10 Reference Photograph Sources for Artists
Photographers are so important to the work that I do. I appreciate them, and I want to be sure I legally use reference photographs for my artwork.
Sometimes we lose our mojo as artists. We don’t know what we want to create. We have no inspiration.
What gets me out of that rut is finding a beautiful reference photo. Here are some resources for you to check out to get your next dose of inspiration.
This is a revamp of an older blog post I wrote. In that post, I describe the basics of why artists should be cognizant of copyright laws. So check that out here if you need a refresher on why it’s important to be within the law when creating art based on online photographs.
Otherwise, enjoy the links.
Website Links to Source Free Photographs
Wikimedia Commons- This is a great site to find photos. Sometimes you have to search on the page for a bit to find what license covers the work, but it’s not too difficult to locate the information on Wikimedia Commons. It will also offer a variety of sized images for you to download. So if you don’t want a huge photograph, you can download a smaller-sized one.
Pixabay- I use Pixabay frequently. This is a great one because all of the images on this site are CC0 (Creative Commons- No Copyright Reserved). The downside of Pixabay is that a lot of other artists use it, but more on that later…
Pexels- All images on this site are free to use under a license by Pexels. You can use the images for free, including altering them and using them commercially. You don’t even have to provide attribution!
Stock Snap- This is another CC0 source with lots of images to choose from.
Unsplash- Unsplash has all CC0 images as well, under its license. They do appreciate it when you attribute the photographer, though, which is no big deal and a nice thing to do.
United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)- Government materials are in the public domain, which means that they are free to use for any reason. Under copyright law, any photographs taken by the United States government are free to use without copyright concerns. You may have to do some searching on this site to find good photographs, but it might be worth the effort. If animals aren’t your jam, search out some other government websites that may have photos that interest you.
Facebook Groups with Free Artist Reference Photos
I am not an expert on Facebook, and I’ve only recently been trying to build my business page on it. That said, I have seen some free reference photo groups on the platform.
There are some generous photographers who share their work with artists. In order to find them, do a search for “artist reference photos” and whatever topic you are looking for. Once you’ve joined a group, you’ll have to read the rules for the group to see what each photographer requests you do in terms of giving them credit or selling your work.
It’s worth a shot, but keep in mind that other folks may use the same photographs if you are seeking something that is one-of-a-kind.
Why You May Want Something Other Than A Free Reference Photograph
You may not find the image you want on the websites I listed above. “Free” might be free for a reason. You might have noticed that beautiful photographs you see on the internet are copyright-protected.
Also, something to keep in mind is that other artists will be using these free images for their work as well. I have seen several artists’ work on Instagram using the same wolf picture from Pixabay, for example.
This consideration takes us to the next option, which may help you to find better pictures, albeit for a price.
Website Links to Buy Rights for Photographs
RT Reference Photos- These are pictures from a husband and wife team, Remco and Tazi. They are both photographers who have taken all of the pictures on the website, however, most photos are by Tazi. They are only seeking money to be able to continue taking pictures and donate money to conservation organizations.
The pictures are beautiful and reasonably priced at around $15- $45 per picture (I’m converting Euros from their website to US dollars for this blog). They specify that they favor big cats on their website, but they do have a lot of other animal pictures to select from- anything from sea life to elephants to wolves.
Another benefit of buying from them is that if you create a piece from their photograph they might share it on social media. They are excellent at promoting artists in that way. So it’s a win-win.
The Standard license fee gives you the right to use the photograph to create your art and to sell it if you so choose. You cannot create digital art with these reference photos. You are permitted to create as many pieces of art as you want from each photo, but you may not sell the artwork for more than approximately $1100 unless you buy the Royalty-Free license. The Royalty-Free license will let you price your work higher and it will also ensure that you are the only person using that photograph as a reference photo. The fee for this license will depend on how much you sell your artwork for and will range from $85 to $567 on top of the Standard license fee.
Wildlife Reference Photos for Artists- This website is family-run, and it was created for the sole purpose of providing a place for artists to find reference photos. The owners are wildlife artists themselves. This is a great resource. They sell photographs starting at $5. Once you purchase the photo you can reuse it as much as you want, make prints from your artwork, and sell the original artwork and prints.
I am working on a wolf piece from this website right now. I will say that I saw a colored pencil artist using the same photograph. I just wanted you to be aware that if you don’t own the full rights, someone else might also buy it and create from it.
Jason Morgan Artist’s Reference Photos- Jason Morgan is a professional wildlife artist. He also takes his pictures of animals and sells them in very reasonably priced bundles of 75 to 136 photographs. The images are completely copyright and royalty-free. You can purchase the bundles on CDs ($25 including shipping) or digital downloads ($15). The CDs are in bundles such as African wildlife, birds of prey, landscape, flowers, and photo mixes of animals. You can’t see all of the photos before you buy them, but at the low price, I think it’s worth the gamble.
African Reference Photos for Wildlife Artists- This website is run by Scotch Macaskill, a photojournalist living in South Africa. You can’t download the picture straight from the website, but all you have to do is email Scotch. The directions are on the webpage and they are $2 a photo.
The photos are great if you are looking for reference pictures of animals living in the savanna biome in Africa. I don’t know if a lot of people know about this site, so it might be a good one to purchase a cheap reference photo.
Ask the Photographer for Permission to Use Their Work
I have one additional suggestion for finding photograph references. This is my personal favorite option- if you find a photograph online or in a magazine that you want to draw, see if you can track down the photographer and ask permission to use it.
I was able to do this with my “Ross Castle” reference photograph, and the photographer (Adam Machowiak) gave me permission to use his photo as long as I gave him credit. I wasn’t planning to sell the drawing, but if I was I would have asked him if I could sell it and/or make prints from it. If you make prints from a photographer’s picture, you could offer to give them one for using their work to compensate him or her.
I did this again with a piece I’m currently working on. I follow a photographer named Tim Pennington on Instagram, and I love his work. I reached out to see if he would mind if I used some of his photographs as reference photos for my art. I’m going to mail him a print of a piece I just drew (once I get that sorted) to thank him for being so generous.
The next piece I want to work on will be based on a photo by Brady Rauch, whom I met because of family connections. He is an excellent photographer. You never know, you may have a photographer in your circle of friends and/or family that you can tap as a resource.
Anyway, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
I hope this blog was helpful to you. Let me know in the comments if you know of any additional websites to find pictures.
