Are you aware of the free photo resources for churches?
In the visual culture that we currently find ourselves in, it has become essential to catch people’s attention with eye-catching graphics. Photos on the homepage of a church website can draw web visitors in to explore more. They can add a dynamic element to a church blogpost or an online announcement. Engaging your website visitors starts with including photos that draw attention to the rest of your church’s website. Gathering and preparing those photos can be time-consuming however. If your church doesn’t have a photographer, it can also be expensive to hire a professional one.
Some photography needs, like events, probably require a photographer from the congregation covering the events with their camera. (We have tips for your church photoshoot here.) Other website photo needs can be met through the use of stock photos.
The main problem with using stock photos is the price. Complications also arise when you need to properly credit the free ones.
As Five More Talents has spent time working with churches building websites, we’ve come to find some exciting free photo resources for churches!
Unsplash
Unsplash is easy to use, it takes the complexity out of photograph credits, and best of all: it’s free!
The website has thousands of free photos. They have a lot of really vivid and dynamic photos in their library. These are not your ordinary ‘stock photos’. They’re beautiful, they’re eye-catching, and they’re engaging.
The Unsplash License gives users the license to use their photos for free and it does not require users to credit the website, or ask permission before they use the photos. For the sake of their photographers, Unsplash creates a custom credit for each photo when it’s downloaded so that users can give credit to the photographer, though they aren’t required. This credit can be easily copied and pasted to make the process of crediting very simple for the user.
You can use Unsplash for commercial and noncommercial purposes.
Five More Talents uses Unsplash quite frequently and we appreciate how easy it is to access amazing photos through the platform!
Pexels
Similar to Unsplash, Pexels offers a vast library of free photos and videos. Their license is also very comparable to Unsplash. Their photos and videos are free to use, and do not require credit, though it is appreciated when possible. In addition, Pexels also gives their users permission to alter and creatively edit photos. This is easy to do in WordPress.
Pexels also gives users the option to donate to their photographers through PayPal.
There are many other websites that offer free stock photos for many different types of uses. Here is a list of 21 that includes both Unsplash and Pexels among others.
Visually engage your audience
It’s critical for churches to visually engage their audiences. Therefore, photos are essential elements for any website. High-quality photos help them do that.
The stock photo solutions mentioned above are great free photo resources for churches. They grant you the ability to collect and use high-quality photos for free. Crediting photographers is also easy, with just a bit of copy-and-paste. If you are collecting photos for your church website, these sites are a wonderful places to start!
