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If you've checked out my Post Steemit Beginner Tips #1 "The Image Rule for Steemit Posts", we have highlighted the importance of utiizing images due to our current visual culture. Our Brain essentially processes visual imagery 60,000 times faster than text.

Because of this, it becomes a staple for web authors', so be it a steemian or a blogger on his site, to apply visual aid towards their content. Then comes the question:

Where can I get my content?

Sure you can hop onto any website and "copy + paste" their work, but are you aware if it's copyright? Plagiarism is a major issue we see online and is definitely rampant on Steemit as its user-base grows. Some people are just plain garbage at stealing content carefully (we are in no way endorsing this) I'm sure you guys are tired of seeing terrible resoution images of men in suits shaking hands with a stock logo below it.

How's about we lead you to Quality and Royalty Free OR Copyright free?

We can basically define Royalty free as:

being able to use copyright material or intellectual property without the need to pay royalties or licencing fees for its use.

Though in the photography industry, it refers to a copyright license where the user has the right to use the picture without many restrictions. Though this requires a ONE-TIME payment to the licencor. Note that some of the links have an optional subscription for Royalty-Free use.

What we are about to provide is a comprehensive list of sources whereby YOU can easily search and browse millions of images which are licensed under the Creative Commons Public Domain.

The "CC0" allows anyone to copy, modify, distribute and perform work, even if it is for commercial use WITHOUT asking for permission

Most of the time photos will require attributing the original creator, though each site may have specific guideines on how the images can be used. Now, Without Further ado, here is our comprehensive list of the top 26 Free Repositories with out top 10 (which are in no specific order).

1. Unsplash

With regularly updated submissions by its Unsplash Team, these guys offer a massive collection of high-resolution images free for download. All the photos here are for free as stipuated in their Unsplash License. I usually head to Unsplash for amazing background images to do editing work with. Check out their Home-Page for their highlights on the latest and best photos.

2. StockSnap.io

With thousands of gorgeous free stock photos, StockSnap.io has a variety of high quality images which are released under the creative commons publlic domain, therefore no attribution is required. One awesome feature which is the most popular photos' is judged based on the number of viewers and downloads on each image.

3. Pixabay

Next we have a site that seems to have ripped off Piratebay's name, except it's exlusively for stuff with pixels. Though we endorse their content completely. A copyright free and attribution free repository. You don't have to sign up for anything, and you're able to download images up to a certain resolution (providing felxibility). Though, for the full resolution image you can sign up for free! Definitely one of my go-to sites.

4. Splashbase

Despite a rather simplified layout, this website offers both Images and Videos which are high resolution and Copyright-Free.

5. Giphy

Now this site is one of my favorites, and i'm sure many Steemians can agree as well!
Giphy is the No. 1 resource for any animated Gif. There are thousands upon thousands of content available and contributed by users. Effectively using Gifs in your posts and comments can make your Steemit post a little more lively.

6. Life of Pix

Started by the LEEROY (not jenkins) creative agency that provides free-high resolution photos with no restrictions to copywright. So use away! Though new pictures are uploaded weekly, their content is still very stunning.

7. Pexels

An amazing resource with high-resolution photos that are completely listed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) Licence. Photos are well tagged, searchable, and comprehensive to find. One of our favorites here at Steemitguide.

8. Picography

This site contains many beautiful free stock photos released under the CC0. Most of the content is provided by Dave Meiner and many other Photographers.

9. Negative Space

With a very comprehensive platform and numerous categories ranging from Architecture to Sport and Technology, Negative Space provides 20 new photos weekly and is also released under the CC0. The photos are searchable, and can be sorted by category, copy space, and colour.

10. Freepik

Last but not least we have a website which has a plethora of free images, mostly under the Creative Commons Act, though it is stipulated. Those that aren't must require attribution to the original author, or require a subscription. Here we can find many Vectors and Images for Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator use. Mostyl used in designing, these images have a multitude of uses and there are thousands of them!