New In 2024, Add Pro-Level Effects to Your Videos in 3 Easy Steps with FCP X

New In 2024, Add Pro-Level Effects to Your Videos in 3 Easy Steps with FCP X

Charlotte Lv12

Add Pro-Level Effects to Your Videos in 3 Easy Steps with FCP X

Simple Guide to FCP X: How To Add Effects in 3 Steps

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

There are two broad categories of effects in Final Cut Pro X: Inspector effects and Effects Browser effects.

I’ve written previously about how to use Inspector effects to create a picture-in-picture effect, among many other effects available to us in Final Cut Pro. In this article, I want to show you how to apply an effect to a clip, modify that effect, temporarily turn that effect on or off, or delete it entirely.


This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac . This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )


How to Apply Effects to Video in Final Cut Pro X

Find and apply an effect

Here is our clip - a fearsome polar bear.

add effects in fcp

To apply an effect, first select the clip in the Timeline.

add effects in fcp

Then, click this icon in the Toolbar to open the Effects Browser (or type Cmd + 5).

add effects in fcp

The Browser, like all the effects browsers, lists categories of effects on the left, a search box at the bottom to use for searching for the names of effects, and effects for each category on the right.

add effects in fcp

Here, for example, I’ve selected the Blur category, with my cursor near the Gaussian blur effect. (Gaussian blur is the best effect to use when you want a clip to look blurry.)

To apply an effect, do one of two things:

  • Drag the effect from the Browser onto the clip you want to change.
  • If the clip, or clips, are selected, double-click the effect in the Browser to apply it.

Modify an effect

To modify an effect, click this icon in the Toolbar to open the Inspector (or type Cmd + 4).

add effects in fcp

Click the Video tab in the Inspector. Effects from the Effects Browser are always listed at the top of the Inspector.

add effects in fcp

Grab a slider and drag it to see what happens. For example, to make an image blurrier, drag the Amount slider to the right. To lessen the effect, drag it to the left.

add effects in fcp

Disable and delete an effect

To temporarily disable an effect, without deleting it, click the blue box so that it turns gray.

add effects in fcp

To enable an effect, click the gray box so it turns blue again.

To delete an effect, click the name of the effect - in this example: Gaussian - and press the big Delete key.

add effects in fcp

The effect will be deleted from the selected clip.

Extra credit

You can apply, modify, even delete the same effect to multiple clips by first selecting all the clips you want to change in the Timeline then adding, changing the settings, or deleting an effect in the Inspector.

Summary

The process of applying effects is the same for all effects you apply from the Effects Browser. In future articles I’ll show you how to use this technique to create a wide variety of different effects in Final Cut Pro X.

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

There are two broad categories of effects in Final Cut Pro X: Inspector effects and Effects Browser effects.

I’ve written previously about how to use Inspector effects to create a picture-in-picture effect, among many other effects available to us in Final Cut Pro. In this article, I want to show you how to apply an effect to a clip, modify that effect, temporarily turn that effect on or off, or delete it entirely.


This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac . This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )


How to Apply Effects to Video in Final Cut Pro X

Find and apply an effect

Here is our clip - a fearsome polar bear.

add effects in fcp

To apply an effect, first select the clip in the Timeline.

add effects in fcp

Then, click this icon in the Toolbar to open the Effects Browser (or type Cmd + 5).

add effects in fcp

The Browser, like all the effects browsers, lists categories of effects on the left, a search box at the bottom to use for searching for the names of effects, and effects for each category on the right.

add effects in fcp

Here, for example, I’ve selected the Blur category, with my cursor near the Gaussian blur effect. (Gaussian blur is the best effect to use when you want a clip to look blurry.)

To apply an effect, do one of two things:

  • Drag the effect from the Browser onto the clip you want to change.
  • If the clip, or clips, are selected, double-click the effect in the Browser to apply it.

Modify an effect

To modify an effect, click this icon in the Toolbar to open the Inspector (or type Cmd + 4).

add effects in fcp

Click the Video tab in the Inspector. Effects from the Effects Browser are always listed at the top of the Inspector.

add effects in fcp

Grab a slider and drag it to see what happens. For example, to make an image blurrier, drag the Amount slider to the right. To lessen the effect, drag it to the left.

add effects in fcp

Disable and delete an effect

To temporarily disable an effect, without deleting it, click the blue box so that it turns gray.

add effects in fcp

To enable an effect, click the gray box so it turns blue again.

To delete an effect, click the name of the effect - in this example: Gaussian - and press the big Delete key.

add effects in fcp

The effect will be deleted from the selected clip.

Extra credit

You can apply, modify, even delete the same effect to multiple clips by first selecting all the clips you want to change in the Timeline then adding, changing the settings, or deleting an effect in the Inspector.

Summary

The process of applying effects is the same for all effects you apply from the Effects Browser. In future articles I’ll show you how to use this technique to create a wide variety of different effects in Final Cut Pro X.

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

There are two broad categories of effects in Final Cut Pro X: Inspector effects and Effects Browser effects.

I’ve written previously about how to use Inspector effects to create a picture-in-picture effect, among many other effects available to us in Final Cut Pro. In this article, I want to show you how to apply an effect to a clip, modify that effect, temporarily turn that effect on or off, or delete it entirely.


This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac . This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )


How to Apply Effects to Video in Final Cut Pro X

Find and apply an effect

Here is our clip - a fearsome polar bear.

add effects in fcp

To apply an effect, first select the clip in the Timeline.

add effects in fcp

Then, click this icon in the Toolbar to open the Effects Browser (or type Cmd + 5).

add effects in fcp

The Browser, like all the effects browsers, lists categories of effects on the left, a search box at the bottom to use for searching for the names of effects, and effects for each category on the right.

add effects in fcp

Here, for example, I’ve selected the Blur category, with my cursor near the Gaussian blur effect. (Gaussian blur is the best effect to use when you want a clip to look blurry.)

To apply an effect, do one of two things:

  • Drag the effect from the Browser onto the clip you want to change.
  • If the clip, or clips, are selected, double-click the effect in the Browser to apply it.

Modify an effect

To modify an effect, click this icon in the Toolbar to open the Inspector (or type Cmd + 4).

add effects in fcp

Click the Video tab in the Inspector. Effects from the Effects Browser are always listed at the top of the Inspector.

add effects in fcp

Grab a slider and drag it to see what happens. For example, to make an image blurrier, drag the Amount slider to the right. To lessen the effect, drag it to the left.

add effects in fcp

Disable and delete an effect

To temporarily disable an effect, without deleting it, click the blue box so that it turns gray.

add effects in fcp

To enable an effect, click the gray box so it turns blue again.

To delete an effect, click the name of the effect - in this example: Gaussian - and press the big Delete key.

add effects in fcp

The effect will be deleted from the selected clip.

Extra credit

You can apply, modify, even delete the same effect to multiple clips by first selecting all the clips you want to change in the Timeline then adding, changing the settings, or deleting an effect in the Inspector.

Summary

The process of applying effects is the same for all effects you apply from the Effects Browser. In future articles I’ll show you how to use this technique to create a wide variety of different effects in Final Cut Pro X.

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

There are two broad categories of effects in Final Cut Pro X: Inspector effects and Effects Browser effects.

I’ve written previously about how to use Inspector effects to create a picture-in-picture effect, among many other effects available to us in Final Cut Pro. In this article, I want to show you how to apply an effect to a clip, modify that effect, temporarily turn that effect on or off, or delete it entirely.


This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac . This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )


How to Apply Effects to Video in Final Cut Pro X

Find and apply an effect

Here is our clip - a fearsome polar bear.

add effects in fcp

To apply an effect, first select the clip in the Timeline.

add effects in fcp

Then, click this icon in the Toolbar to open the Effects Browser (or type Cmd + 5).

add effects in fcp

The Browser, like all the effects browsers, lists categories of effects on the left, a search box at the bottom to use for searching for the names of effects, and effects for each category on the right.

add effects in fcp

Here, for example, I’ve selected the Blur category, with my cursor near the Gaussian blur effect. (Gaussian blur is the best effect to use when you want a clip to look blurry.)

To apply an effect, do one of two things:

  • Drag the effect from the Browser onto the clip you want to change.
  • If the clip, or clips, are selected, double-click the effect in the Browser to apply it.

Modify an effect

To modify an effect, click this icon in the Toolbar to open the Inspector (or type Cmd + 4).

add effects in fcp

Click the Video tab in the Inspector. Effects from the Effects Browser are always listed at the top of the Inspector.

add effects in fcp

Grab a slider and drag it to see what happens. For example, to make an image blurrier, drag the Amount slider to the right. To lessen the effect, drag it to the left.

add effects in fcp

Disable and delete an effect

To temporarily disable an effect, without deleting it, click the blue box so that it turns gray.

add effects in fcp

To enable an effect, click the gray box so it turns blue again.

To delete an effect, click the name of the effect - in this example: Gaussian - and press the big Delete key.

add effects in fcp

The effect will be deleted from the selected clip.

Extra credit

You can apply, modify, even delete the same effect to multiple clips by first selecting all the clips you want to change in the Timeline then adding, changing the settings, or deleting an effect in the Inspector.

Summary

The process of applying effects is the same for all effects you apply from the Effects Browser. In future articles I’ll show you how to use this technique to create a wide variety of different effects in Final Cut Pro X.

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

User-Friendly Video Editing Apps

New to video editing and don’t know how and where to edit videos, don’t have a media production, or can’t find a qualified video editor to film and produce your highlights? It’s all fine! The purpose of today’s article is to demonstrate that, with the correct video editor, you also can create slick, sophisticated video content—regardless of perception—and maintain your content marketing strategy ahead of the game.

In the coming year, over half of marketers will add YouTube and Facebook platforms for streaming video; one-third of all internet usage is spent viewing video; video will make for more than 80% of all internet traffic by 2019. 80% of the time! Let’s get started! From the most affordable (i.e., free!) for the beginners. Here is the best basic video editor that includes the features you’ll find handy in a video editor.

In this article

01 Best Basic Video Editors for Windows and Mac [Free and Paid]

02 Best Free Basic Video Editors Online

Part 1: Best Basic Video Editors for Windows and Mac [Free and Paid]

What should you do when you do not have access to a video studio or a team of video experts on staff to film and edit your videos? Do not be concerned!

Without the need for an in-house team or outsourcing your video brand awareness, it’s quicker than ever to make high-quality films on your own. Here are some of the top picks.

1. Windows Photos App

Microsoft Photos, a free digital viewer and video editor included with Windows 10 and Windows 11, provides capable visual effects and video enhancements, as well as techniques for organizing and editing videos, everything in a touch-friendly functionality. Windows 10/11 comes with the Photos app pre-integrated. You don’t have to do anything to obtain the app when you have Windows 10/11.

The free Microsoft photo and video editing app is a great choice for viewing, editing, and sharing digital photos and videos. As the name suggests, it’s for Windows users – a delight to use a picture and video-editing tool that’s simple to use, clean, and has all the functions you need for basic viewing and repairs. Obviously, a full-featured program like the Windows Photos App is required for advanced photo organizing, optimization, and effects.

windows photos app interface

Clips may be trimmed or divided, text can be added , motion or 3D effects can be applied, filters can be used, and the speed can be changed . It’s a huge array that allows you to create an interesting result. There are over 20 options for adding soundtracks at the backend at the top.

The Photos app features the Automatic Video tool which can create video automatically with the images or videos uploaded .

2. iMovie

Okay, so this one won’t actually apply to those of you who deal with computers, but we’d be negligent if we left it off the roster. Thanks to its high-class interface, it doesn’t get much nicer than Apple iMovie regarding elegance and beauty. It is only supported by macOS and iOS.

The ten high-fidelity filters in iMovie are among the best in the video editing game, and you can utilize AirDrop to instantly and smoothly transmit your video to your Mac when you’re filming on your iPhone or working on your iPad.

imovie editing interface

Green-screen , or “chroma-key,” is among iMovie’s most prized tools since it enables you to relocate your characters to exotic locations—say, Hawaii—at any time. Do you want to add “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to the image? Because iMovie is integrated with iTunes and GarageBand, you may quickly add unique music and sounds to your movie. Once your video is finished, send it out into the world via iMessage, Facebook, YouTube, or any of iMovie’s numerous easily accessible venues.

Here are some tips and tricks in editing videos with iMovie, hope that will help you edit faster.

3. Apple Photos App

Apple Photos, a free app included with macOS and iOS, is our pick for the best basic video editing software for Mac and iOS users because it embodies the company’s concept of fun, easy-to-use software. The interface of Apple Photos is clean, straightforward, and direct, allowing you to express yourself using basic, uncomplicated shortcuts rather than the complex layers of capabilities seen in more feature-rich products. It is only supported by Apple devices only.

Years, collections, and Moments are used to arrange the videos. Only current devices with 64-bit CPUs, such as the iPhone 5s or above, is compliant with the new release of Apple Photos. The Apple Photos mobile application includes thumbnail sliders to switch numerous characteristics of a photo quickly, in addition to options for auto-enhance, red-eye removal, and crop/rotate.

In Adjust, for example, you may move an indicator over a thumbnail variant to change the video’s luminance or color intensity. The one-click filters are basic, but they can provide some interesting results. You can also use your fingers or type text on display to mark up a video, trim a video and save it as a short teaser, change the slow-motion segment of a film, and trim a video and save it as a new video.

Here are some of the best Apple video editing software , make sure to check it if you’re using a Mac.

