Unsplash
The internet’s source for visuals.
Powered by creators everywhere.
Initially a pioneer of the copyright-free photography model, Unsplash was created in 2013 by Montreal-based entrepreneur Mikael Cho. While creating a new homepage for his company Crew, Cho was unable to find a suitable stock photo and hired a photographer instead. Afterwards, Cho posted the outtakes from his company photoshoot on Tumblr, inviting people to use them as they saw fit. Unsplash received more than 50,000 visits on its first day.
Cho supplied the first batch of photos to Unsplash, which then received contributions from amateur and professional photographers. Due to the volume of photo submissions, the site employed an editorial team and “curators” picked from the Unsplash community, including Guy Kawasaki, Nas, Khoi Vinh, Amanda Hesser and Om Malik.
In March 2021, Unsplash was acquired by Getty Images for an undisclosed sum. Unsplash will continue to operate as a standalone brand and division of Getty Images with Cho in charge.
In 2013, Unsplash launched as a modest Tumblr blog. Since then, Unsplash has evolved into one of the most impactful online communities. Today, over 10 billion Unsplash images are seen every month. A photo featured on Unsplash will now be viewed more than the front page of The New York Times. The Unsplash community is fueled by contributors who offer their images freely for anyone to use, inspiring hundreds of millions of creators from 13-year-old graphic designers to multi-platinum recording artists. Unsplash is a special community, where the powerful principles of sharing and openness have taken the place of strict copyright and legal red tape. The web was meant to connect, inform, and inspire us in unprecedented ways. The Unsplash community embodies this philosophy fully. Unsplash has become a place where the impact of our connected world is on full display. Instead of images being hoarded and shut down, images on Unsplash are fuel for creativity. At Unsplash, our mission is to enable everyone to create. You don’t need to know someone, or have an agent, or have a name to be great on Unsplash. We’re a place where creators meet their audience. A place where individuals become a community. And a source of inspiration for millions of people from every country in the world. We’ve seen how the willingness to give a single image unlocks the creative potential that exists in us all.
Unsplash is a stock photo sharing website that gives users access to millions of photos taken by photographers worldwide. The photos are completely free although Unsplash recommends adding a link to the photographer’s page.
Features
1. CONTRIBUTORS OF ALL BACKGROUNDS
The strength of Unsplash is its community of over 150,000 contributors. They are from all walks of life, from city dwellers with a phone to professional photographers with expensive gears. They are from every corner of the world.
2. SIMPLE SEARCH FUNCTIONS
Searching in Unsplash is done by entering keywords in the search bar. Alternatively, the photos are classified in topics curated by Unsplash or by any private contributor or member of the community. There is also a wallpaper section for photos to use as a mobile or desktop background picture.
3. PHOTOS FOR ALL TASTES
There are over 1.5 million high-resolution photos in Unsplash and the library grows daily. The platform counts over 11 billion downloads every month. There are photos available for all tastes and projects.
4. APPS AVAILABLE
Unsplash has an iOS app that allows to select images quickly and easily by dragging and dropping. The app has an edit feature that allows making a few simple modifications to photos. There is also an app for Chrome that displays a different photo every time a new tab is opened.
5. INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMMUNITY
The blog publishes articles about news related to the community. It does not provide tips on photography. There is also a chat room for contributors.
IT INCLUDES
Experimental
3D Renders
Architecture & Interiors
Fashion & Beauty
Current Events
Nature
Food & Drink
Film
People
Athletics
Street Photography
So now when you are pitching future clients, you can have some bragging rights and say your images have been used for x y and z. And you could even send them some links to where your work has been featured!
Is it worth while to share your images for free?
To be honest, when I first shared my images on Unsplash, I wasn’t expecting much to happen. I just thought it would be cool to contribute some of my work online.
So after a few weeks went on, I decided to log back in and see if anyone had viewed my images. Yes a bit vain, but I couldn’t help my self.
To my surprise, one of my photos had received close to 10,000 views… My jaw was dropping. At most, I was only expecting 10-20.
As you can see from the above image, that one photo has gone on to receive 122,000 views alone and close to 800 downloads.
But how has my overall portfolio done on Unsplash? Lets have a look at some more numbers.
As of writing this, my images on the platform have accumulated just over 225,000 views and 1,835 downloads. Whats also interesting about these numbers is that I’m no professional photographer. This is just my hobby.
So if you have some more experience in this field, then you can expect to see some much higher numbers. I have seen hundreds of images on the platform which have gotten in excess of 1 million views for a single image!
So is Unsplash worth it for an aspiring or beginner photographer?
In my opinion, definitely yes!
How to get exposure from Unsplash?
While it feels great to give back to such a great community, it is also a great opportunity to get some exposure and maybe even some freelance work/ clients.
So how does one do this?
Hands down one of the best ways to get exposure on the platform, is to simply share more photos. If a potential client is browsing the platform and comes by your work, is is extremely easy for them to reach out to you via your chosen contact method.
Whether that be your personal website or Instagram.
Things to be aware of when using Unsplash
While Unsplash is praised by many, it is also ridiculed by some professional photographers who believe that it disvalues their expertise and creativeness. While I believe there is some merit to this, I also feel that there can be a balance between giving back to a community while also not having to share all of your work.
Also when using Unsplash, there are some grey areas to be aware of, especially when it comes to including people in your images. If any of your images with an individual is used for commercial purposes, you actually may be liable if you did not get a release form.
