Free Stock Photography

Stock.XCHNG is a great place to get royalty free, free stock photography.

There is finally a place where people from around the world can share their amazing stock photography for free, Stock.XCHNG. After searching through many websites that charge $400+ for a single image, I've come across a gem of a site for any designer's toolbox. Stock.XCHNG is a free service where photographers and designers can sign up (for free) and upload or download high-res photos (for free).

Here is the official "who we are statement":

Stock.XCHNG was launched in February 2001, as an alternative for expensive stock photography. The idea was to create a site where creative people could exchange their photos for inspiration or work. In about two years the site evolved into this massive community you see now - there are about 200,000 registered users and more than 100,000 photos online!

Every person who uploads images can set the rights for any given image. Here some of the different restrictions:

• There are no usage restrictions for this photo. No strings attached what-so-ever, except a "Please let me know if you use my photos. Thanks."
• The author ( artist name here ) must be contacted before using the photo for any commercial work.
• The author ( artist name here ) must be contacted and credited when using the photo for any commercial work.
• To get the full size photo, just click on the preview. Written permission is needed from the author ( artist name here ) before using the photo for any commercial work.

Although some people do place restrictions on their images, the majority of the authors merely want to know who are using their images.

Because Stock.XCHNG lets photographers of different skills and abilities upload their images, not every image is perfect. However, with 138,894 photos online and growing every day, Stock.XCHNG is becoming a great place to download wonderful images for whatever your needs may be. Stock.XCHNG does have "moderators" who make sure that pictures meet a certain quality before they are approved. As a web designer, I'm always looking for high quality photos. Stock xchng is a great place to start your search. And who can beat the price!

For those of you that think you get what you pay for, then you should probably go purchase some stock photography instead. 

Here are a couple of images from the Stock.XCHNG site to whet your appetite.

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Filed Under: Stock Photography, Pictures, Images, Website Design

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