Nature background stock photos and royalty free images

A nature background, simply put, is an image of one or more elements of the natural world used as an image background. A good example is a green nature background full of brilliant foliage as the background for a slide in a professional presentation. Alternatively, a nature lake forest can bring the colors and tones of water into the greenery, which would be ideal for a website promoting calm relaxation. Nature backgrounds divide roughly into two categories: close-ups and vistas. Close-ups bring a small element of nature, like a flower or a colorful leaf, into the full frame of the image. A vista, on the other hand, may span several miles and offer up an image of space and distance.

A natural landscape is an image that captures large stretches of a natural view. Common examples include mountain ranges, forests, sand dunes, or rivers curving through forests. They differ from cityscapes, which highlight humanity's touch upon the planet. They also tend not to focus on singular elements in the view. Any image that captures the natural world at a distance, untouched by people, is a natural landscape. These images lend themselves particularly well to projects that want to avoid depictions of humanity or our dwellings and concentrate instead on the tranquility of nature.

Finding engaging natural background images is easy. First, you can simply scroll down to explore the curated collection of natural background images we've put together. You'll find some of our favorite images from every variety of natural backgrounds you could imagine. If you'd like to search for something more specific, go to the search bar at the top of this page, and type your search query into the box labeled "Search for images." Once you get your results, you can use the filters on the left side of the results page to narrow the images down by orientation, image type, color scheme, and more. If you have a specific image in mind, and you'd like something similar, then click "Search by image" next to the search bar. You can upload your image, and the A.I. that powers the Shutterstock library will return similar compositions, ready for licensing and for your next project!

Nature beauty images are a subset of the larger, more general "nature images" category. Nature beauty images feature both close-ups and vistas that compare naturally arising beauty against the everyday world. These images often feature bold colors, stunning contrasts, or exaggerated features from the natural world, like trees growing at severe angles, or the stunning contours of a tiger's eye. Unlike darker images that can capture how dangerous and rugged the natural world can be, nature beauty images transport us to the unique features of our world that stand out amid their surroundings. These images can make good nature background images because of their dramatic and striking subject matter. They help draw viewers into your project, and you can use that interest to carry them through the rest of your planned content experience.

Downloading amazing pictures of nature is easier than ever with Shutterstock's free trial program. You can try out Shutterstock's 10 images per month plan absolutely free, and if you decide within 30 days that you'd rather not subscribe, no problem. This program is a great way for you to download a few nature background images and try them out to see which one fits your project best. Go back, and help yourself to a few more images, and you can see what it's like to have endless images at your fingertips, day and night. No matter how big or small your project is, or whether it's digital or print, the Shutterstock library has images from contributors all over the world in every medium you can imagine to help bring your design projects to life.