Where To Find Free Images & Why You Should Use Them

Images play a key role in enticing the eye, holding a viewer's attention, and images make instructional content look better. As we transition to remote learning within the college system crafting visually appealing content will be essential to help maintain student engagement.

Let's face it we don't always have time to go photography something. Or you might feel guilty about "borrowing" another image from a Google search (yes we all do it by the way). So, if you searched online you might have found an article or two on Free Photo Stock sites, well here is another....wait!!!! Read on trust me.

This is a list of free photo stock sites... from a photographer's point of view. No not a nit-picky critique of composition and focus. This is a list from a photographer and instructor who has had to put together plenty of presentations. Someone who wants an image quick but also wants good quality relevant images. These are sites I have used and recommend (graded of course too), get ready to do some bookmarking:

Pexels - pexels.com

It has some good photo and video content that is cool and useful but it does has content that is a little cheesy and looks stockish, but hey it is free!!! It is good but not as cool as Unsplash or BURST or as unique as Gratisography.

pixabay - pixabay.com

This sits has graphics, illustrations, photos, and video some are a little stockish and cheesy though. This site is like shopping at a rummage sale, the thrill of finding that awesome piece does not come often but when it does it is good!!

Unsplash - unsplash.com

This site has photos, that is it and they do it well. The site is well-curated, it also has a good look and feel and is easy to navigate. If you want to level up your photo cred this is a great option.

Gratisography - gratisography.com

This site has photos, that is it and they do it weird. The site is very well-curated, and it has a distinct style which is goofy and yes weird. If you want something different this is the place.

BURST - burst.shopify.com

This site if from Shopify it is very well done, a little on the hipster side but that is alright. It reminds me of shopping in Kensington Market or Hintonburg, very slick hip images, and some that are grungy and I like that.

The Cat Test

Here is the Cat Test, the first image from a cat image search on each stock site above. Why cats? Well they are cute and images of them can be a little cheesy!! Take a look, pick a site and give it a try, because all presentations and learning management systems need a shot of colour.

Tips On Using Images for instructional content

Using images in presentations or on your LMS.

1. Use only one image per slide or LMS sub-module, learners need to take in a lot of info so too many images can be overwhelming.

2. Use images to draw attention and reinforce content. This can be done with humor, a funny photo can bind itself to a tough concept and help learners recall that info.

3. Many people use visual learning while learning, so to help students grasp concepts use an image that is explanatory, one that shows a concept visually. This can be a little challenging on a stock site but be creative.

4. Crop and enlarge images, the main cat image on this post, that might have caught your attention when you were scrolling, was severely cropped for effect. Often bigger is better, as it helps simplify the image and it can also be used as a background in this state.

5. Lastly, try lowering the opacity of the image to use as a background.

Final Thoughts

There is a lot more to the backend of these sites. They are aggregate sites, on Pexels and pixabay so you will see the same images on both sites. You can, and it would be nice, to give kudos to the photogs that is how these sites entice photographers to post. Many sites make money from ads, mostly ads for Shutterstock, so you will see ads often.

Ultimately, in a perfect world, it would be great to produce all your own image content or pay someone to produce it for you. If you want to hire a student or a recent graduate the Algonquin College Photography can give you a hand. But sometimes you just need a quick pic to add a bit of pizzazz to a presentation. (I did have to look up how to spell pizzazz by the way.. what a word). Enjoy and stay safe.