Here are some results when we searched for Free Photos or Public Domain Photos:
Picryl (GetArchive)
Picryl.com claimed on its sponsored search results title: “Public Domain Images – No Copyright, Free Images.” We downloaded a small-size image of solar panels to use on this site. The site verified our humanity by asking us to identify a tag that did not apply to the photo – something along the lines of “battlebots in a cage match.” Having passed that test, we were then asked to add tags to the photo to help them with their organization. Despite the presence of clouds, homes and a blue sky in the photo, we chose three tags dedicated to solar energy. We could add tags if we liked. We were then asked to either login or create an account, which gave them our email address. We were then sent to a page asking us for a donation with the assurance that “The file is already downloaded: Free for use, including commercial. No rights clearance or attribution required.”
We received an email from GetArchive, Picryl’s owner which stated “We believe that access to the public domain should be available for everyone. We allow access to millions of public domain images with dimensions up to 1024px for free. We offer a way to publish digital collections for free to anyone. In exchange, we’re asking for donations and offer subscriptions ONLY for high-resolution and ultra-high-resolution downloads required for professional production. We run no ads, we share your information with no one, we work hard for users like you, and your support is all we have.”
We note that Picryl came to our attention as a sponsored search result on Google for the search “Public Domain Images.” This is likely expensive advertising. A link to Picryl.com appears in the links at the end of this article.
Dreamstime
Dreamstime.com claims to have free images, but they really mean royalty-free images. There are no free downloads on the site. Rather, you must pay for a monthly membership.