4. Wondershare Filmora

In terms of video editors, Wondershare Filmora has long been a current favorite of several, particularly regular customers, due to its ease of use. You will be met with the interface where you will do all of your film editing production. You’ll note how clean, tidy, and uncomplicated it looks and seems at first sight.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Library, Timeline, and Preview are the three options available in the interface. By heading to a specific section of the video on your timeline, double-clicking the area, waiting for it to pop into the preview segment, and then adding effects, transitions, audio, or stabilizing and correcting the video using any of the editing options that are available to you, you can perform simple video editing features.

filmora video editor main interface

Additional but equally impressive functions include Lens Correction, Compositing, which applies blend modes to transitions and overlays; Drop Shadow, which applies shadows to images and words. And Auto Enhance, which significantly improves the quality of a substandard video.

5. Adobe Premiere Elements

Adobe Premiere Elements allows even beginner editors to create polished projects from their video sources. It’s an all-in-one video editing and video production software for those who love graphic user interfaces and straightforward layouts. You may sketch around an item or region within a video after adding an effect to it.

As the videos go on, Elements keeps track of this item and conceals the effect on it. You can brighten the sky, change the color of a driving car, and blur a person’s face. Guided Edits, which walk the user step-by-step through multiple things, is a fundamental component of Elements. It is supported by Windows

They help learn the ropes and gain confidence thanks to the user-friendly design. The current version of Premiere Elements has received some under-the-hood improvements, depending less on the CPU and more on the graphics card to improve results.

adobe premiere elements auto reframe

Part 2: Best Free Basic Video Editors Online

With the advent of social video sharing platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, and TikTok, video editing and production are no longer limited to experts. In this section of the article, we’ll go through the top 5 most highly suggested free online video editing tools that you may use.

The majority of the free basic video editor are beginner-friendly, so even if you’re new to video production, you can rapidly create a movie with these resources.

1. Clipchamp

Clipchamp is an excellent free online video editing program that includes a video compressor, converter, and webcam recorder in addition to video editing features. You can cut, crop, rotate and flip films with ease using drag-and-drop tools.

It allows you to upload media files from a local computer or online cloud storage sites like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. You can also record the screen, camera or use the text to speech feature to generate audio sound.

Besides the basic video editing feature, this online video editor also provides some templates, stock video and music & sound effect libraries, which makes creating a video much easier. Furthermore, brightness, saturation, and contrast may all be easily adjusted. Transitions, text, overlays, and backdrops may all be added.

You may choose from a variety of aspect ratios, including 1:1, 9:16, 4:3, and 16:9, and it also comes with a built-in instruction to help you build a movie quickly. Plus, the software provides the editor with a large number of templates to pick from.

clipchamp video editing interface

2. Magisto

Magisto is a fantastic online video creator who automatically transforms ordinary movies into gorgeous, dynamic videos and amazing social videos. It’s easy to use and speedy, with all the features you’d expect from software you paid your kidney for.

magisto online video maker

You may contribute photographs and videos to Magisto after signing up with your Facebook or Google+ account. Magisto also offers a variety of video themes for a variety of sectors, including birthday wishes, weddings, promotions, announcements, and inspiration. Select from trendy, family, business, social, seasonal, fun, and clean editing themes.

3. Kizoa

Kizoa is well-known for its extensive transition effects, which may help you create professional-looking films quickly. Kizoa also offers 4K UHD videos in various aspect ratios, including 16:9, 4:3, 3:2, 1:1, and 9:16, 3:4, and 2:3 portraits. That’s not even taking into account the software’s numerous templates.

kizoa online video editor

Kizoa’s library has a large number of animations and effects which can be used to adapt films to meet the demands of certain editing tasks. Many aspects of video clips will be considerably easier to customize, such as position, size, length, and timing. Because there is no need to log in to obtain all of these amazing features, most pros and novices prefer to utilize Kizoa for their daily requirements.

4. Canva

Another one on our list is the Canva , which is as easy and simpler to use as the rest of these. The interface on a computer’s web browser is quite straightforward, with a sidebar on the left-side guiding you through all of the stages required to complete your work. You may choose from a variety of templates. They’re divided into categories like Education, Reviews, Explainer, Sale, Fashion, Slideshow, YouTube into, and Outro, and so on.

canva choose video

There are dozens of templates to pick from, with some appearing in many categories. Canva makes use of layers to allow things to be put in front of and behind each other. You may view and adjust that function by clicking the ‘Position’ option. Transparency, filters, color tweaks, cut, and flip are some of the other options available.

5. Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark , like Canva, is a video design platform. It enables you to generate a variety of images and social media material for professional or personal usage. Adobe Spark’s layout and usability will appeal to you. The primary interface, which appears before you use the editor, is straightforward.

online adobe spark video maker interface

Adobe Spark includes a vast library of templates when you’re looking for ideas or motivation for your creations. For organizations who wish to maintain a strong brand image in their material, the Brand area is a must-have element. You may develop new brands with the corporate logo, color palette, and typefaces as the starting point. Adobe Spark features a separate project tab that stores all of your work in one place.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it – the best basic video editors for beginners. Video editing has grown by ten folds from where it was five or six years ago. Almost anyone can edit a video to an extent. But what takes them to the next level is the use of efficient, effective, and productive software in place to do almost any kind of video editing. If you don’t want to install any software on your computer, you can try these online video editors or the preset video makers; if you want to improve the video quality, desktop software is recommended.

02 Best Free Basic Video Editors Online

Part 1: Best Basic Video Editors for Windows and Mac [Free and Paid]

What should you do when you do not have access to a video studio or a team of video experts on staff to film and edit your videos? Do not be concerned!

Without the need for an in-house team or outsourcing your video brand awareness, it’s quicker than ever to make high-quality films on your own. Here are some of the top picks.

1. Windows Photos App

Microsoft Photos, a free digital viewer and video editor included with Windows 10 and Windows 11, provides capable visual effects and video enhancements, as well as techniques for organizing and editing videos, everything in a touch-friendly functionality. Windows 10/11 comes with the Photos app pre-integrated. You don’t have to do anything to obtain the app when you have Windows 10/11.

The free Microsoft photo and video editing app is a great choice for viewing, editing, and sharing digital photos and videos. As the name suggests, it’s for Windows users – a delight to use a picture and video-editing tool that’s simple to use, clean, and has all the functions you need for basic viewing and repairs. Obviously, a full-featured program like the Windows Photos App is required for advanced photo organizing, optimization, and effects.

windows photos app interface

Clips may be trimmed or divided, text can be added , motion or 3D effects can be applied, filters can be used, and the speed can be changed . It’s a huge array that allows you to create an interesting result. There are over 20 options for adding soundtracks at the backend at the top.

The Photos app features the Automatic Video tool which can create video automatically with the images or videos uploaded .

2. iMovie

Okay, so this one won’t actually apply to those of you who deal with computers, but we’d be negligent if we left it off the roster. Thanks to its high-class interface, it doesn’t get much nicer than Apple iMovie regarding elegance and beauty. It is only supported by macOS and iOS.

The ten high-fidelity filters in iMovie are among the best in the video editing game, and you can utilize AirDrop to instantly and smoothly transmit your video to your Mac when you’re filming on your iPhone or working on your iPad.

imovie editing interface

Green-screen , or “chroma-key,” is among iMovie’s most prized tools since it enables you to relocate your characters to exotic locations—say, Hawaii—at any time. Do you want to add “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to the image? Because iMovie is integrated with iTunes and GarageBand, you may quickly add unique music and sounds to your movie. Once your video is finished, send it out into the world via iMessage, Facebook, YouTube, or any of iMovie’s numerous easily accessible venues.

Here are some tips and tricks in editing videos with iMovie, hope that will help you edit faster.

3. Apple Photos App

Apple Photos, a free app included with macOS and iOS, is our pick for the best basic video editing software for Mac and iOS users because it embodies the company’s concept of fun, easy-to-use software. The interface of Apple Photos is clean, straightforward, and direct, allowing you to express yourself using basic, uncomplicated shortcuts rather than the complex layers of capabilities seen in more feature-rich products. It is only supported by Apple devices only.

Years, collections, and Moments are used to arrange the videos. Only current devices with 64-bit CPUs, such as the iPhone 5s or above, is compliant with the new release of Apple Photos. The Apple Photos mobile application includes thumbnail sliders to switch numerous characteristics of a photo quickly, in addition to options for auto-enhance, red-eye removal, and crop/rotate.

In Adjust, for example, you may move an indicator over a thumbnail variant to change the video’s luminance or color intensity. The one-click filters are basic, but they can provide some interesting results. You can also use your fingers or type text on display to mark up a video, trim a video and save it as a short teaser, change the slow-motion segment of a film, and trim a video and save it as a new video.

Here are some of the best Apple video editing software , make sure to check it if you’re using a Mac.

4. Wondershare Filmora

In terms of video editors, Wondershare Filmora has long been a current favorite of several, particularly regular customers, due to its ease of use. You will be met with the interface where you will do all of your film editing production. You’ll note how clean, tidy, and uncomplicated it looks and seems at first sight.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Library, Timeline, and Preview are the three options available in the interface. By heading to a specific section of the video on your timeline, double-clicking the area, waiting for it to pop into the preview segment, and then adding effects, transitions, audio, or stabilizing and correcting the video using any of the editing options that are available to you, you can perform simple video editing features.

filmora video editor main interface

Additional but equally impressive functions include Lens Correction, Compositing, which applies blend modes to transitions and overlays; Drop Shadow, which applies shadows to images and words. And Auto Enhance, which significantly improves the quality of a substandard video.

5. Adobe Premiere Elements

Adobe Premiere Elements allows even beginner editors to create polished projects from their video sources. It’s an all-in-one video editing and video production software for those who love graphic user interfaces and straightforward layouts. You may sketch around an item or region within a video after adding an effect to it.

As the videos go on, Elements keeps track of this item and conceals the effect on it. You can brighten the sky, change the color of a driving car, and blur a person’s face. Guided Edits, which walk the user step-by-step through multiple things, is a fundamental component of Elements. It is supported by Windows

They help learn the ropes and gain confidence thanks to the user-friendly design. The current version of Premiere Elements has received some under-the-hood improvements, depending less on the CPU and more on the graphics card to improve results.

adobe premiere elements auto reframe

Part 2: Best Free Basic Video Editors Online

With the advent of social video sharing platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, and TikTok, video editing and production are no longer limited to experts. In this section of the article, we’ll go through the top 5 most highly suggested free online video editing tools that you may use.

The majority of the free basic video editor are beginner-friendly, so even if you’re new to video production, you can rapidly create a movie with these resources.

1. Clipchamp

Clipchamp is an excellent free online video editing program that includes a video compressor, converter, and webcam recorder in addition to video editing features. You can cut, crop, rotate and flip films with ease using drag-and-drop tools.

It allows you to upload media files from a local computer or online cloud storage sites like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. You can also record the screen, camera or use the text to speech feature to generate audio sound.

Besides the basic video editing feature, this online video editor also provides some templates, stock video and music & sound effect libraries, which makes creating a video much easier. Furthermore, brightness, saturation, and contrast may all be easily adjusted. Transitions, text, overlays, and backdrops may all be added.

You may choose from a variety of aspect ratios, including 1:1, 9:16, 4:3, and 16:9, and it also comes with a built-in instruction to help you build a movie quickly. Plus, the software provides the editor with a large number of templates to pick from.

clipchamp video editing interface

2. Magisto

Magisto is a fantastic online video creator who automatically transforms ordinary movies into gorgeous, dynamic videos and amazing social videos. It’s easy to use and speedy, with all the features you’d expect from software you paid your kidney for.

magisto online video maker

You may contribute photographs and videos to Magisto after signing up with your Facebook or Google+ account. Magisto also offers a variety of video themes for a variety of sectors, including birthday wishes, weddings, promotions, announcements, and inspiration. Select from trendy, family, business, social, seasonal, fun, and clean editing themes.

3. Kizoa

Kizoa is well-known for its extensive transition effects, which may help you create professional-looking films quickly. Kizoa also offers 4K UHD videos in various aspect ratios, including 16:9, 4:3, 3:2, 1:1, and 9:16, 3:4, and 2:3 portraits. That’s not even taking into account the software’s numerous templates.

kizoa online video editor

Kizoa’s library has a large number of animations and effects which can be used to adapt films to meet the demands of certain editing tasks. Many aspects of video clips will be considerably easier to customize, such as position, size, length, and timing. Because there is no need to log in to obtain all of these amazing features, most pros and novices prefer to utilize Kizoa for their daily requirements.

4. Canva

Another one on our list is the Canva , which is as easy and simpler to use as the rest of these. The interface on a computer’s web browser is quite straightforward, with a sidebar on the left-side guiding you through all of the stages required to complete your work. You may choose from a variety of templates. They’re divided into categories like Education, Reviews, Explainer, Sale, Fashion, Slideshow, YouTube into, and Outro, and so on.

canva choose video

There are dozens of templates to pick from, with some appearing in many categories. Canva makes use of layers to allow things to be put in front of and behind each other. You may view and adjust that function by clicking the ‘Position’ option. Transparency, filters, color tweaks, cut, and flip are some of the other options available.

5. Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark , like Canva, is a video design platform. It enables you to generate a variety of images and social media material for professional or personal usage. Adobe Spark’s layout and usability will appeal to you. The primary interface, which appears before you use the editor, is straightforward.

online adobe spark video maker interface

Adobe Spark includes a vast library of templates when you’re looking for ideas or motivation for your creations. For organizations who wish to maintain a strong brand image in their material, the Brand area is a must-have element. You may develop new brands with the corporate logo, color palette, and typefaces as the starting point. Adobe Spark features a separate project tab that stores all of your work in one place.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it – the best basic video editors for beginners. Video editing has grown by ten folds from where it was five or six years ago. Almost anyone can edit a video to an extent. But what takes them to the next level is the use of efficient, effective, and productive software in place to do almost any kind of video editing. If you don’t want to install any software on your computer, you can try these online video editors or the preset video makers; if you want to improve the video quality, desktop software is recommended.

02 Best Free Basic Video Editors Online

Part 1: Best Basic Video Editors for Windows and Mac [Free and Paid]

What should you do when you do not have access to a video studio or a team of video experts on staff to film and edit your videos? Do not be concerned!

Without the need for an in-house team or outsourcing your video brand awareness, it’s quicker than ever to make high-quality films on your own. Here are some of the top picks.

1. Windows Photos App

Microsoft Photos, a free digital viewer and video editor included with Windows 10 and Windows 11, provides capable visual effects and video enhancements, as well as techniques for organizing and editing videos, everything in a touch-friendly functionality. Windows 10/11 comes with the Photos app pre-integrated. You don’t have to do anything to obtain the app when you have Windows 10/11.

The free Microsoft photo and video editing app is a great choice for viewing, editing, and sharing digital photos and videos. As the name suggests, it’s for Windows users – a delight to use a picture and video-editing tool that’s simple to use, clean, and has all the functions you need for basic viewing and repairs. Obviously, a full-featured program like the Windows Photos App is required for advanced photo organizing, optimization, and effects.

windows photos app interface

Clips may be trimmed or divided, text can be added , motion or 3D effects can be applied, filters can be used, and the speed can be changed . It’s a huge array that allows you to create an interesting result. There are over 20 options for adding soundtracks at the backend at the top.

The Photos app features the Automatic Video tool which can create video automatically with the images or videos uploaded .

2. iMovie

Okay, so this one won’t actually apply to those of you who deal with computers, but we’d be negligent if we left it off the roster. Thanks to its high-class interface, it doesn’t get much nicer than Apple iMovie regarding elegance and beauty. It is only supported by macOS and iOS.

The ten high-fidelity filters in iMovie are among the best in the video editing game, and you can utilize AirDrop to instantly and smoothly transmit your video to your Mac when you’re filming on your iPhone or working on your iPad.

imovie editing interface

Green-screen , or “chroma-key,” is among iMovie’s most prized tools since it enables you to relocate your characters to exotic locations—say, Hawaii—at any time. Do you want to add “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to the image? Because iMovie is integrated with iTunes and GarageBand, you may quickly add unique music and sounds to your movie. Once your video is finished, send it out into the world via iMessage, Facebook, YouTube, or any of iMovie’s numerous easily accessible venues.

Here are some tips and tricks in editing videos with iMovie, hope that will help you edit faster.

3. Apple Photos App

Apple Photos, a free app included with macOS and iOS, is our pick for the best basic video editing software for Mac and iOS users because it embodies the company’s concept of fun, easy-to-use software. The interface of Apple Photos is clean, straightforward, and direct, allowing you to express yourself using basic, uncomplicated shortcuts rather than the complex layers of capabilities seen in more feature-rich products. It is only supported by Apple devices only.

Years, collections, and Moments are used to arrange the videos. Only current devices with 64-bit CPUs, such as the iPhone 5s or above, is compliant with the new release of Apple Photos. The Apple Photos mobile application includes thumbnail sliders to switch numerous characteristics of a photo quickly, in addition to options for auto-enhance, red-eye removal, and crop/rotate.

In Adjust, for example, you may move an indicator over a thumbnail variant to change the video’s luminance or color intensity. The one-click filters are basic, but they can provide some interesting results. You can also use your fingers or type text on display to mark up a video, trim a video and save it as a short teaser, change the slow-motion segment of a film, and trim a video and save it as a new video.

Here are some of the best Apple video editing software , make sure to check it if you’re using a Mac.

4. Wondershare Filmora

In terms of video editors, Wondershare Filmora has long been a current favorite of several, particularly regular customers, due to its ease of use. You will be met with the interface where you will do all of your film editing production. You’ll note how clean, tidy, and uncomplicated it looks and seems at first sight.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Library, Timeline, and Preview are the three options available in the interface. By heading to a specific section of the video on your timeline, double-clicking the area, waiting for it to pop into the preview segment, and then adding effects, transitions, audio, or stabilizing and correcting the video using any of the editing options that are available to you, you can perform simple video editing features.

filmora video editor main interface

Additional but equally impressive functions include Lens Correction, Compositing, which applies blend modes to transitions and overlays; Drop Shadow, which applies shadows to images and words. And Auto Enhance, which significantly improves the quality of a substandard video.

5. Adobe Premiere Elements

Adobe Premiere Elements allows even beginner editors to create polished projects from their video sources. It’s an all-in-one video editing and video production software for those who love graphic user interfaces and straightforward layouts. You may sketch around an item or region within a video after adding an effect to it.

As the videos go on, Elements keeps track of this item and conceals the effect on it. You can brighten the sky, change the color of a driving car, and blur a person’s face. Guided Edits, which walk the user step-by-step through multiple things, is a fundamental component of Elements. It is supported by Windows

They help learn the ropes and gain confidence thanks to the user-friendly design. The current version of Premiere Elements has received some under-the-hood improvements, depending less on the CPU and more on the graphics card to improve results.

adobe premiere elements auto reframe

Part 2: Best Free Basic Video Editors Online

With the advent of social video sharing platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, and TikTok, video editing and production are no longer limited to experts. In this section of the article, we’ll go through the top 5 most highly suggested free online video editing tools that you may use.

The majority of the free basic video editor are beginner-friendly, so even if you’re new to video production, you can rapidly create a movie with these resources.

1. Clipchamp

Clipchamp is an excellent free online video editing program that includes a video compressor, converter, and webcam recorder in addition to video editing features. You can cut, crop, rotate and flip films with ease using drag-and-drop tools.

It allows you to upload media files from a local computer or online cloud storage sites like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. You can also record the screen, camera or use the text to speech feature to generate audio sound.

Besides the basic video editing feature, this online video editor also provides some templates, stock video and music & sound effect libraries, which makes creating a video much easier. Furthermore, brightness, saturation, and contrast may all be easily adjusted. Transitions, text, overlays, and backdrops may all be added.

You may choose from a variety of aspect ratios, including 1:1, 9:16, 4:3, and 16:9, and it also comes with a built-in instruction to help you build a movie quickly. Plus, the software provides the editor with a large number of templates to pick from.

clipchamp video editing interface

2. Magisto

Magisto is a fantastic online video creator who automatically transforms ordinary movies into gorgeous, dynamic videos and amazing social videos. It’s easy to use and speedy, with all the features you’d expect from software you paid your kidney for.

magisto online video maker

You may contribute photographs and videos to Magisto after signing up with your Facebook or Google+ account. Magisto also offers a variety of video themes for a variety of sectors, including birthday wishes, weddings, promotions, announcements, and inspiration. Select from trendy, family, business, social, seasonal, fun, and clean editing themes.

3. Kizoa

Kizoa is well-known for its extensive transition effects, which may help you create professional-looking films quickly. Kizoa also offers 4K UHD videos in various aspect ratios, including 16:9, 4:3, 3:2, 1:1, and 9:16, 3:4, and 2:3 portraits. That’s not even taking into account the software’s numerous templates.

kizoa online video editor

Kizoa’s library has a large number of animations and effects which can be used to adapt films to meet the demands of certain editing tasks. Many aspects of video clips will be considerably easier to customize, such as position, size, length, and timing. Because there is no need to log in to obtain all of these amazing features, most pros and novices prefer to utilize Kizoa for their daily requirements.

4. Canva

Another one on our list is the Canva , which is as easy and simpler to use as the rest of these. The interface on a computer’s web browser is quite straightforward, with a sidebar on the left-side guiding you through all of the stages required to complete your work. You may choose from a variety of templates. They’re divided into categories like Education, Reviews, Explainer, Sale, Fashion, Slideshow, YouTube into, and Outro, and so on.

canva choose video

There are dozens of templates to pick from, with some appearing in many categories. Canva makes use of layers to allow things to be put in front of and behind each other. You may view and adjust that function by clicking the ‘Position’ option. Transparency, filters, color tweaks, cut, and flip are some of the other options available.

5. Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark , like Canva, is a video design platform. It enables you to generate a variety of images and social media material for professional or personal usage. Adobe Spark’s layout and usability will appeal to you. The primary interface, which appears before you use the editor, is straightforward.

online adobe spark video maker interface

Adobe Spark includes a vast library of templates when you’re looking for ideas or motivation for your creations. For organizations who wish to maintain a strong brand image in their material, the Brand area is a must-have element. You may develop new brands with the corporate logo, color palette, and typefaces as the starting point. Adobe Spark features a separate project tab that stores all of your work in one place.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it – the best basic video editors for beginners. Video editing has grown by ten folds from where it was five or six years ago. Almost anyone can edit a video to an extent. But what takes them to the next level is the use of efficient, effective, and productive software in place to do almost any kind of video editing. If you don’t want to install any software on your computer, you can try these online video editors or the preset video makers; if you want to improve the video quality, desktop software is recommended.

02 Best Free Basic Video Editors Online

Part 1: Best Basic Video Editors for Windows and Mac [Free and Paid]

What should you do when you do not have access to a video studio or a team of video experts on staff to film and edit your videos? Do not be concerned!

Without the need for an in-house team or outsourcing your video brand awareness, it’s quicker than ever to make high-quality films on your own. Here are some of the top picks.

1. Windows Photos App

Microsoft Photos, a free digital viewer and video editor included with Windows 10 and Windows 11, provides capable visual effects and video enhancements, as well as techniques for organizing and editing videos, everything in a touch-friendly functionality. Windows 10/11 comes with the Photos app pre-integrated. You don’t have to do anything to obtain the app when you have Windows 10/11.

The free Microsoft photo and video editing app is a great choice for viewing, editing, and sharing digital photos and videos. As the name suggests, it’s for Windows users – a delight to use a picture and video-editing tool that’s simple to use, clean, and has all the functions you need for basic viewing and repairs. Obviously, a full-featured program like the Windows Photos App is required for advanced photo organizing, optimization, and effects.

windows photos app interface

Clips may be trimmed or divided, text can be added , motion or 3D effects can be applied, filters can be used, and the speed can be changed . It’s a huge array that allows you to create an interesting result. There are over 20 options for adding soundtracks at the backend at the top.

The Photos app features the Automatic Video tool which can create video automatically with the images or videos uploaded .

2. iMovie

Okay, so this one won’t actually apply to those of you who deal with computers, but we’d be negligent if we left it off the roster. Thanks to its high-class interface, it doesn’t get much nicer than Apple iMovie regarding elegance and beauty. It is only supported by macOS and iOS.

The ten high-fidelity filters in iMovie are among the best in the video editing game, and you can utilize AirDrop to instantly and smoothly transmit your video to your Mac when you’re filming on your iPhone or working on your iPad.

imovie editing interface

Green-screen , or “chroma-key,” is among iMovie’s most prized tools since it enables you to relocate your characters to exotic locations—say, Hawaii—at any time. Do you want to add “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to the image? Because iMovie is integrated with iTunes and GarageBand, you may quickly add unique music and sounds to your movie. Once your video is finished, send it out into the world via iMessage, Facebook, YouTube, or any of iMovie’s numerous easily accessible venues.

Here are some tips and tricks in editing videos with iMovie, hope that will help you edit faster.

3. Apple Photos App

Apple Photos, a free app included with macOS and iOS, is our pick for the best basic video editing software for Mac and iOS users because it embodies the company’s concept of fun, easy-to-use software. The interface of Apple Photos is clean, straightforward, and direct, allowing you to express yourself using basic, uncomplicated shortcuts rather than the complex layers of capabilities seen in more feature-rich products. It is only supported by Apple devices only.

Years, collections, and Moments are used to arrange the videos. Only current devices with 64-bit CPUs, such as the iPhone 5s or above, is compliant with the new release of Apple Photos. The Apple Photos mobile application includes thumbnail sliders to switch numerous characteristics of a photo quickly, in addition to options for auto-enhance, red-eye removal, and crop/rotate.

In Adjust, for example, you may move an indicator over a thumbnail variant to change the video’s luminance or color intensity. The one-click filters are basic, but they can provide some interesting results. You can also use your fingers or type text on display to mark up a video, trim a video and save it as a short teaser, change the slow-motion segment of a film, and trim a video and save it as a new video.

Here are some of the best Apple video editing software , make sure to check it if you’re using a Mac.

4. Wondershare Filmora

In terms of video editors, Wondershare Filmora has long been a current favorite of several, particularly regular customers, due to its ease of use. You will be met with the interface where you will do all of your film editing production. You’ll note how clean, tidy, and uncomplicated it looks and seems at first sight.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Library, Timeline, and Preview are the three options available in the interface. By heading to a specific section of the video on your timeline, double-clicking the area, waiting for it to pop into the preview segment, and then adding effects, transitions, audio, or stabilizing and correcting the video using any of the editing options that are available to you, you can perform simple video editing features.

filmora video editor main interface

Additional but equally impressive functions include Lens Correction, Compositing, which applies blend modes to transitions and overlays; Drop Shadow, which applies shadows to images and words. And Auto Enhance, which significantly improves the quality of a substandard video.

