It’s a quality photo sharing site, but it has that impersonal, overly posed quality that stock photo sites often have.

Photos on Pexels ( ) are more akin to stock photos, but free. And if you feel inclined to pay the photographer, as we often do when we use Flickr photos for paid work instead of probono work, then you can donate money directly from Flickr. You can either create a “citation” page on your website or cite it directly from the photo caption, as we did. Most photographers want a citation back to their Flickr page for use of their photo. Photo by Mobili on Flickr Payment: Citation In the photo below, for instance, we searched for “ Powell’s bookstore” in Portland and found a great photo that we could trim off the foreground and background to make a tighter shot. Photos on Flickr tend to be more personal, more unique and tend to have angles and subject views that can’t be found on commercial stock photography sites. You can find gems on Flickr that you won’t find in other “stock photo” sites, even paid sites. (“Mods” mean you’re modifying the image.) The photos on Flickr tend to be raw and need either sharpening or cropping, so we nearly always search “Commercial Use & Mods Allowed” so we can trim or crop the image. While it can be a hit or miss, quality photographers post photos that can be used commercially. You can find great quality from good to even professional photographers who are looking more for exposure than paychecks.įlickr ( ) is one of my favorite places for commercial photography. However, the best photos for small to mid-sized companies are definitely in the free photo arena. We still suggest sites like Getty or Adobe for print or when building websites for Fortune 500 companies where licensing can get contentious. Yet, “big market” photography that is high end can be expensive and the licenses can be confusing (think Getty Images). Normal, cliched, boring, yet free, stock photography (think ) will actually weigh down your website.

Uniqueness matters in advertising photography. Instead, think about quality and unique styles that you won’t find in regular stock photography. When looking for free stock photo sites, don’t think about price.

Using flickr photos on your website