Finding free images, icons, templates and vectors that are high quality can often be a challenge. Having explored many sites for the best on the Internet – here are my go to websites for free graphics (and mostly free).
Free Stock Images
Free Stock ImagesPixabay: Offers quality high resolution images that you do not need to provide attribution on your website or flyer (though its nice when you can).
Free Pik: The site offers a whole range of free icons vectors, Photoshop files, backgrounds and more. I especially find myself at the site when I am looking for icons.
NYPL Digital Collection and the Library of Congress: Great Historic Photos that are for the most part copyright-free. Which reminds me- most government agencies have lots of copyright free images which you can search for at USA.gov
Customizable Images and Graphics
Canva: Create custom visual ads for social media, PowerPoint. Templates are free or a $1. Personally, this is my go-to site for turning announcements on Facebook. For example, the text “Conversation Class meets Thursday” can become an eye-catching visual.
Giphy: Need an animated gif or want to create your own; this is the best resource for animated GIFs around. You will find lots of clips from movies, cartoons, and TV. I personally like the feature of creating my own GIFs from YouTube videos or my own photos.
Placeit: Insert your website or an image inside any stock photo. I’ve used pictures from this site to promote e-resources for a library which created a great visual of a lady reading magazines on her couch drinking coffee.
Creative Market: Need a flyer for an upcoming event, looking for a unique font; this site has you covered. Sign up for their weekly newsletter to get free graphics or visit the “Free Goods” part of the site. I have used both paid and free templates and gotten a lot of compliments!
Now that you have all these great images – how can you edit them to suit your needs. Personally, I use Photoshop but there are several good free alternatives. They include: PicMonkey, Google’s Nik Collection and Pixlr. With mobile pictures, I typically edit within Instagram itself or use the app SnapSeed.