5. Adobe Premiere Elements

Adobe Premiere Elements allows even beginner editors to create polished projects from their video sources. It’s an all-in-one video editing and video production software for those who love graphic user interfaces and straightforward layouts. You may sketch around an item or region within a video after adding an effect to it.

As the videos go on, Elements keeps track of this item and conceals the effect on it. You can brighten the sky, change the color of a driving car, and blur a person’s face. Guided Edits, which walk the user step-by-step through multiple things, is a fundamental component of Elements. It is supported by Windows

They help learn the ropes and gain confidence thanks to the user-friendly design. The current version of Premiere Elements has received some under-the-hood improvements, depending less on the CPU and more on the graphics card to improve results.

adobe premiere elements auto reframe

Part 2: Best Free Basic Video Editors Online

With the advent of social video sharing platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, and TikTok, video editing and production are no longer limited to experts. In this section of the article, we’ll go through the top 5 most highly suggested free online video editing tools that you may use.

The majority of the free basic video editor are beginner-friendly, so even if you’re new to video production, you can rapidly create a movie with these resources.

1. Clipchamp

Clipchamp is an excellent free online video editing program that includes a video compressor, converter, and webcam recorder in addition to video editing features. You can cut, crop, rotate and flip films with ease using drag-and-drop tools.

It allows you to upload media files from a local computer or online cloud storage sites like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. You can also record the screen, camera or use the text to speech feature to generate audio sound.

Besides the basic video editing feature, this online video editor also provides some templates, stock video and music & sound effect libraries, which makes creating a video much easier. Furthermore, brightness, saturation, and contrast may all be easily adjusted. Transitions, text, overlays, and backdrops may all be added.

You may choose from a variety of aspect ratios, including 1:1, 9:16, 4:3, and 16:9, and it also comes with a built-in instruction to help you build a movie quickly. Plus, the software provides the editor with a large number of templates to pick from.

clipchamp video editing interface

2. Magisto

Magisto is a fantastic online video creator who automatically transforms ordinary movies into gorgeous, dynamic videos and amazing social videos. It’s easy to use and speedy, with all the features you’d expect from software you paid your kidney for.

magisto online video maker

You may contribute photographs and videos to Magisto after signing up with your Facebook or Google+ account. Magisto also offers a variety of video themes for a variety of sectors, including birthday wishes, weddings, promotions, announcements, and inspiration. Select from trendy, family, business, social, seasonal, fun, and clean editing themes.

3. Kizoa

Kizoa is well-known for its extensive transition effects, which may help you create professional-looking films quickly. Kizoa also offers 4K UHD videos in various aspect ratios, including 16:9, 4:3, 3:2, 1:1, and 9:16, 3:4, and 2:3 portraits. That’s not even taking into account the software’s numerous templates.

kizoa online video editor

Kizoa’s library has a large number of animations and effects which can be used to adapt films to meet the demands of certain editing tasks. Many aspects of video clips will be considerably easier to customize, such as position, size, length, and timing. Because there is no need to log in to obtain all of these amazing features, most pros and novices prefer to utilize Kizoa for their daily requirements.

4. Canva

Another one on our list is the Canva , which is as easy and simpler to use as the rest of these. The interface on a computer’s web browser is quite straightforward, with a sidebar on the left-side guiding you through all of the stages required to complete your work. You may choose from a variety of templates. They’re divided into categories like Education, Reviews, Explainer, Sale, Fashion, Slideshow, YouTube into, and Outro, and so on.

canva choose video

There are dozens of templates to pick from, with some appearing in many categories. Canva makes use of layers to allow things to be put in front of and behind each other. You may view and adjust that function by clicking the ‘Position’ option. Transparency, filters, color tweaks, cut, and flip are some of the other options available.

5. Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark , like Canva, is a video design platform. It enables you to generate a variety of images and social media material for professional or personal usage. Adobe Spark’s layout and usability will appeal to you. The primary interface, which appears before you use the editor, is straightforward.

online adobe spark video maker interface

Adobe Spark includes a vast library of templates when you’re looking for ideas or motivation for your creations. For organizations who wish to maintain a strong brand image in their material, the Brand area is a must-have element. You may develop new brands with the corporate logo, color palette, and typefaces as the starting point. Adobe Spark features a separate project tab that stores all of your work in one place.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it – the best basic video editors for beginners. Video editing has grown by ten folds from where it was five or six years ago. Almost anyone can edit a video to an extent. But what takes them to the next level is the use of efficient, effective, and productive software in place to do almost any kind of video editing. If you don’t want to install any software on your computer, you can try these online video editors or the preset video makers; if you want to improve the video quality, desktop software is recommended.

How to Find Free Sound Effect and Add Them in Final Cut Pro

How to Find Free Sound Effect and Add Them in Final Cut Pro

author avatar

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Suppose you have recorded a cinematic video of a beach in the evening visualizing the sunset and a few birds flying in the sky. Everything looks perfect except the audio, which seems to be fluctuating and breaking at some points. How would you address this challenge?

The best solution to this problem is adding sound effects, which can make your video more interesting and adorable. Setting the frequency of audio with on-screen visuals will invoke the viewers’ emotions and attach them to the scene.

Read this article to learn how to add sound effects to your video with Final Cut Pro.

SoundEffect

Part 1: What are Different Types of Sound Effects?

Sound effects have four major types:

  1. Ambiance SFX

These sounds fill the screen space to create a virtual sense of an environment or location such as the clattering sound of dishes in a restaurant or the sound of engines on a highway.

  1. Foley SFX

A mixture of live performance and digital sound editing, these sounds are produced by the artists of Foley studio to match their sounds to the on-screen visuals.

  1. Hard and Soft SFX

Hard SFX synchronizes a visual to what’s happening in the picture while SFX indicates the location to the audience.

  1. Electronic SFX

These sounds are generated by instruments that create electronic-sounding effects like electronic keyboards, synthesizers, or plug-ins.

Part 2: How to Add Sound Effects in Final Cut Pro?

Cinematographic productions need well-balanced music and sound effects. Luckily, Final Cut Pro comes with built-in audio enhancement features and third-party Audio Units (AU) effects that allow users to add sound effects to their videos and manage all audio processing tasks.

You can add sound effects in your video with Final Cut Pro. Wonder how? Follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Photos and Audio Sound Bar

  • In the top-left corner, there is a Photos and Audio Click on this button as shown in the figure below:
  • Select the Window and Go To Either press Shift + Command + 1 or tap Photos and Audio from the dropdown menu

sound-icon

Step 2: Select the Sound Category

  • Choose a sound category or app from the Photos and Audio sidebar
  • A list will appear contacting the audio clips in that specific category as shown in the figure below:
  • You can find multiple music and sound clips in the Sound Effects category. The list also contains various apps you use on your Mac such as GarageBand, Music, and Logic Pro, etc.

fcpx_sound

Step 3: Select the Music or Sound to be added

  • Filter the items in the browser by using the pop-up menu. Go to Music > Purchased or select Sound Effects > Final Cut Pro Sound Effects > Impacts & Crashes.
  • Preview your selected audio file by selecting it from the list and clicking the Play
  • If you want to select multiple items, command-click each item individually.

Step 4: Use the Selected Music or Audio

  • Drag your selected sound clip to the timeline or the sidebar
  • Once the Photos and Audio sidebar has been replaced by the Libraries sidebar, you can add the selected audio or music files to an event. The Photos and Audio sidebar will reappear as you drag those files.
  • Play the video to make sure sound effects have been successfully added

For enhanced playback experiences, all MP audio files are automatically transcoded to MOV audio files. However, you can also find the original MP3 files in the source media files section of Final Cut Pro. Besides, by adding mono audio clips to a stereo project, only the single mono audio will be plated in both left and right channels. You can view them in the stereo audio meters of your project.

Surely you don’t want to see your sound effect missing in your footage, but that happens a lot in FCPX. Just in case, you may want to see this article: Proven Ways to Get Missing Sound Effects Back in Final Cut Pro .

Part 3: How to Improve Your Video with Sound Effects?

In addition to Final Cut Pro, you can also use advanced video-editing software like Wondershare Filmora to improve your video by adding special sound effects. Here’s how you can do this:

Add the original video to Filmora by clicking the Import button or directly dragging the file to the primary window

Tap Sound to open a box listing different sound effects. Select your favorite sound effect and drag it down to the soundtrack below the video clip. Now, move the sound icon and the playhead to set the beginning and ending points. Press the Play button to ensure the newly added sound effect sounds well.

add-sound2

Once you’ve done the final review, tap the Create button and Format tab. Then, choose your preferred format and location where the file needs to be exported. You can also upload this video on YouTube or Facebook, play it on different iOS devices, or burn it to DVD.

Download Win Version Download Mac Version

Part 4: Where to Find Sound Effects?

Both Final Cut Pro and Wondershare Filmora have a variety of built-in sound effects. You can select and drop these effects to directly add them to your video. However, if you are searching for sound effects, given below are two methods:

  1. Self-recording

Professional filmmakers and sound experts often record sound effects by themselves according to their requirements. For example, if they want to visualize some scene from school, they can go to an educational institution and record audio. After proper editing, these sound effects are added to the video.

  1. Online Resources

Different websites also allow their users to download their favorite sound effects. Given below are some of the top-rated websites for downloading sound effects based on their quality, variety, and usefulness:

  1. Filmostock
  2. Adobe Audition Sound Effects
  3. Freesound
  4. Partners In Rhyme
  5. AudioMicro
  6. 99Sounds
  7. Sounds Crate
  8. Zapsplat
  9. BBC Sound Effects
  10. FreeSFX
  11. GameSounds
  12. SoundEffects+
  13. SoundGator
  14. PacDV
  15. Sound Effects for Free

For more details, please check this article: 9 Great Websites To Download Royalty-Free Sound Effects.

Part 5: Extensive Reading: What are Sound Effects and Why are they Important?

Sound is the most important aspect of video editing that engages audiences, evokes emotional responses, and connects people to what they’re seeing. A melodious sound helps the video editors deliver information and creatively and define the tone of their narrative.

Sound effects (SFX) refer to audio clips or sounds that are not part of the recoded video. They are added to movies, documentaries, video games, and even reality shows to invoke the viewers’ emotions and increase their interest in the video.

Similarly, the addition of sound effects increases the production value and creates a complete audience experience. If you want to elevate your video dramatically and make it magnetic, have to balance sound effects, silence, and music in such a way that they support each visual and every cut. Although audio cannot fix slipshod editing or amateur camera work, it becomes more crucial than video quality while you are trying to deliver a specific message in your video.

Professional video editors and filmmakers consider sound effects crucial to their video quality. A clear, melodious, and well-balanced audio adds depth to the visuals, evokes more emotions than the picture, and paints the audio picture of a particular setting.

Even silence, a powerful tool of the audio arsenal, speaks louder than the picture itself. Hence, balancing audio by adding sound effects can make your video stimulating, captivating, and emotional.

That’s why a good editing tool always stocks a great number of sound effects for users, like Filmora. Click to download and take a look at all the effects in Filmora

Conclusion

Sound effects are external audio files added to the videos to make them look interesting and worth watching. A perfect balance of sound, music, and silence allows the filmmakers to define the tone of their narrative and deliver their message creatively.

You can create sound effects through self-recording or by downloading them from external resources. To add sound effects to your video, use professional video-editing software like Final Cut Pro or Filmora. Both these applications are user-friendly and possess a huge library of a variety of sound effects and music files. Besides, their advanced features allow you to naturally add sound effects without affecting the video quality.

author avatar

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Suppose you have recorded a cinematic video of a beach in the evening visualizing the sunset and a few birds flying in the sky. Everything looks perfect except the audio, which seems to be fluctuating and breaking at some points. How would you address this challenge?

The best solution to this problem is adding sound effects, which can make your video more interesting and adorable. Setting the frequency of audio with on-screen visuals will invoke the viewers’ emotions and attach them to the scene.

Read this article to learn how to add sound effects to your video with Final Cut Pro.

SoundEffect

Part 1: What are Different Types of Sound Effects?

Sound effects have four major types:

  1. Ambiance SFX

These sounds fill the screen space to create a virtual sense of an environment or location such as the clattering sound of dishes in a restaurant or the sound of engines on a highway.

  1. Foley SFX

A mixture of live performance and digital sound editing, these sounds are produced by the artists of Foley studio to match their sounds to the on-screen visuals.

  1. Hard and Soft SFX

Hard SFX synchronizes a visual to what’s happening in the picture while SFX indicates the location to the audience.

  1. Electronic SFX

These sounds are generated by instruments that create electronic-sounding effects like electronic keyboards, synthesizers, or plug-ins.

Part 2: How to Add Sound Effects in Final Cut Pro?

Cinematographic productions need well-balanced music and sound effects. Luckily, Final Cut Pro comes with built-in audio enhancement features and third-party Audio Units (AU) effects that allow users to add sound effects to their videos and manage all audio processing tasks.

