So you have a website with plenty of text, but where are the happy students, smiling into their computer screens? We can't all afford amazing photographers and models, let alone find the time to organise a photo shoot! Luckily, there are plenty of websites with beautiful stock images that you can use for your site.
Lots of these sites require a monthly subscription or charge a fee for each image you use, but there are plenty of places with images totally free from copyright restrictions or with creative commons public domain licensing, which means you can use them however you like, without requiring attribution.
Be aware though, that because these images are free, they're often used widely, and they often look quite generic. For those of you who are just starting out, free is definitely best, and when you can afford it, you can think about paying for some images, for more of a premium look.
I created this example site entirely with free stock images, just to give you an idea of what's available. Try to think outside the box when you're searching - don't just type in "happy student", although that's not a bad place to start!
Here are some of the top sites to check out for free stock images:
StockSnap
StockSnap.io has a great selection images and their search feature is really easy to use. All of their photos are released under creative commons public domain, so no attribution is required.
Unsplash
Unsplash has a large collection and is one of the most popular sources for stock images online. All their photos are released for free under Unsplash's own license.
Pexels
Pexels' collection is licensed under the Creative Commons Zero license, so again, totally free to use. They also have free stock video clips, which are really high quality.
Pixabay
Pixabay has large collection of photos as well as illustrations and videos, all released with the Creative Commons Zero licence.
