Whether you have a website to manage, social media posts to create, or a newsletter to produce, high-quality images and graphics can make a difference when it comes to capturing the attention of potential viewers and readers.
However, unless you happen to be very good with your phone’s camera, it probably won’t work to rely on photos you’ve taken yourself.
One of the best ways to upgrade your communication materials—online or print—is to take advantage of royalty-free photos and graphic elements. In fact, it’s partly because of the prevalence of royalty-free materials that a high bar has been set in terms of the expected quality of images and graphics that appear in communication materials. With so many royalty-free websites to choose from, it’s possible to download free, professional-quality images on almost any topic.
Many of these sites also offer graphic elements such as badges, arrows, and labels that you can adapt to your needs.
Below, we discuss seven resources that you can tap for photos and graphic elements, as well as templates for posters, social media posts, and newsletters.
📷 Royalty-Free Photos
If you have a website or are active on social media, you already know how important it is to have good photos that are relevant to your message. We’re not saying all of your photos need to be professional quality—and we’re definitely not saying that all of your photos should be stock photos—but it’s a good idea to have at least one resource for high-quality photos. The following websites offer access to images on a range of subjects. All the sites offer the images for free, including for commercial use. While there are several sources of free stock photos, because the same photographs often appear on multiple sites, these three options may be enough to meet your needs.