You can add sound effects in your video with Final Cut Pro. Wonder how? Follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Photos and Audio Sound Bar

  • In the top-left corner, there is a Photos and Audio Click on this button as shown in the figure below:
  • Select the Window and Go To Either press Shift + Command + 1 or tap Photos and Audio from the dropdown menu

sound-icon

Step 2: Select the Sound Category

  • Choose a sound category or app from the Photos and Audio sidebar
  • A list will appear contacting the audio clips in that specific category as shown in the figure below:
  • You can find multiple music and sound clips in the Sound Effects category. The list also contains various apps you use on your Mac such as GarageBand, Music, and Logic Pro, etc.

fcpx_sound

Step 3: Select the Music or Sound to be added

  • Filter the items in the browser by using the pop-up menu. Go to Music > Purchased or select Sound Effects > Final Cut Pro Sound Effects > Impacts & Crashes.
  • Preview your selected audio file by selecting it from the list and clicking the Play
  • If you want to select multiple items, command-click each item individually.

Step 4: Use the Selected Music or Audio

  • Drag your selected sound clip to the timeline or the sidebar
  • Once the Photos and Audio sidebar has been replaced by the Libraries sidebar, you can add the selected audio or music files to an event. The Photos and Audio sidebar will reappear as you drag those files.
  • Play the video to make sure sound effects have been successfully added

For enhanced playback experiences, all MP audio files are automatically transcoded to MOV audio files. However, you can also find the original MP3 files in the source media files section of Final Cut Pro. Besides, by adding mono audio clips to a stereo project, only the single mono audio will be plated in both left and right channels. You can view them in the stereo audio meters of your project.

Surely you don’t want to see your sound effect missing in your footage, but that happens a lot in FCPX. Just in case, you may want to see this article: Proven Ways to Get Missing Sound Effects Back in Final Cut Pro .

Part 3: How to Improve Your Video with Sound Effects?

In addition to Final Cut Pro, you can also use advanced video-editing software like Wondershare Filmora to improve your video by adding special sound effects. Here’s how you can do this:

Add the original video to Filmora by clicking the Import button or directly dragging the file to the primary window

Tap Sound to open a box listing different sound effects. Select your favorite sound effect and drag it down to the soundtrack below the video clip. Now, move the sound icon and the playhead to set the beginning and ending points. Press the Play button to ensure the newly added sound effect sounds well.

add-sound2

Once you’ve done the final review, tap the Create button and Format tab. Then, choose your preferred format and location where the file needs to be exported. You can also upload this video on YouTube or Facebook, play it on different iOS devices, or burn it to DVD.

Download Win Version Download Mac Version

Part 4: Where to Find Sound Effects?

Both Final Cut Pro and Wondershare Filmora have a variety of built-in sound effects. You can select and drop these effects to directly add them to your video. However, if you are searching for sound effects, given below are two methods:

  1. Self-recording

Professional filmmakers and sound experts often record sound effects by themselves according to their requirements. For example, if they want to visualize some scene from school, they can go to an educational institution and record audio. After proper editing, these sound effects are added to the video.

  1. Online Resources

Different websites also allow their users to download their favorite sound effects. Given below are some of the top-rated websites for downloading sound effects based on their quality, variety, and usefulness:

  1. Filmostock
  2. Adobe Audition Sound Effects
  3. Freesound
  4. Partners In Rhyme
  5. AudioMicro
  6. 99Sounds
  7. Sounds Crate
  8. Zapsplat
  9. BBC Sound Effects
  10. FreeSFX
  11. GameSounds
  12. SoundEffects+
  13. SoundGator
  14. PacDV
  15. Sound Effects for Free

For more details, please check this article: 9 Great Websites To Download Royalty-Free Sound Effects.

Part 5: Extensive Reading: What are Sound Effects and Why are they Important?

Sound is the most important aspect of video editing that engages audiences, evokes emotional responses, and connects people to what they’re seeing. A melodious sound helps the video editors deliver information and creatively and define the tone of their narrative.

Sound effects (SFX) refer to audio clips or sounds that are not part of the recoded video. They are added to movies, documentaries, video games, and even reality shows to invoke the viewers’ emotions and increase their interest in the video.

Similarly, the addition of sound effects increases the production value and creates a complete audience experience. If you want to elevate your video dramatically and make it magnetic, have to balance sound effects, silence, and music in such a way that they support each visual and every cut. Although audio cannot fix slipshod editing or amateur camera work, it becomes more crucial than video quality while you are trying to deliver a specific message in your video.

Professional video editors and filmmakers consider sound effects crucial to their video quality. A clear, melodious, and well-balanced audio adds depth to the visuals, evokes more emotions than the picture, and paints the audio picture of a particular setting.

Even silence, a powerful tool of the audio arsenal, speaks louder than the picture itself. Hence, balancing audio by adding sound effects can make your video stimulating, captivating, and emotional.

That’s why a good editing tool always stocks a great number of sound effects for users, like Filmora. Click to download and take a look at all the effects in Filmora

Conclusion

Sound effects are external audio files added to the videos to make them look interesting and worth watching. A perfect balance of sound, music, and silence allows the filmmakers to define the tone of their narrative and deliver their message creatively.

You can create sound effects through self-recording or by downloading them from external resources. To add sound effects to your video, use professional video-editing software like Final Cut Pro or Filmora. Both these applications are user-friendly and possess a huge library of a variety of sound effects and music files. Besides, their advanced features allow you to naturally add sound effects without affecting the video quality.

author avatar

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Suppose you have recorded a cinematic video of a beach in the evening visualizing the sunset and a few birds flying in the sky. Everything looks perfect except the audio, which seems to be fluctuating and breaking at some points. How would you address this challenge?

The best solution to this problem is adding sound effects, which can make your video more interesting and adorable. Setting the frequency of audio with on-screen visuals will invoke the viewers’ emotions and attach them to the scene.

Read this article to learn how to add sound effects to your video with Final Cut Pro.

SoundEffect

Part 1: What are Different Types of Sound Effects?

Sound effects have four major types:

  1. Ambiance SFX

These sounds fill the screen space to create a virtual sense of an environment or location such as the clattering sound of dishes in a restaurant or the sound of engines on a highway.

  1. Foley SFX

A mixture of live performance and digital sound editing, these sounds are produced by the artists of Foley studio to match their sounds to the on-screen visuals.

  1. Hard and Soft SFX

Hard SFX synchronizes a visual to what’s happening in the picture while SFX indicates the location to the audience.

  1. Electronic SFX

These sounds are generated by instruments that create electronic-sounding effects like electronic keyboards, synthesizers, or plug-ins.

Part 2: How to Add Sound Effects in Final Cut Pro?

Cinematographic productions need well-balanced music and sound effects. Luckily, Final Cut Pro comes with built-in audio enhancement features and third-party Audio Units (AU) effects that allow users to add sound effects to their videos and manage all audio processing tasks.

You can add sound effects in your video with Final Cut Pro. Wonder how? Follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Photos and Audio Sound Bar

  • In the top-left corner, there is a Photos and Audio Click on this button as shown in the figure below:
  • Select the Window and Go To Either press Shift + Command + 1 or tap Photos and Audio from the dropdown menu

sound-icon

Step 2: Select the Sound Category

  • Choose a sound category or app from the Photos and Audio sidebar
  • A list will appear contacting the audio clips in that specific category as shown in the figure below:
  • You can find multiple music and sound clips in the Sound Effects category. The list also contains various apps you use on your Mac such as GarageBand, Music, and Logic Pro, etc.

fcpx_sound

Step 3: Select the Music or Sound to be added

  • Filter the items in the browser by using the pop-up menu. Go to Music > Purchased or select Sound Effects > Final Cut Pro Sound Effects > Impacts & Crashes.
  • Preview your selected audio file by selecting it from the list and clicking the Play
  • If you want to select multiple items, command-click each item individually.

Step 4: Use the Selected Music or Audio

  • Drag your selected sound clip to the timeline or the sidebar
  • Once the Photos and Audio sidebar has been replaced by the Libraries sidebar, you can add the selected audio or music files to an event. The Photos and Audio sidebar will reappear as you drag those files.
  • Play the video to make sure sound effects have been successfully added

For enhanced playback experiences, all MP audio files are automatically transcoded to MOV audio files. However, you can also find the original MP3 files in the source media files section of Final Cut Pro. Besides, by adding mono audio clips to a stereo project, only the single mono audio will be plated in both left and right channels. You can view them in the stereo audio meters of your project.

Surely you don’t want to see your sound effect missing in your footage, but that happens a lot in FCPX. Just in case, you may want to see this article: Proven Ways to Get Missing Sound Effects Back in Final Cut Pro .

Part 3: How to Improve Your Video with Sound Effects?

In addition to Final Cut Pro, you can also use advanced video-editing software like Wondershare Filmora to improve your video by adding special sound effects. Here’s how you can do this:

Add the original video to Filmora by clicking the Import button or directly dragging the file to the primary window

Tap Sound to open a box listing different sound effects. Select your favorite sound effect and drag it down to the soundtrack below the video clip. Now, move the sound icon and the playhead to set the beginning and ending points. Press the Play button to ensure the newly added sound effect sounds well.

add-sound2

Once you’ve done the final review, tap the Create button and Format tab. Then, choose your preferred format and location where the file needs to be exported. You can also upload this video on YouTube or Facebook, play it on different iOS devices, or burn it to DVD.

Download Win Version Download Mac Version

Part 4: Where to Find Sound Effects?

Both Final Cut Pro and Wondershare Filmora have a variety of built-in sound effects. You can select and drop these effects to directly add them to your video. However, if you are searching for sound effects, given below are two methods:

  1. Self-recording

Professional filmmakers and sound experts often record sound effects by themselves according to their requirements. For example, if they want to visualize some scene from school, they can go to an educational institution and record audio. After proper editing, these sound effects are added to the video.

  1. Online Resources

Different websites also allow their users to download their favorite sound effects. Given below are some of the top-rated websites for downloading sound effects based on their quality, variety, and usefulness:

  1. Filmostock
  2. Adobe Audition Sound Effects
  3. Freesound
  4. Partners In Rhyme
  5. AudioMicro
  6. 99Sounds
  7. Sounds Crate
  8. Zapsplat
  9. BBC Sound Effects
  10. FreeSFX
  11. GameSounds
  12. SoundEffects+
  13. SoundGator
  14. PacDV
  15. Sound Effects for Free

For more details, please check this article: 9 Great Websites To Download Royalty-Free Sound Effects.

Part 5: Extensive Reading: What are Sound Effects and Why are they Important?

Sound is the most important aspect of video editing that engages audiences, evokes emotional responses, and connects people to what they’re seeing. A melodious sound helps the video editors deliver information and creatively and define the tone of their narrative.

Sound effects (SFX) refer to audio clips or sounds that are not part of the recoded video. They are added to movies, documentaries, video games, and even reality shows to invoke the viewers’ emotions and increase their interest in the video.

Similarly, the addition of sound effects increases the production value and creates a complete audience experience. If you want to elevate your video dramatically and make it magnetic, have to balance sound effects, silence, and music in such a way that they support each visual and every cut. Although audio cannot fix slipshod editing or amateur camera work, it becomes more crucial than video quality while you are trying to deliver a specific message in your video.

Professional video editors and filmmakers consider sound effects crucial to their video quality. A clear, melodious, and well-balanced audio adds depth to the visuals, evokes more emotions than the picture, and paints the audio picture of a particular setting.

Even silence, a powerful tool of the audio arsenal, speaks louder than the picture itself. Hence, balancing audio by adding sound effects can make your video stimulating, captivating, and emotional.

That’s why a good editing tool always stocks a great number of sound effects for users, like Filmora. Click to download and take a look at all the effects in Filmora

Conclusion

Sound effects are external audio files added to the videos to make them look interesting and worth watching. A perfect balance of sound, music, and silence allows the filmmakers to define the tone of their narrative and deliver their message creatively.

You can create sound effects through self-recording or by downloading them from external resources. To add sound effects to your video, use professional video-editing software like Final Cut Pro or Filmora. Both these applications are user-friendly and possess a huge library of a variety of sound effects and music files. Besides, their advanced features allow you to naturally add sound effects without affecting the video quality.

author avatar

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Suppose you have recorded a cinematic video of a beach in the evening visualizing the sunset and a few birds flying in the sky. Everything looks perfect except the audio, which seems to be fluctuating and breaking at some points. How would you address this challenge?

The best solution to this problem is adding sound effects, which can make your video more interesting and adorable. Setting the frequency of audio with on-screen visuals will invoke the viewers’ emotions and attach them to the scene.

Read this article to learn how to add sound effects to your video with Final Cut Pro.

SoundEffect

Part 1: What are Different Types of Sound Effects?

Sound effects have four major types:

  1. Ambiance SFX

These sounds fill the screen space to create a virtual sense of an environment or location such as the clattering sound of dishes in a restaurant or the sound of engines on a highway.

  1. Foley SFX

A mixture of live performance and digital sound editing, these sounds are produced by the artists of Foley studio to match their sounds to the on-screen visuals.

  1. Hard and Soft SFX

Hard SFX synchronizes a visual to what’s happening in the picture while SFX indicates the location to the audience.

  1. Electronic SFX

These sounds are generated by instruments that create electronic-sounding effects like electronic keyboards, synthesizers, or plug-ins.

Part 2: How to Add Sound Effects in Final Cut Pro?

Cinematographic productions need well-balanced music and sound effects. Luckily, Final Cut Pro comes with built-in audio enhancement features and third-party Audio Units (AU) effects that allow users to add sound effects to their videos and manage all audio processing tasks.

