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We are launching a Free (Do whatever you want) Photo Website in a few days

almost 7 years ago from

Hey guys!

We are launching a free photos photos website in the next few days. We will be posting our own photos. What we want to offer is actually photo collections in the same style so that designers, developers, bloggers can use multiple photos that go well with each other and can be easily combined.

Our goal is to create something like deathtothestockphoto website but free.

We will be posting collections that we already have. Some are OK and some are quite good. The point of this is to make really useful photos, with a lot of white space for typography and useful compositions that allow enough space for other usage.

SO - What we want from you guys is some honest guidance.

  1. What do you hate about free stock photos and what should we avoid?
  2. What compositions are most useful to you?
  3. What types of photos do you use the most?
  4. What do you miss the most about available free stock websites?

Thanks for any feedback and be as honest and direct as posibble because we want to contribute in the most precise way posibble.

You can see a tiny preview of the vibe of the photos in this tweet photo (sorry but we didn't have time to make a proper presentation) https://twitter.com/NordWoodThemes/status/790296486529605632)

NordWood Themes team :)

17 comments

  • Bugsy SailorBugsy Sailor, almost 7 years ago

    The rise of CC0 photos has definitely changed the games. But my biggest frustration is that there will be some beautiful compositions available, but they have been filter so heavily (add grain, desaturate, add purple to shadows, etc.). At that point the photo becomes unusable in many cases, once rasterized you can't reverse those changes. Those changes should be reserved for the end user.

    11 points
    • Dirk HCM van BoxtelDirk HCM van Boxtel, almost 7 years ago

      This, plus, when you take a photo of a person, object or whatnot, it tends to be useful to take one with a FAR wider angle, so that WE can pick the composition.

      5 points
      • Mike Wilson, almost 7 years ago

        Agreed on all points. Also, shallow depth of field is wildly over-used on the free stock sites.

        So many amateur photographers throw on their F1.4 prime wide-open as way to make a poorly art directed scene look okay, but at this point there's about 3,000 options for iPhone 6 against dreamy bokeh so I don't think we need any more of those.

        I understand it's probably impossible to produce professional-quality photos of people and scenes without a budget for models, props, styling, lighting, etc. but I think just simplifying the compositions would go a long way.

        For example, if you're going to do a shot of a laptop on a desk, take your "life, love, laughter" poster you bought on etsy off the wall in the background. It makes the shot extremely specialized and now only applicable for a narrow audience who would also like that same poster.

        1 point
        • NordWood Themes, almost 7 years ago

          You bring up a good point we are thinking about for our future shoots.

          Would you find it useful that let's say a MacBook Pro screen is blank (meaning black), or maybe a nice random gradient or perhaps some specific graphic? We will be making some shots with some pre-defined graphics on the iPad screen but we can add some shots based on your guys feedback (and if they can be applied to more people's needs).

          0 points
    • NordWood Themes, almost 7 years ago

      We decided not to filter our photos, just add some basic post-processing for starters but we will avoid adding Instagram-like color filters outright.

      2 points
  • Brandon ZellBrandon Zell, almost 7 years ago

    A lot of times I have a hard time finding photos with white space for text (like you mentioned). So many photos are too close to the subject. Give those photos some space! That's what I'd ask for. Thanks!

    5 points
    • NordWood Themes, almost 7 years ago

      This is certainly what we will try to do whenever we can. These first series of photos somewhat follow that logic and we are not absolutely satisfied with them but the plan is to always have a very wide shot, atmospheric shot, background color shot that goes along with the vibe of the series and some clear, straightforward simple shots in one pack.

      1 point
  • Kemie GuaidaKemie Guaida, almost 7 years ago

    Varied environments/settings/people. Too often free photos reflect, understandably young designers' lifestyles/workplaces. Sometimes I need pics of more corporate / home environments.

    3 points
    • NordWood Themes, almost 7 years ago

      Our plan is - if this works out and we have a big enough exposure and response - to actually invest in paying models for small photo shoots so we can offer more photos with people in various situations. For now, we will be limiting our expenditures to minimum in order to feel the crowd :)

      0 points
  • Calum SmithCalum Smith, almost 7 years ago

    I'm with Bugsy on this. Unsplash et al have done some great stuff for availability and quality, but I find they often get so stylized that they get in the way of whatever I'd want to put them in.

    2 points
    • NordWood Themes, almost 7 years ago

      Yes, we've used Unsplash in many projects but I think the biggest problem with a lot of their photos is they are community-submitted and vary a lot is post-processing style and quality.

      1 point
  • Brian A.Brian A., almost 7 years ago

    Content-wise, I'd love to see subjects and compositions that aren't so "designer cliché". By that I mean fewer botique coffee shops and minimalist desks and more common everyday situations. The main issue I have with Unsplash (and other sites like it) is that the majority of the photos feature subject matter and stylizations that are heavily geared towards designers; they don't feel representative of every day life.

    1 point
    • NordWood Themes, almost 7 years ago

      Thanks for the input Brian,

      You won't be too happy with this starting batch of or photos definitely then :) For now, this is just two people with a camera in their apartment and on the streets but if we have a good enough exposure and feedback we will definitely hire some friends to have small shoots in normal situations you are mentioning.

      Which sites do you use the most now?

      0 points
  • Mohd HazwanMohd Hazwan, almost 7 years ago
    1 point
  • NordWood Themes, almost 7 years ago

    It's online! Check our free photo website here: http://rightlight.nordwoodthemes.com/

    And please do leave honest feedback about it, we will be making and adding new photos regularly and we want to make them as usable as possible.

    You can leave your feedback on the discussion page http://rightlight.nordwoodthemes.com/discussion/ or here so we can a good idea on what you need the most.

    0 points