choose which photo — out of all the great options you have now — is right for your petition.
One thought on “Tip: Where to Find Great (Free!) Photos for Your Petition”
Hi, very informative article.
Please also check out https://www.goodfreephotos.com for thousands of unique public domain photos, all high-resolution and free to use for any purpose.We specialize in photos by location as we document cities, national parks, state parks, national landmarks, and more. We update with 20+ photos each week. Appreciate it if you could add us to your list of sites.