You can add sound effects in your video with Final Cut Pro. Wonder how? Follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Photos and Audio Sound Bar

  • In the top-left corner, there is a Photos and Audio Click on this button as shown in the figure below:
  • Select the Window and Go To Either press Shift + Command + 1 or tap Photos and Audio from the dropdown menu

sound-icon

Step 2: Select the Sound Category

  • Choose a sound category or app from the Photos and Audio sidebar
  • A list will appear contacting the audio clips in that specific category as shown in the figure below:
  • You can find multiple music and sound clips in the Sound Effects category. The list also contains various apps you use on your Mac such as GarageBand, Music, and Logic Pro, etc.

fcpx_sound

Step 3: Select the Music or Sound to be added

  • Filter the items in the browser by using the pop-up menu. Go to Music > Purchased or select Sound Effects > Final Cut Pro Sound Effects > Impacts & Crashes.
  • Preview your selected audio file by selecting it from the list and clicking the Play
  • If you want to select multiple items, command-click each item individually.

Step 4: Use the Selected Music or Audio

  • Drag your selected sound clip to the timeline or the sidebar
  • Once the Photos and Audio sidebar has been replaced by the Libraries sidebar, you can add the selected audio or music files to an event. The Photos and Audio sidebar will reappear as you drag those files.
  • Play the video to make sure sound effects have been successfully added

For enhanced playback experiences, all MP audio files are automatically transcoded to MOV audio files. However, you can also find the original MP3 files in the source media files section of Final Cut Pro. Besides, by adding mono audio clips to a stereo project, only the single mono audio will be plated in both left and right channels. You can view them in the stereo audio meters of your project.

Surely you don’t want to see your sound effect missing in your footage, but that happens a lot in FCPX. Just in case, you may want to see this article: Proven Ways to Get Missing Sound Effects Back in Final Cut Pro .

Part 3: How to Improve Your Video with Sound Effects?

In addition to Final Cut Pro, you can also use advanced video-editing software like Wondershare Filmora to improve your video by adding special sound effects. Here’s how you can do this:

Add the original video to Filmora by clicking the Import button or directly dragging the file to the primary window

Tap Sound to open a box listing different sound effects. Select your favorite sound effect and drag it down to the soundtrack below the video clip. Now, move the sound icon and the playhead to set the beginning and ending points. Press the Play button to ensure the newly added sound effect sounds well.

add-sound2

Once you’ve done the final review, tap the Create button and Format tab. Then, choose your preferred format and location where the file needs to be exported. You can also upload this video on YouTube or Facebook, play it on different iOS devices, or burn it to DVD.

Download Win Version Download Mac Version

Part 4: Where to Find Sound Effects?

Both Final Cut Pro and Wondershare Filmora have a variety of built-in sound effects. You can select and drop these effects to directly add them to your video. However, if you are searching for sound effects, given below are two methods:

  1. Self-recording

Professional filmmakers and sound experts often record sound effects by themselves according to their requirements. For example, if they want to visualize some scene from school, they can go to an educational institution and record audio. After proper editing, these sound effects are added to the video.

  1. Online Resources

Different websites also allow their users to download their favorite sound effects. Given below are some of the top-rated websites for downloading sound effects based on their quality, variety, and usefulness:

  1. Filmostock
  2. Adobe Audition Sound Effects
  3. Freesound
  4. Partners In Rhyme
  5. AudioMicro
  6. 99Sounds
  7. Sounds Crate
  8. Zapsplat
  9. BBC Sound Effects
  10. FreeSFX
  11. GameSounds
  12. SoundEffects+
  13. SoundGator
  14. PacDV
  15. Sound Effects for Free

For more details, please check this article: 9 Great Websites To Download Royalty-Free Sound Effects.

Part 5: Extensive Reading: What are Sound Effects and Why are they Important?

Sound is the most important aspect of video editing that engages audiences, evokes emotional responses, and connects people to what they’re seeing. A melodious sound helps the video editors deliver information and creatively and define the tone of their narrative.

Sound effects (SFX) refer to audio clips or sounds that are not part of the recoded video. They are added to movies, documentaries, video games, and even reality shows to invoke the viewers’ emotions and increase their interest in the video.

Similarly, the addition of sound effects increases the production value and creates a complete audience experience. If you want to elevate your video dramatically and make it magnetic, have to balance sound effects, silence, and music in such a way that they support each visual and every cut. Although audio cannot fix slipshod editing or amateur camera work, it becomes more crucial than video quality while you are trying to deliver a specific message in your video.

Professional video editors and filmmakers consider sound effects crucial to their video quality. A clear, melodious, and well-balanced audio adds depth to the visuals, evokes more emotions than the picture, and paints the audio picture of a particular setting.

Even silence, a powerful tool of the audio arsenal, speaks louder than the picture itself. Hence, balancing audio by adding sound effects can make your video stimulating, captivating, and emotional.

That’s why a good editing tool always stocks a great number of sound effects for users, like Filmora. Click to download and take a look at all the effects in Filmora

Conclusion

Sound effects are external audio files added to the videos to make them look interesting and worth watching. A perfect balance of sound, music, and silence allows the filmmakers to define the tone of their narrative and deliver their message creatively.

You can create sound effects through self-recording or by downloading them from external resources. To add sound effects to your video, use professional video-editing software like Final Cut Pro or Filmora. Both these applications are user-friendly and possess a huge library of a variety of sound effects and music files. Besides, their advanced features allow you to naturally add sound effects without affecting the video quality.

author avatar

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

10 Royalty-Free Image Websites You Need to Know

10 Best Public Domain Image Websites

author avatar

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding an image you like on the Internet doesn’t take long, since almost every website you can stumble upon, contains at least one picture. This doesn’t mean that you can just download any photo and use it in your blog, online marketing campaign or for any other purpose. Moreover, stock image websites like Getty Images or iStock let you purchase the right to use a photo commercially. As a reaction to an expanding stock image industry, many photographers, museums and cultural institutions are choosing to forfeit their rights and to publish public domain images. So, in this article, we are going to take you through the ten best public domain image websites where you can download pictures for free.

What Are Public Domain Images?

By definition, public domain images are photos, vectors or clip art that are available to anyone because their copyright has either expired or they never had a copyright owner. Consequently, anyone can use these images for both commercial or private projects without having to purchase the rights to do so. An image can enter a public domain under the following circumstances:

  • Scientists, educators or artists can use the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license to dedicate their images to the public domain
  • A picture’s copyright is no longer in effect
  • A photo was never the subject to copyright

It is of utmost importance to check if an image is within the public domain before you use it publicly in order to avoid potential legal complications.

How and Where to Find Public Domain Images?

A simple google search will reveal hundreds of websites that let you download public domain and royalty-free images. Which source you’re going to use depends on the type of image you’re looking for, since some websites are dedicated only to photography, while others feature impressive collections of public domain images of artworks. In addition, you’ll only want to download public domain images from the websites that offer information about the author because using a public domain image without crediting its author is strictly prohibited.

Best Websites for Downloading Public Domain Images

We’ve searched the Internet and we utilized our results to compile a collection of the most reliable websites that grant its users access to vast numbers of public domain images. Let’s take a look at some of the best websites that let you download public domain images.

1. Pexels

Public Domain Images from Pexels

Graphic designers and all other creatives in constant need of a fresh supply of public domain images don’t need a special introduction to Pexels. The stock image platform is dedicated to photography and video, so you can’t use it to search for vectors or clip art. Even so, you can use Pexles to search for public domain images based on a particular keyword or browse through its collection of free images and discover photos spontaneously. Clicking on the Popular Searches tab will enable you to see the images from Light, Nature or Animals and it will shorten the amount of time you have to spend looking for a photo you want to download.

Pros:

  • Neatly organized website
  • Free and easy sign-up
  • Offers a huge selection of free public domain images and videos according to the CC0 license
  • Hand-picked High quality Images

Cons:

  • Some categories should contain more images
  • Optimizing the search terms can be difficult

2. Pixabay

Public Domain Images from Plxabay

Besides offering an impressive collection of royalty-free photos, Pixabay also lets you search for public domain vectors, illustrations, and videos. The website hosts more than a million high-resolution photos and videos you can download for free. To make things even better, becoming a member of the Pixabay’s community and creating an account on this platform won’t take more than a few minutes of your time. Pixabay also offers advanced search tools that enable you to combine searches, search for the author of an image or group search terms. In addition, you can also browse through the photographers that contribute their images to the platform on a regular basis.

Pros:

  • Powerful search tools and various filters
  • Huge collection of public domain images

Cons

  • Customer support could be better

3. Wikimedia Commons

wikimedia commons

This is probably the largest website on the Internet where you can download public domain images. There are more than 49 million images, illustrations, vector graphics and videos available that can be downloaded for free. Some media files on Wikimedia Commons have certain restrictions, but these restrictions are mostly related to image citations, which means that you can use them only if you credit the author. Such a huge selection of media files can be overwhelming for the newcomers to the Wikimedia Commons platform, but once you grow accustomed to the website’s interface discovering images becomes a straightforward process.

Pros:

  • All images are available in high resolution
  • Nearly all images can be used without any restrictions

Cons:

  • Getting used to the website’s interface takes time
  • The number of search results can be overwhelming

4. Flickr Commons

Flickr commons

For more than a decade Flickr has been a popular online destination for photographers in need of a platform that enables them to present their work. The Flickr Commons is a project that unites more than a hundred institutions in an effort to create a library of public domain images. The project makes available a stunning amount of historical photographs and it grants you access to highly esteemed collections of photographs. Flick Commons is perfectly suited for researchers and scholars in need of public domain photos, they can use in their essays or research papers.

Pros:

  • Unlimited access to historical photos
  • Extends the knowledge available to the general public

Cons:

  • Doesn’t offer videos or illustrations
  • Search results are poorly organized

5. Unsplash

Unsplash public domain image

With a library that contains over 800,000 photos, Unsplash is easily one of the largest websites that offer public domain images. All pictures on this platform are organized into different categories, which makes finding a photo you want to use in a commercial or non-commercial project a relatively simple process. Alternatively, you can insert a keyword into a search bar and Unsplash will show you the results within seconds. However, the images you can find on this platform are similar to those you can purchase on stock photography websites, although some of them have an artistic touch that is hard to find on the majority of stock photos.

Pros:

  • Excellent source of high-resolution photos
  • Quick and easy search

Cons:

  • Unsplash is dedicated solely to photography
  • Limited amount of available public domain images

6. From Old Books

In case you are searching for images from old books you should look no further. This is a private collection of 2,600 images that are hard to find anywhere else on the Internet. You can browse through woodcuts, old texts or old holiday images, which makes this platform an excellent choice for anyone interested in rare images that were featured in old books. All pictures you can find on the From Old Books website are free to use on non-commercial projects, but you must pay a small fee if you want to download a high-resolution image you can use on a commercial project.

  • Images are organized into categories
  • Access to rare images

Cons

  • Some images are not free
  • Rudimentary website design

7. Morguefile

Morguefile public domain image

Morguefile is a website that offers stock footage to its users, but some of the images can’t be downloaded for free. That’s why you must click on the Free Photos tab before you start searching for public domain images on this website. The website hosts nearly 400.000 photos, videos, and vector graphics, but you must make sure that a file you want to download is within the public domain before you download it. The only downside is that the images aren’t organized into categories which can make finding the images you’re searching for more difficult than it needs to be.

Pros:

  • Creating an account on Morguefile is free
  • All free photos can be used on commercial projects

Cons:

  • Images can be organized better
  • Fewer free images than on other public domain image websites

8. Public Domain Archive

As the website’s name indicates, this is an archive of public domain images you can download for free and use in commercial contexts. All photos are organized into categories like abstract, free stock photos, people or wood which makes the search simpler. However, these categories don’t contain more than a few hundred photos and some of them offer as few as five pictures you can download. All photos are in high resolution and ready for professional use. The download process can be completed effortlessly in just a few quick steps. New images are added on a weekly basis.

Pros:

  • Professional quality of images
  • All images are free

Cons:

  • A limited selection of photos
  • Doesn’t offer vector graphics

NYPL Digital Gallery

NYPL Digital Gallery is an excellent resource for anyone who is not interested in stock photography. The New Your Public Library has made hundreds of thousands of historical images available to the public and you can use it to browse through items, collections or divisions. Before you enter a keyword you should click on the search only public domain materials tick box to ensure that the search results are going to display only images that can be used without restrictions. Additionally, the NYPL Digital Gallery lets you browse through its collection of digital books while its collections of photographs include the work of some of the highly esteemed American photographers.

Pros

  • Public domain images are available in different resolutions
  • Offers valuable research materials

Cons

  • Some images are subject to copyright
  • Only aimed at scholars and researchers

10. Viintage

Viintage is a gold mine for graphic designers as it grants them access to hundreds of vintage posters, book covers, and images. However, the amount of public domain images this website offers is limited and if you want to download the images from the collections of works created by famous artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries you must purchase the premium version of Viintage. The website lacks some basic search options as it only allows you to type in the search term into the search bar. The images are not organized into categories which further complicates the process of finding a public domain image you’re looking for.

Pros:

  • Offers a collection of rare vintage public domain images
  • A great resource for graphic designers

Cons:

  • Most images on Viintage can’t be downloaded for free
  • Search tools are far from perfect

You may also like: Best Image Hosting Sites >>

How to Cite Public Domain Images Properly?

If you’re planning on using a public domain image in a blog or on your website, you must cite the source from which you acquired a particular image. The image citations should include the following information:

  • The title of the image
  • Author’s name
  • Information about the institution at which an image is kept
  • The source from which you acquired an image

In case you don’t have access to all of these information or if the information is simply not available you should include all details about a public domain image you have the access to. Furthermore, there are several styles of image citations that depend on the source from which an image was acquired.

