Free cryptocurrency stock photos

Cryptocurrency is certainly a hot topic in the world of finance and investing, or gambling as some may see it! The volatility of the crypto markets ensure its always an interesting roller coaster ride of a topic with the potential for big gains, and of course losses! Almost daily tweets from Elon Musk only add further to the speculation and interest. Whether digital currencies are the future of finance and money markets or a dangerous bubble of speculation remains to be seen, but they are certainly a topic with plenty of interest!

If the ups and downs of bitcoin, ethereum, Ripple XRP, dogecoin and the like are on your radar you may be interested in some visual media to illustrate any articles or blog posts you're producing on the world of cryptocurrencies. I've found the free images section of Dreamstime has some good illustrative images of the main crypto coins that should do the job nicely.

Thanks Dreamstime!

The Shutterstock royalties fallout and a better option for image buyers

 So in the summer, in the midst of Covid, Shutterstock announced a new royalties structure. The response from contributing photographers, artists and videographers was, well to put it lightly, resoundingly poor. Just when freelance creatives, struggling in the midst of the pandemic, could have used some support Shutterstock did the exact opposite, introducing a new payment structure that would in effect slash the earnings of most contributors. #boycottshutterstock started to trend!

In contrast over at Dreamstime contributors have been supported during the Covid pandemic with Dreamtime donating 10% extra royalties to contributors as a COVID-19 Relief Stimulus.

Now that is the way to do it! I know which agency I would prefer to support both as a contributor and as an image buyer.

If you're after an image subscription plan from one of the micro agencies Dreamstime still have their special anniversary plans offer running until the end of the year, definitely worth checking out!

Head over to Dreamstime and use Alexh as your promocode!

Free stock media files at depositphotos

There are now several stock photo sites offering free collections of photos and indeed some sites, like Unsplash for example, that are entirely focused on offering free stock images. However it can still sometimes be a problem to find the image or file that works for your projects, with often a more limited choice and sometimes lack of quality to choose from. Of course if you're wanting something for free it is understandable these compromises and frustrations might have to be accepted!

This is why I often gravitate towards the stock agencies that offer some free content but also have a much wider selection of media available for a small license fee. Sometimes it is worth paying for the right image and often to save time that would otherwise be wasted trawling around free sites looking for something at least useable!

So this current collection from Depositphotos is particularly welcome, as it offers a great selection of not just images, but vector files and footage too, in their free section. Much of this is really nice, quality and on trend contemporary content; check the face mask wearing medical professional!

In the free footage section I really like the clip with the two guys playing a game chess with one competitor sat on the sofa via a laptop video link; so covid19 2020! This is really an above average collection of free stock media content, thanks Depositphotos!

Check out the current free images collection at Depositphotos.com here.

Free zoom backgrounds to download

A lot has changed during the Coronavirus pandemic and global lockdowns that have followed. One of the big changes has been the sudden enforced adoption of remote working at home for many. I don't think I'm alone in having barely heard of Zoom before Covid-19, now it's one the most well known and used video call apps out there!

A cool feature of Zoom is the ability to use an image or video as a virtual background. This can help hide your own messy room when on a call and potentially help add the professional or fun appearance you're after.

Shutterstock have a pack of images picked for use as backgrounds available to download for free here.

Free image pack from shutterstock

Following on from the collection of free stock photos at depositphotos I mentioned recently here's news that shutterstock are also now offering a free download of a zip file pack of images. This a diverse collection of useful stock photos that they're making available for free to help support businesses large and small during these difficult times. There is even an editor tool and some social media templates available to use too. It's certainly worth heading over there to see if any of the free images look useful for you now or in the future potentially.

Here's a few sample images from this free stock images for business pack.

Dog sleeping free stock photo

Barista free stock photo

Beautiful woman exercising indoors

Free stock photos at HD57.com

A little heads up that I've resurrected my domain HD57.com and am using it now a little like a photo blog, primarily to help promote some of my work as a stock photographer and content creator, and also as a little motivation to keep creating fresh material!

Most of my work is not free to use, hey a guy's gotta earn a crust ;), but I will be experimenting with making an occasional image available for free. The first of these is a free stock photo of a happy woman which nicely illustrates the joys of Spring and getting outside in some fine sunny weather. I think with the 2020 experience of COVID-19 and lockdowns we'll be especially enjoying this expereince and freedom when it is restored!

Keep an eye on HD57.com stock photography and content creation.

Great collection of free healthcare and lifestyle stock photos

Hi Guys

I hope you are all managing to keep safe and well during these scary, strange and unusual times. I'm guessing many of you will be hiding away at home trying to help slow the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus and possibly with a fair bit of time on your hands!

Well depositphotos should probably be on your go to list at the moment as they currently have an excellent collection of high quality stock photos available to download and use for free in high resolutions. The collection is primarily healthcare and coronavirus focused but there are also quite a few more general lifestyle images in there too. I'd say the quality of these images is also a cut above what can often be found when you need stock images for free, so thanks depositphotos!

Here's a few pics available from the collection;

I'd definitely suggest you check out the full collection for topical coronavirus images and also more general healthcare and lifestyle stock photos, here's the link;

Big collection of free health and lifestyle images

Stay safe!