Images add more than visual appeal to your lessons. They let students imagine the emotions of historical characters, appreciate the nuances of geographic description, and appreciate the power of artistic works. Below is a list–far from complete–of sites that offer free images for reuse. Just keep in mind that…
- Although most of the pictures are free, some of these sites also carry ads for paid stock photos.
- The fact that an image is free doesn’t mean you don’t have to give credit to the author. In some cases, you are not required to give credit–but it’s still a respectful thing to do.
- Some of these sites carry a range of images, including inappropriate ones. Some sites offer a mature content filter to block these from your view.
Sources for Free Images and Illustrations
| Creative Commons Search | Pulls in CC-licensed images from a number of sources. |
| Wikimedia Commons | Free images, many of which need to be attributed |
| Pixabay | One of the broadest selections of free images |
| Stock Pictures for Everyone | India images for free (nonprofit rate) |
| Library of Congress images | Public domain images, many of historical interest |
| Site Builder | A search engine that catalogues a number of free image sources; limited, but good quality |
| Web Gallery of Art | Fine art from the past |
| Unsplash | An emphasis on artistic photographs |
| Flickr | Some images with Creative Commons licenses; on search results page, filter by license (drop-down at top left). |
| Burst | Free stock photos intended for ecommerce, but with a variety of subjects. |
| Pexels | Free stock; includes some video. Some of these are sourced from Pixabay, so content is not necessarily unique. |
| Freepik | Emphasis on backgrounds and vectors. Also has premium offerings. |
| RawPixels | Free and premium offerings; tend to be good quality and less stock-looking |
| Life of Pix | Scenic and minimalist |
| pxhere | Registration (free) required to download; free with a focus on scenic and atmospheric |
| EveryPixel | Searches across 24 free image sites, including Unsplash and Pixabay. |
| Awesome Stock Resources | Large collection of links to sites offering free photos, videos, and graphics resources |
| Europeana | Great trove of cultural items–letters, photos, paintings–from Europe. Many but not all are free to use. |
| Free Illustrations | Doodles and illustrations intended for the web
Images in this post come from a link listed there. |
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