Conclusion

Spending large sums of money on images you can use in commercial or private projects is not always necessary. The public domain images are widely available and they can be used in a broad range of contexts. Which website that lets you download public domain images do you like to use the most? Leave a comment and share your opinions with us.

Dont worry when you forget the syntax of an HTML element, like and iframe, a link, a table, an image or anything else. Visit HTML CheatSheet and generate the code you need.

author avatar

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding an image you like on the Internet doesn’t take long, since almost every website you can stumble upon, contains at least one picture. This doesn’t mean that you can just download any photo and use it in your blog, online marketing campaign or for any other purpose. Moreover, stock image websites like Getty Images or iStock let you purchase the right to use a photo commercially. As a reaction to an expanding stock image industry, many photographers, museums and cultural institutions are choosing to forfeit their rights and to publish public domain images. So, in this article, we are going to take you through the ten best public domain image websites where you can download pictures for free.

What Are Public Domain Images?

By definition, public domain images are photos, vectors or clip art that are available to anyone because their copyright has either expired or they never had a copyright owner. Consequently, anyone can use these images for both commercial or private projects without having to purchase the rights to do so. An image can enter a public domain under the following circumstances:

  • Scientists, educators or artists can use the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license to dedicate their images to the public domain
  • A picture’s copyright is no longer in effect
  • A photo was never the subject to copyright

It is of utmost importance to check if an image is within the public domain before you use it publicly in order to avoid potential legal complications.

How and Where to Find Public Domain Images?

A simple google search will reveal hundreds of websites that let you download public domain and royalty-free images. Which source you’re going to use depends on the type of image you’re looking for, since some websites are dedicated only to photography, while others feature impressive collections of public domain images of artworks. In addition, you’ll only want to download public domain images from the websites that offer information about the author because using a public domain image without crediting its author is strictly prohibited.

Best Websites for Downloading Public Domain Images

We’ve searched the Internet and we utilized our results to compile a collection of the most reliable websites that grant its users access to vast numbers of public domain images. Let’s take a look at some of the best websites that let you download public domain images.

1. Pexels

Public Domain Images from Pexels

Graphic designers and all other creatives in constant need of a fresh supply of public domain images don’t need a special introduction to Pexels. The stock image platform is dedicated to photography and video, so you can’t use it to search for vectors or clip art. Even so, you can use Pexles to search for public domain images based on a particular keyword or browse through its collection of free images and discover photos spontaneously. Clicking on the Popular Searches tab will enable you to see the images from Light, Nature or Animals and it will shorten the amount of time you have to spend looking for a photo you want to download.

Pros:

  • Neatly organized website
  • Free and easy sign-up
  • Offers a huge selection of free public domain images and videos according to the CC0 license
  • Hand-picked High quality Images

Cons:

  • Some categories should contain more images
  • Optimizing the search terms can be difficult

2. Pixabay

Public Domain Images from Plxabay

Besides offering an impressive collection of royalty-free photos, Pixabay also lets you search for public domain vectors, illustrations, and videos. The website hosts more than a million high-resolution photos and videos you can download for free. To make things even better, becoming a member of the Pixabay’s community and creating an account on this platform won’t take more than a few minutes of your time. Pixabay also offers advanced search tools that enable you to combine searches, search for the author of an image or group search terms. In addition, you can also browse through the photographers that contribute their images to the platform on a regular basis.

Pros:

  • Powerful search tools and various filters
  • Huge collection of public domain images

Cons

  • Customer support could be better

3. Wikimedia Commons

wikimedia commons

This is probably the largest website on the Internet where you can download public domain images. There are more than 49 million images, illustrations, vector graphics and videos available that can be downloaded for free. Some media files on Wikimedia Commons have certain restrictions, but these restrictions are mostly related to image citations, which means that you can use them only if you credit the author. Such a huge selection of media files can be overwhelming for the newcomers to the Wikimedia Commons platform, but once you grow accustomed to the website’s interface discovering images becomes a straightforward process.

Pros:

  • All images are available in high resolution
  • Nearly all images can be used without any restrictions

Cons:

  • Getting used to the website’s interface takes time
  • The number of search results can be overwhelming

4. Flickr Commons

Flickr commons

For more than a decade Flickr has been a popular online destination for photographers in need of a platform that enables them to present their work. The Flickr Commons is a project that unites more than a hundred institutions in an effort to create a library of public domain images. The project makes available a stunning amount of historical photographs and it grants you access to highly esteemed collections of photographs. Flick Commons is perfectly suited for researchers and scholars in need of public domain photos, they can use in their essays or research papers.

Pros:

  • Unlimited access to historical photos
  • Extends the knowledge available to the general public

Cons:

  • Doesn’t offer videos or illustrations
  • Search results are poorly organized

5. Unsplash

Unsplash public domain image

With a library that contains over 800,000 photos, Unsplash is easily one of the largest websites that offer public domain images. All pictures on this platform are organized into different categories, which makes finding a photo you want to use in a commercial or non-commercial project a relatively simple process. Alternatively, you can insert a keyword into a search bar and Unsplash will show you the results within seconds. However, the images you can find on this platform are similar to those you can purchase on stock photography websites, although some of them have an artistic touch that is hard to find on the majority of stock photos.

Pros:

  • Excellent source of high-resolution photos
  • Quick and easy search

Cons:

  • Unsplash is dedicated solely to photography
  • Limited amount of available public domain images

6. From Old Books

In case you are searching for images from old books you should look no further. This is a private collection of 2,600 images that are hard to find anywhere else on the Internet. You can browse through woodcuts, old texts or old holiday images, which makes this platform an excellent choice for anyone interested in rare images that were featured in old books. All pictures you can find on the From Old Books website are free to use on non-commercial projects, but you must pay a small fee if you want to download a high-resolution image you can use on a commercial project.

  • Images are organized into categories
  • Access to rare images

Cons

  • Some images are not free
  • Rudimentary website design

7. Morguefile

Morguefile public domain image

Morguefile is a website that offers stock footage to its users, but some of the images can’t be downloaded for free. That’s why you must click on the Free Photos tab before you start searching for public domain images on this website. The website hosts nearly 400.000 photos, videos, and vector graphics, but you must make sure that a file you want to download is within the public domain before you download it. The only downside is that the images aren’t organized into categories which can make finding the images you’re searching for more difficult than it needs to be.

Pros:

  • Creating an account on Morguefile is free
  • All free photos can be used on commercial projects

Cons:

  • Images can be organized better
  • Fewer free images than on other public domain image websites

8. Public Domain Archive

As the website’s name indicates, this is an archive of public domain images you can download for free and use in commercial contexts. All photos are organized into categories like abstract, free stock photos, people or wood which makes the search simpler. However, these categories don’t contain more than a few hundred photos and some of them offer as few as five pictures you can download. All photos are in high resolution and ready for professional use. The download process can be completed effortlessly in just a few quick steps. New images are added on a weekly basis.

Pros:

  • Professional quality of images
  • All images are free

Cons:

  • A limited selection of photos
  • Doesn’t offer vector graphics

NYPL Digital Gallery

NYPL Digital Gallery is an excellent resource for anyone who is not interested in stock photography. The New Your Public Library has made hundreds of thousands of historical images available to the public and you can use it to browse through items, collections or divisions. Before you enter a keyword you should click on the search only public domain materials tick box to ensure that the search results are going to display only images that can be used without restrictions. Additionally, the NYPL Digital Gallery lets you browse through its collection of digital books while its collections of photographs include the work of some of the highly esteemed American photographers.

Pros

  • Public domain images are available in different resolutions
  • Offers valuable research materials

Cons

  • Some images are subject to copyright
  • Only aimed at scholars and researchers

10. Viintage

Viintage is a gold mine for graphic designers as it grants them access to hundreds of vintage posters, book covers, and images. However, the amount of public domain images this website offers is limited and if you want to download the images from the collections of works created by famous artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries you must purchase the premium version of Viintage. The website lacks some basic search options as it only allows you to type in the search term into the search bar. The images are not organized into categories which further complicates the process of finding a public domain image you’re looking for.

Pros:

  • Offers a collection of rare vintage public domain images
  • A great resource for graphic designers

Cons:

  • Most images on Viintage can’t be downloaded for free
  • Search tools are far from perfect

You may also like: Best Image Hosting Sites >>

How to Cite Public Domain Images Properly?

If you’re planning on using a public domain image in a blog or on your website, you must cite the source from which you acquired a particular image. The image citations should include the following information:

  • The title of the image
  • Author’s name
  • Information about the institution at which an image is kept
  • The source from which you acquired an image

In case you don’t have access to all of these information or if the information is simply not available you should include all details about a public domain image you have the access to. Furthermore, there are several styles of image citations that depend on the source from which an image was acquired.

Conclusion

Spending large sums of money on images you can use in commercial or private projects is not always necessary. The public domain images are widely available and they can be used in a broad range of contexts. Which website that lets you download public domain images do you like to use the most? Leave a comment and share your opinions with us.

Dont worry when you forget the syntax of an HTML element, like and iframe, a link, a table, an image or anything else. Visit HTML CheatSheet and generate the code you need.

author avatar

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding an image you like on the Internet doesn’t take long, since almost every website you can stumble upon, contains at least one picture. This doesn’t mean that you can just download any photo and use it in your blog, online marketing campaign or for any other purpose. Moreover, stock image websites like Getty Images or iStock let you purchase the right to use a photo commercially. As a reaction to an expanding stock image industry, many photographers, museums and cultural institutions are choosing to forfeit their rights and to publish public domain images. So, in this article, we are going to take you through the ten best public domain image websites where you can download pictures for free.

What Are Public Domain Images?

By definition, public domain images are photos, vectors or clip art that are available to anyone because their copyright has either expired or they never had a copyright owner. Consequently, anyone can use these images for both commercial or private projects without having to purchase the rights to do so. An image can enter a public domain under the following circumstances:

  • Scientists, educators or artists can use the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license to dedicate their images to the public domain
  • A picture’s copyright is no longer in effect
  • A photo was never the subject to copyright

It is of utmost importance to check if an image is within the public domain before you use it publicly in order to avoid potential legal complications.

How and Where to Find Public Domain Images?

A simple google search will reveal hundreds of websites that let you download public domain and royalty-free images. Which source you’re going to use depends on the type of image you’re looking for, since some websites are dedicated only to photography, while others feature impressive collections of public domain images of artworks. In addition, you’ll only want to download public domain images from the websites that offer information about the author because using a public domain image without crediting its author is strictly prohibited.

Best Websites for Downloading Public Domain Images

We’ve searched the Internet and we utilized our results to compile a collection of the most reliable websites that grant its users access to vast numbers of public domain images. Let’s take a look at some of the best websites that let you download public domain images.

1. Pexels

Public Domain Images from Pexels

Graphic designers and all other creatives in constant need of a fresh supply of public domain images don’t need a special introduction to Pexels. The stock image platform is dedicated to photography and video, so you can’t use it to search for vectors or clip art. Even so, you can use Pexles to search for public domain images based on a particular keyword or browse through its collection of free images and discover photos spontaneously. Clicking on the Popular Searches tab will enable you to see the images from Light, Nature or Animals and it will shorten the amount of time you have to spend looking for a photo you want to download.

Pros:

  • Neatly organized website
  • Free and easy sign-up
  • Offers a huge selection of free public domain images and videos according to the CC0 license
  • Hand-picked High quality Images

Cons:

  • Some categories should contain more images
  • Optimizing the search terms can be difficult

2. Pixabay

Public Domain Images from Plxabay

Besides offering an impressive collection of royalty-free photos, Pixabay also lets you search for public domain vectors, illustrations, and videos. The website hosts more than a million high-resolution photos and videos you can download for free. To make things even better, becoming a member of the Pixabay’s community and creating an account on this platform won’t take more than a few minutes of your time. Pixabay also offers advanced search tools that enable you to combine searches, search for the author of an image or group search terms. In addition, you can also browse through the photographers that contribute their images to the platform on a regular basis.

Pros:

  • Powerful search tools and various filters
  • Huge collection of public domain images

Cons

  • Customer support could be better

3. Wikimedia Commons

wikimedia commons

This is probably the largest website on the Internet where you can download public domain images. There are more than 49 million images, illustrations, vector graphics and videos available that can be downloaded for free. Some media files on Wikimedia Commons have certain restrictions, but these restrictions are mostly related to image citations, which means that you can use them only if you credit the author. Such a huge selection of media files can be overwhelming for the newcomers to the Wikimedia Commons platform, but once you grow accustomed to the website’s interface discovering images becomes a straightforward process.

Pros:

  • All images are available in high resolution
  • Nearly all images can be used without any restrictions

Cons:

  • Getting used to the website’s interface takes time
  • The number of search results can be overwhelming

4. Flickr Commons

Flickr commons

For more than a decade Flickr has been a popular online destination for photographers in need of a platform that enables them to present their work. The Flickr Commons is a project that unites more than a hundred institutions in an effort to create a library of public domain images. The project makes available a stunning amount of historical photographs and it grants you access to highly esteemed collections of photographs. Flick Commons is perfectly suited for researchers and scholars in need of public domain photos, they can use in their essays or research papers.

