It's vital that your church's communication pieces authentically convey the right look, feel, and emotions that are true for your worshipping community. The best way for a potential guest to know what to expect on a Sunday morning is through photos and video. On your website, on flyers, in social media posts—the list goes on—make sure your communication is genuine. Your church communications and marketing materials need to prioritize using real photos of real people from your congregation and community. Using legitimate photos from your church shows potential visitors who you are as a people, how your building is a tool for ministry, and why your location is a mission field. It also gives them a glimpse of what they can expect if they visit. Your goal should be to show off who your church really is; and this goal is best achieved by using photos taken in and around your church.
But, sometimes, stock photos can help fill the gaps. Lucky for you (and me), stock photography has come a long way in the last several years. While a few years ago stock images were cold, posed, and cheesy, today you can find images for almost any scenario that look warm, candid, and natural. And when photographers are willing to share their captures with the world—everyone benefits. When you need to update images throughout the year, sprinkling in stock photos that supplement your church's real photos can help elevate your messaging. Some ways you may want to use stock photos include:
- Landscapes—use images that reflect the landscape around your church building
- Seasons—images that reflect how the current season looks and feels in your area (don't use a picture of snow if your church is in Lakeland, Florida).
- Objects—sometimes a stock photo can supplement "real" photos for certain objects, like a Bible, to help your messaging around that topic.
- People—yes, it's okay to use stock photos of people. Just make sure these images accurately reflect your identity as a church (clothing, setting, etc.).
To help you find the best supplemental stock photos for your church's communication, we've compiled the ultimate list. Here is our list of 24 entirely free stock photo websites. Each of these websites contains a repository of royalty-free, attribution-free, and cost-free images that your ministry can use in its communications. If you’re looking for free stock photography to use in your church’s graphic design, website, or other collateral, take a look at these websites.
Burst
Burst is a free stock photo platform that is powered by Shopify.
FOCA Stock
Use them in your website, themes, templates, projects, print materials, social posts, and more. CC0 license.
Freely
Freely Photos is a hobby-run website to help smaller churches and ministries.
FreePhotos.cc
FreePhotos.cc is a free resource where you can find creative commons photos for your website or print projects.
Freestocks
Free stock photos for both personal and commercial use. High quality images for your website and blog free of charge. No attribution required.
Gratisography
The world's quirkiest collection of free high-resolution pictures you can use on your personal and commercial projects.
ISO Republic
ISO Republic offers over 7000 of the best high-resolution stock images & videos, all free for personal and commercial use. Download your favorites today.
Kaboompics
Every single day new photos of the highest quality are added to Kaboompics. You can download and use them for your own purposes.
Life of Pix
Free high resolution photography. Share and download images freely. Search for pictures by color or format.
Morguefile
Visually search the best products and ideas. Curated by experts, powered by community.
Nappy
Beautiful photos of Black and Brown people, for free. For commercial and personal use.
Neustock
High-quality stock photos for nonprofit organizations to use, from Rocket Republic, a marketing agency.
Pexels
Free stock photos & videos you can use everywhere. Browse millions of high-quality royalty free stock images & copyright free pictures.
Picjumbo
Picjumbo is a free stock photo site created in 2013 by designer & photographer Viktor Hanacek.
Picography
Picography offers gorgeous high-resolution free photos. Our free stock photos can be used for any project. No attribution needed. Download your favorites.
Pixabay
Pixabay is a vibrant community of creatives, sharing copyright free images, videos, and music.
Reshot
Design freely with instant downloads and commercial licenses. No cost. No attribution. No worries.
Skitterphoto
Skitterphoto is a place to find, show, and share public domain photos.
StockSnap
The best source for free, CC0, do-what-you-want-with stock photos. Browse and download thousands of copyright-free stock images. No attribution required.
Styled Stock
Beautiful Feminine styled stock images for your projects. Free for commercial or personal use.
Unsplash
Beautiful, free images and photos that you can download and use for any project. Better than any royalty free or stock photos.
