Skip to main content
Creative Bloq Creative Bloq ART AND DESIGN INSPIRATION
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
Subscribe
Design Magazine Subscriptions
Design Magazine Subscriptions
Why subscribe?
  • Enjoy 12 months for £/$/€12
  • Delivered to your IOS or Android
  • Every issue is packed with art and design inspiration
From£12
View
  • 6 for £12 mag offer
  • News
  • How to
  • Features
  • Buying guides
  • Reviews
  • Magazines
    • ImagineFX
    • 3D World
  • Events
    • Vertex
    • Brand Impact Awards
    • About Us

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Features
Sponsored

Use this trick to get free premium stock images

By Tom May

There’s a way to get high-quality assets for use in your designs... and it’s perfectly legal.

African woman laughing, by peeterv. Now available for purchase, this image was available for free in the week starting July 17

African woman laughing, by peeterv. Now available for purchase, this image was available for free in the week starting July 17

Looking for free images to use in your designs, without having to pay a single penny in royalties?

Then you might be surprised to know that there’s a perfectly legal way to get free photographs, illustrations and videos from leading stock library iStock by Getty Images.

iStock by Getty Images is so proud of the high quality photography, illustrations and videos on its site that it regularly gives files away for free, with absolutely no catch.

Yes, that’s free photographs, free illustrations and free videos, in high resolution, for you to use whenever you like, without paying a penny. Free photos are updated weekly, and free illustrations and free videos are updated monthly.

Bubble fun on the garden by Azman. Now available for purchase, this image was available for free in the week starting September 11

Bubble fun on the garden by Azman. Now available for purchase, this image was available for free in the week starting September 11

All you have to do is sign up for an iStock account. But don’t worry: that’s totally free, involves no commitment, and you don’t have to give any credit card details. 

Here’s your step-by-step guide to getting stock files for free.

01. Sign up for a free account

It’s easy and free to get an iStock account

It’s easy and free to get an iStock account

The first step is to sign up for a free account with iStock. Head to the homepage and click on ‘Join’ in the top-right hand corner of the page. 

02. Provide an email address and password

Provide an email address and choose a password: that’s all the info you need to give

Provide an email address and choose a password: that’s all the info you need to give

You’ll be brought to a form where you have to enter an email address and choose a password: nothing more.

03. Find your freebies

The links to the free stock files are near the bottom of the homepage

The links to the free stock files are near the bottom of the homepage

Scroll down to the part of the homepage that’s titled ‘Join iStock for free stock files every week’. Below that you’ll see three images titled ‘Free photo’, ‘Free illustration’ and ‘Free video clip’. Click on any of these and you will be taken through to the download page.

04. Check the licence

There are some special circumstances in which you might need to buy an extended licence, so do check before downloading

There are some special circumstances in which you might need to buy an extended licence, so do check before downloading

Each free image and video comes with a standard agreement, so make sure you read this so you know where and how you can legally use it.

In some limited circumstances – if you are printing more than half a million copies of your design, for example – you will need to buy an extended licence, so do check first.

05. Choose your image size

You can choose to download the image in a range of sizes

You can choose to download the image in a range of sizes

Now choose the size of the image you want, depending on your needs, by ticking the appropriate box above the red ‘Free download’ button. The measurements for each option appear below as you click on each box.

06. Download your image

Your free image will download directly to your Mac or PC

Your free image will download directly to your Mac or PC

Click on the red button titled ‘Free download’ and then a second or so later, click the green button titled ‘Confirm download’. Your image will automatically download to your Mac or PC. Then check back to the homepage a week later to see the next lot of freebies.

5 freebies you might have missed

Free image files from iStock are only available for a week, so if you miss them the first time around, you lose the chance to download them for free. Which means it’s worth coming back every week to grab the latest free files. 

To give you an idea of what’s on offer, here are five great freebies that you may have missed in the last couple of months…

01. Young scientist

Young scientist working in laboratory, by gremlin

Young scientist working in laboratory, by gremlin

Now available for purchase, this scientist image was available for free in the week starting July 31 2017.

02. Boy asleep with his dog

Boy sleeping with dog, by gollykim

Boy sleeping with dog, by gollykim

Now available for purchase, this image was available for free in the week starting July 24 2017.

03. Under peonies

Under peonies, by VikaValter

Under peonies, by VikaValter

Now available for purchase, this image was available for free in the week starting September 4 2017.

04. Team of surgeons

Team of surgeons in operating room at a hospital, by Tempura

Team of surgeons in operating room at a hospital, by Tempura

Now available for purchase, this image was available for free in the week starting August 14 2017.

05. Female carpenter

Female Carpenter In Her Workshop, by vitranc

Female Carpenter In Her Workshop, by vitranc

Now available for purchase, this image was available for free in the week starting September 18 2017.

Special discount for Creative Bloq readers!

Along with your weekly free files, iStock also offers you the choice of millions of high-quality images at a very low cost. And to give you an added incentive, we’ve teamed up with iStock by Getty Images to offer 12% off all everything for new customers.

Just use code 12CBLOQNEW today at the website to take advantage of this incredible deal! Offer ends 31 Dec 2018. 

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Already have an account ? Sign in here

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Already have an account ? Sign in here

Get the Creative Bloq Newsletter

Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Tom May
Tom May
Social Links Navigation

Tom May is an award-winning journalist and editor specialising in design, photography and technology. Author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Great TED Talks: Creativity, published by Pavilion Books, Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. Today, he is a regular contributor to Creative Bloq and its sister sites Digital Camera World, T3.com and Tech Radar. He also writes for Creative Boom and works on content marketing projects. 

TOPICS
Photography

Related articles

  • Creative Bloq Awards 2023: crafting and cameras winners Creative Bloq Awards 2023: crafting and cameras winners
  • A day in the life: Ilka & Franz A day in the life: Ilka & Franz
  • The best ASUS Zenbook Pro 16X OLED prices in September 2023 The best ASUS Zenbook Pro 16X OLED prices in September 2023
  • Save over 65% for your first year of Adobe Creative Cloud – and get 1 month free Save over 65% for your first year of Adobe Creative Cloud – and get 1 month free
Recommended
How to make and sell an NFT
The best drawing tablets in 2023
  1. Stable Diffusion optical illusions
    1
    So AI can make optical illusions now
  2. 2
    Apple might finally fix its Magic Mouse design disaster
  3. 3
    ASUS TUF Gaming A15 review: shining performance on a reasonable budget
  4. 4
    Spotify’s Snake game is completely random and I love it
  5. 5
    Apple somehow made the iPhone call screen even worse
  1. Johnson and Johnson logo
    1
    Here's why Johnson and Johnson just ditched one of the world's oldest logos
  2. 2
    So AI can make optical illusions now
  3. 3
    Apple might finally fix its Magic Mouse design disaster
  4. 4
    "I used to illustrate my invoices to get noticed," says Kit Hinrichs
  5. 5
    Apple somehow made the iPhone call screen even worse
Design Magazine Subscriptions
  • ●
Design Magazine Subscriptions
  • Enjoy 12 months for £/$/€12
From£12
View

Creative Bloq is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.