Pros:

  • Unlimited access to historical photos
  • Extends the knowledge available to the general public

Cons:

  • Doesn’t offer videos or illustrations
  • Search results are poorly organized

5. Unsplash

Unsplash public domain image

With a library that contains over 800,000 photos, Unsplash is easily one of the largest websites that offer public domain images. All pictures on this platform are organized into different categories, which makes finding a photo you want to use in a commercial or non-commercial project a relatively simple process. Alternatively, you can insert a keyword into a search bar and Unsplash will show you the results within seconds. However, the images you can find on this platform are similar to those you can purchase on stock photography websites, although some of them have an artistic touch that is hard to find on the majority of stock photos.

Pros:

  • Excellent source of high-resolution photos
  • Quick and easy search

Cons:

  • Unsplash is dedicated solely to photography
  • Limited amount of available public domain images

6. From Old Books

In case you are searching for images from old books you should look no further. This is a private collection of 2,600 images that are hard to find anywhere else on the Internet. You can browse through woodcuts, old texts or old holiday images, which makes this platform an excellent choice for anyone interested in rare images that were featured in old books. All pictures you can find on the From Old Books website are free to use on non-commercial projects, but you must pay a small fee if you want to download a high-resolution image you can use on a commercial project.

  • Images are organized into categories
  • Access to rare images

Cons

  • Some images are not free
  • Rudimentary website design

7. Morguefile

Morguefile public domain image

Morguefile is a website that offers stock footage to its users, but some of the images can’t be downloaded for free. That’s why you must click on the Free Photos tab before you start searching for public domain images on this website. The website hosts nearly 400.000 photos, videos, and vector graphics, but you must make sure that a file you want to download is within the public domain before you download it. The only downside is that the images aren’t organized into categories which can make finding the images you’re searching for more difficult than it needs to be.

Pros:

  • Creating an account on Morguefile is free
  • All free photos can be used on commercial projects

Cons:

  • Images can be organized better
  • Fewer free images than on other public domain image websites

8. Public Domain Archive

As the website’s name indicates, this is an archive of public domain images you can download for free and use in commercial contexts. All photos are organized into categories like abstract, free stock photos, people or wood which makes the search simpler. However, these categories don’t contain more than a few hundred photos and some of them offer as few as five pictures you can download. All photos are in high resolution and ready for professional use. The download process can be completed effortlessly in just a few quick steps. New images are added on a weekly basis.

Pros:

  • Professional quality of images
  • All images are free

Cons:

  • A limited selection of photos
  • Doesn’t offer vector graphics

NYPL Digital Gallery

NYPL Digital Gallery is an excellent resource for anyone who is not interested in stock photography. The New Your Public Library has made hundreds of thousands of historical images available to the public and you can use it to browse through items, collections or divisions. Before you enter a keyword you should click on the search only public domain materials tick box to ensure that the search results are going to display only images that can be used without restrictions. Additionally, the NYPL Digital Gallery lets you browse through its collection of digital books while its collections of photographs include the work of some of the highly esteemed American photographers.

Pros

  • Public domain images are available in different resolutions
  • Offers valuable research materials

Cons

  • Some images are subject to copyright
  • Only aimed at scholars and researchers

10. Viintage

Viintage is a gold mine for graphic designers as it grants them access to hundreds of vintage posters, book covers, and images. However, the amount of public domain images this website offers is limited and if you want to download the images from the collections of works created by famous artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries you must purchase the premium version of Viintage. The website lacks some basic search options as it only allows you to type in the search term into the search bar. The images are not organized into categories which further complicates the process of finding a public domain image you’re looking for.

Pros:

  • Offers a collection of rare vintage public domain images
  • A great resource for graphic designers

Cons:

  • Most images on Viintage can’t be downloaded for free
  • Search tools are far from perfect

You may also like: Best Image Hosting Sites >>

How to Cite Public Domain Images Properly?

If you’re planning on using a public domain image in a blog or on your website, you must cite the source from which you acquired a particular image. The image citations should include the following information:

  • The title of the image
  • Author’s name
  • Information about the institution at which an image is kept
  • The source from which you acquired an image

In case you don’t have access to all of these information or if the information is simply not available you should include all details about a public domain image you have the access to. Furthermore, there are several styles of image citations that depend on the source from which an image was acquired.

Conclusion

Spending large sums of money on images you can use in commercial or private projects is not always necessary. The public domain images are widely available and they can be used in a broad range of contexts. Which website that lets you download public domain images do you like to use the most? Leave a comment and share your opinions with us.

Dont worry when you forget the syntax of an HTML element, like and iframe, a link, a table, an image or anything else. Visit HTML CheatSheet and generate the code you need.

author avatar

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Finding an image you like on the Internet doesn’t take long, since almost every website you can stumble upon, contains at least one picture. This doesn’t mean that you can just download any photo and use it in your blog, online marketing campaign or for any other purpose. Moreover, stock image websites like Getty Images or iStock let you purchase the right to use a photo commercially. As a reaction to an expanding stock image industry, many photographers, museums and cultural institutions are choosing to forfeit their rights and to publish public domain images. So, in this article, we are going to take you through the ten best public domain image websites where you can download pictures for free.

What Are Public Domain Images?

By definition, public domain images are photos, vectors or clip art that are available to anyone because their copyright has either expired or they never had a copyright owner. Consequently, anyone can use these images for both commercial or private projects without having to purchase the rights to do so. An image can enter a public domain under the following circumstances:

  • Scientists, educators or artists can use the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license to dedicate their images to the public domain
  • A picture’s copyright is no longer in effect
  • A photo was never the subject to copyright

It is of utmost importance to check if an image is within the public domain before you use it publicly in order to avoid potential legal complications.

How and Where to Find Public Domain Images?

A simple google search will reveal hundreds of websites that let you download public domain and royalty-free images. Which source you’re going to use depends on the type of image you’re looking for, since some websites are dedicated only to photography, while others feature impressive collections of public domain images of artworks. In addition, you’ll only want to download public domain images from the websites that offer information about the author because using a public domain image without crediting its author is strictly prohibited.

Best Websites for Downloading Public Domain Images

We’ve searched the Internet and we utilized our results to compile a collection of the most reliable websites that grant its users access to vast numbers of public domain images. Let’s take a look at some of the best websites that let you download public domain images.

1. Pexels

Public Domain Images from Pexels

Graphic designers and all other creatives in constant need of a fresh supply of public domain images don’t need a special introduction to Pexels. The stock image platform is dedicated to photography and video, so you can’t use it to search for vectors or clip art. Even so, you can use Pexles to search for public domain images based on a particular keyword or browse through its collection of free images and discover photos spontaneously. Clicking on the Popular Searches tab will enable you to see the images from Light, Nature or Animals and it will shorten the amount of time you have to spend looking for a photo you want to download.

Pros:

  • Neatly organized website
  • Free and easy sign-up
  • Offers a huge selection of free public domain images and videos according to the CC0 license
  • Hand-picked High quality Images

Cons:

  • Some categories should contain more images
  • Optimizing the search terms can be difficult

2. Pixabay

Public Domain Images from Plxabay

Besides offering an impressive collection of royalty-free photos, Pixabay also lets you search for public domain vectors, illustrations, and videos. The website hosts more than a million high-resolution photos and videos you can download for free. To make things even better, becoming a member of the Pixabay’s community and creating an account on this platform won’t take more than a few minutes of your time. Pixabay also offers advanced search tools that enable you to combine searches, search for the author of an image or group search terms. In addition, you can also browse through the photographers that contribute their images to the platform on a regular basis.

Pros:

  • Powerful search tools and various filters
  • Huge collection of public domain images

Cons

  • Customer support could be better

3. Wikimedia Commons

wikimedia commons

This is probably the largest website on the Internet where you can download public domain images. There are more than 49 million images, illustrations, vector graphics and videos available that can be downloaded for free. Some media files on Wikimedia Commons have certain restrictions, but these restrictions are mostly related to image citations, which means that you can use them only if you credit the author. Such a huge selection of media files can be overwhelming for the newcomers to the Wikimedia Commons platform, but once you grow accustomed to the website’s interface discovering images becomes a straightforward process.

Pros:

  • All images are available in high resolution
  • Nearly all images can be used without any restrictions

Cons:

  • Getting used to the website’s interface takes time
  • The number of search results can be overwhelming

4. Flickr Commons

Flickr commons

For more than a decade Flickr has been a popular online destination for photographers in need of a platform that enables them to present their work. The Flickr Commons is a project that unites more than a hundred institutions in an effort to create a library of public domain images. The project makes available a stunning amount of historical photographs and it grants you access to highly esteemed collections of photographs. Flick Commons is perfectly suited for researchers and scholars in need of public domain photos, they can use in their essays or research papers.

Pros:

  • Unlimited access to historical photos
  • Extends the knowledge available to the general public

Cons:

  • Doesn’t offer videos or illustrations
  • Search results are poorly organized

5. Unsplash

Unsplash public domain image

With a library that contains over 800,000 photos, Unsplash is easily one of the largest websites that offer public domain images. All pictures on this platform are organized into different categories, which makes finding a photo you want to use in a commercial or non-commercial project a relatively simple process. Alternatively, you can insert a keyword into a search bar and Unsplash will show you the results within seconds. However, the images you can find on this platform are similar to those you can purchase on stock photography websites, although some of them have an artistic touch that is hard to find on the majority of stock photos.

Pros:

  • Excellent source of high-resolution photos
  • Quick and easy search

Cons:

  • Unsplash is dedicated solely to photography
  • Limited amount of available public domain images

6. From Old Books

In case you are searching for images from old books you should look no further. This is a private collection of 2,600 images that are hard to find anywhere else on the Internet. You can browse through woodcuts, old texts or old holiday images, which makes this platform an excellent choice for anyone interested in rare images that were featured in old books. All pictures you can find on the From Old Books website are free to use on non-commercial projects, but you must pay a small fee if you want to download a high-resolution image you can use on a commercial project.

  • Images are organized into categories
  • Access to rare images

Cons

  • Some images are not free
  • Rudimentary website design

7. Morguefile

Morguefile public domain image

Morguefile is a website that offers stock footage to its users, but some of the images can’t be downloaded for free. That’s why you must click on the Free Photos tab before you start searching for public domain images on this website. The website hosts nearly 400.000 photos, videos, and vector graphics, but you must make sure that a file you want to download is within the public domain before you download it. The only downside is that the images aren’t organized into categories which can make finding the images you’re searching for more difficult than it needs to be.

Pros:

  • Creating an account on Morguefile is free
  • All free photos can be used on commercial projects

Cons:

  • Images can be organized better
  • Fewer free images than on other public domain image websites

8. Public Domain Archive

As the website’s name indicates, this is an archive of public domain images you can download for free and use in commercial contexts. All photos are organized into categories like abstract, free stock photos, people or wood which makes the search simpler. However, these categories don’t contain more than a few hundred photos and some of them offer as few as five pictures you can download. All photos are in high resolution and ready for professional use. The download process can be completed effortlessly in just a few quick steps. New images are added on a weekly basis.

Pros:

  • Professional quality of images
  • All images are free

Cons:

  • A limited selection of photos
  • Doesn’t offer vector graphics

NYPL Digital Gallery

NYPL Digital Gallery is an excellent resource for anyone who is not interested in stock photography. The New Your Public Library has made hundreds of thousands of historical images available to the public and you can use it to browse through items, collections or divisions. Before you enter a keyword you should click on the search only public domain materials tick box to ensure that the search results are going to display only images that can be used without restrictions. Additionally, the NYPL Digital Gallery lets you browse through its collection of digital books while its collections of photographs include the work of some of the highly esteemed American photographers.

Pros

  • Public domain images are available in different resolutions
  • Offers valuable research materials

Cons

  • Some images are subject to copyright
  • Only aimed at scholars and researchers

10. Viintage

Viintage is a gold mine for graphic designers as it grants them access to hundreds of vintage posters, book covers, and images. However, the amount of public domain images this website offers is limited and if you want to download the images from the collections of works created by famous artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries you must purchase the premium version of Viintage. The website lacks some basic search options as it only allows you to type in the search term into the search bar. The images are not organized into categories which further complicates the process of finding a public domain image you’re looking for.

Pros:

  • Offers a collection of rare vintage public domain images
  • A great resource for graphic designers

Cons:

  • Most images on Viintage can’t be downloaded for free
  • Search tools are far from perfect

You may also like: Best Image Hosting Sites >>

How to Cite Public Domain Images Properly?

If you’re planning on using a public domain image in a blog or on your website, you must cite the source from which you acquired a particular image. The image citations should include the following information:

  • The title of the image
  • Author’s name
  • Information about the institution at which an image is kept
  • The source from which you acquired an image

In case you don’t have access to all of these information or if the information is simply not available you should include all details about a public domain image you have the access to. Furthermore, there are several styles of image citations that depend on the source from which an image was acquired.

Conclusion

Spending large sums of money on images you can use in commercial or private projects is not always necessary. The public domain images are widely available and they can be used in a broad range of contexts. Which website that lets you download public domain images do you like to use the most? Leave a comment and share your opinions with us.

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Liza Brown

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Also read:

  • Title: New In 2024, Add Pro-Level Effects to Your Videos in 3 Easy Steps with FCP X
  • Author: Charlotte
  • Created at : 2024-05-19 10:32:59
  • Updated at : 2024-05-20 10:32:59
  • Link: https://smart-video-creator.techidaily.com/new-in-2024-add-pro-level-effects-to-your-videos-in-3-easy-steps-with-fcp-x/
  • License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
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New In 2024, Add Pro-Level Effects to Your Videos in 3 Easy Steps with FCP X