Suppose you're creating some learning content for a new Customer support 101 course you're putting together.
You go on the hunt for an image of a person on their computer to go alongside a quiz.
A quick Google search will do, right?
Yeah, nah...
Okay, maybe if you're a little more specific with your search term...
So. Cringe.
Using beautiful, high-quality images in your elearning can bring light, personality and keep learners engaged in your content.
And using crappy ones?
Well, they're going to do just the opposite.
What's challenging is figuring out where to find nice images that don't look like something out of a bad office sitcom.
Luckily for you, we've scoured the net and put together a list of our picks for nice looking images for elearning content.
Here goes!
Pexels
Pexels is a free service that runs on contributions from its users and curation by the Pexels team.
Every single photo is brilliant quality and is governed by the Creative Commons Zero license, which means you can use any image on their site without worrying about copyright infringement.
And there's always new content – 100 new, high-quality photos are added to their collection each day.
StockSnap
There are some great B2B and business-related images on this site. Again, StockSnap has high-quality images that are free from copyright restrictions.
A handy feature of this site is the ability to sort by Trending, so you know if your new favourite image has already been snapped up by the rest of the world.
Death to the Stock Photo
These guys are positioned in the subscription model camp. That being said, free monthly photo packs are delivered to their loyal subscribers.
Their packs are artistic and of the highest quality. For anything creative, I'd recommend this site. It credits the photographers and filmmakers, too, which is always a plus.
IM Free
This site is geared more toward web design and has images in many useful verticals: business, people, technology, health and education to name just a few. There are also whole categories for templates icons and buttons.
Kaboompics
This site is impressive. Not only are the photos free and license-free, but the authors have gone to the trouble to supply complementary colour palettes with the images to make the design process simple.
Pixabay
Check the image count on this one: over 1.1 million. Crazy! They've got photos, illustrations, vector graphics, videos and much more. It's a little more stock-y than the rest of them, but the variety and range is too attractive to skip.
Gratisography
Gratisography's collection of photos are top-notch. Their interface is hands-down the easiest to use, with searchability and a wide range of topics.
Unsplash
No guide to stock images would be complete without mentioning unsplash. This crew are one of the pioneers of the nice-looking stock image revolution, and many of the smaller sites aggregate their content from unsplash. They're free, of course, and you've got access to over 300,000 photos.
So there we have it! There's no excuse not to use engaging imagery in your elearning any longer.
Say it with me: death! to! stock!
