Research Guides: Open Educational Resources: Still Images

Still Images

Some of these sites are completely open access, while other sites offer only selected images for open access. Many of these sites also contain advertising and/or offer images for sale. Be sure to read each site's conditions for use carefully – different images from the same site may have different use restrictions.

Please contact your librarian if you have questions.

105 Free Stock Photo and Art Image Websites
This comprehensive guide explains image licenses, lists down free stock photo sites, and answers frequently asked questions about copyright.
Art Images for College Teaching - University of Michigan Library
Art and architecture images photographed by art historian and visual resources curator Allan Kohl.
Digital Public Library of America
The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America's libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world.
EduPic Graphical Resource
William Vann, an amateur photographer and a teacher, provides free photographs and drawings for teachers and students to use in their classrooms.
Google Images
To find images that can be reused and remixed, select "Advanced search" (located under Settings) on the main Google Images page. In the usage rights menu that appears, one can select "all," "Creative Commons licenses," or "Commercial & other licenses."
iStock
This site contains thousands of free images that can be used. While many of the pictures are free, some of the images do require written permission first.
Liam's Pictures from Old Books
A good collection of original pictures from old books that are no longer copyrighted and considered public domain. This is a great place to find obscure and unique pictures and illustrations.
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online
Images from the Library of Congress, now in the public domain.
MorgueFile
Another fantastic location for high-resolution digital stock photography. This site offers thousands of free images, almost all of which have no restrictions or agreements attached.
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art implements an open access policy for digital images of works of art that the Gallery believes to be in the public domain. Users do not need to contact the Gallery for authorization to use these images.
The Noun Project
According to its website, The Noun Project is the product of a community of world-wide designers who are building the most diverse and extensive collection of iconography ever created.
Open-i
The Open Access Biomedical Image Search Engine (Open-i) aims to provide next generation information retrieval services for biomedical articles from full-text collections, such as PubMed Central.
Pexels
These free stock photos are organized by category and can be used in any way that students and instructors see fit.
Pixabay
This site has millions of images, videos, and music that are free to use.
Pixnio
All pictures on this site are explicitly placed in the public domain, free for any personal or commercial use.
PublicDomainPictures.net
A repository for free public domain images. Download high-quality HD photos or upload your own. Some photos do require a model or property release.
Smithsonian Open Access
A platform from which approximately 3 million 2D and 3D digital items can be used freely from the Smithsonian's 19 museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives, and the National Zoo.
Unsplash
A collection of free high-resolution photos; a subscription provides access to 10 new photos every 10 days.
U.S. Government Images
Search engine for U.S. government websites that can retrieve thousands of free and public domain images from categories such as the armed forces, lab research, NASA, parks, presidents, wildlife, and much more.
Vecteezy
This site allows downloading of free Vector art, stock photos, and stock videos.
Wikimedia Commons
A fantastic media repository that is part of the Wikipedia umbrella project, where users can use any of the photos, audio, videos, and other media freely.
Yahoo! Images
Search filters allow for images that can be used for commercial purposes or that are licensed for remixing and building upon.