- Short answer
- Yes — Burst, Shopify's free stock photo library, opens in the theme editor; commercial use is fine, but you can't offer them for sale in any way.
- Where to find it
- Theme editor image picker → Explore free images, then Select and Save
- Attribution
- Not required; Burst encourages crediting the photographer
- What the license bans
- Offering the photos for sale, misattributing their ownership or authorship, compiling them into a service that competes with Burst
- Merch use
- Both license and terms ban offering the photos for sale in any way; Burst's FAQ suggests t-shirts and mugs
- As a product photo
- No Shopify or Burst page we read says whether a Burst photo may show a product you sell
- Status
- Live as of October 25, 2026; burst.shopify.com redirects to shopify.com/stock-photos
How do you add Burst photos to your store?
Burst is Shopify's stock photo platform, and Shopify's Help Center page says Burst “offers free, high resolution images.” Burst is live as of October 25, 2026: burst.shopify.com redirects to shopify.com/stock-photos.
Open a theme editor section with an image picker, such as Horizon's Hero, and click Explore free images:
- Online Store
- Themes
- Edit theme
- Hero
- Explore free images
Pick a photo, preview it in your theme, then click Select and Save.
What does the Burst license allow?
The Burst license lets you use the photos for commercial and noncommercial purposes for free, and Burst encourages crediting the photographer but does not require it. The license bans three things:
- offering the photos for sale in any way;
- inaccurately attributing their ownership or authorship;
- compiling the photos to replicate a service similar to or competing with Burst.
Burst's terms of service, as read on October 25, 2026, carry the same sale ban and add that you “may not imply endorsement by the author or by Shopify.”
The FAQ on the Burst home page pulls the other way: it suggests you “create t-shirts, mugs, or other products.” If a photo will go on merchandise you sell, go by the sale ban rather than the FAQ and use an image you own.
Can a Burst photo be your product photo?
Shopify's product media note suggests downloading “product and lifestyle photos” from Burst as a tip, not a rule, but it doesn't say whether a Burst photo may show a product you sell. Nor does any other Shopify or Burst page we read: as of October 25, 2026 we also checked the Burst and theme images help pages and Burst's license, terms and FAQ.
To improve a photo of your actual product instead, Shopify's media generation lets you “transform your image using simple natural language prompts”; as of October 25, 2026 the file editor offers it on all Shopify plans at no additional cost, for a limited time.
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