Free stock photos for online courses and e-learning

What does your course look like from the student's desk?

People considering an online course want to know what the experience is like: live or recorded classes, whether it works on a phone, if there are assignments, and whether they get a certificate at the end. Helpful scenes include an instructor seen from behind explaining a diagram on screen, a laptop showing a video call with a whiteboard in the background, a phone playing a lesson on the bus, handwritten notes beside a keyboard, or a diploma on a desk.

Where to place your course images

• Course landing page: A 16:9 header with a study desk and space for the program name, then one image per module further down.
• Format section: A laptop with a live session for synchronous classes and a phone with a paused video for recorded ones, so the format is obvious.
• Welcome emails: An open notebook with the first assignment and a mug beside it set the tone for the message about logging in.
• Social ads: In 4:5, hands taking notes in front of a screen to talk about hands-on content, with no claims about landing jobs.
• Certificate page: A rolled diploma or folder next to a keyboard to show what students receive and how they download it.

Tips for course creators

• If your lessons are prerecorded, skip group video-call photos; students will expect live interaction.
• The people pictured are not your graduates, so don't attach career stories to them.
• Match screens and materials to the subject. A bookkeeping course calls for spreadsheets, not paintbrushes.
• Show the device your course really needs. If the exercises require a computer, say the phone only covers the lectures.