I built WP Photo Stats because I wanted a simple way to watch something genuinely useful grow.
The WordPress Photo Directory is a big, public collection of community-submitted photography that anyone can use. The photos are released under CC0, which means they can be used for personal or commercial work without needing permission, payment, or attribution. That is a generous thing to put into the world.
At the moment, the directory has passed 43,000 photos. That number is fun. The more interesting part is what it represents: thousands of small decisions by photographers to make useful work available to other people.
A little project for watching a much bigger one
WP Photo Stats is a The WP World project that tracks the directory’s growth month by month. You can see photo and contributor growth, explore category and color totals, browse milestone photos, pull up a random image when you need a little inspiration, and meet the people adding to the collection.
It is deliberately simple. I like that. Sometimes a project does not need to solve a giant problem. Sometimes it just needs to make good work more visible.
The stats also make the collection feel less abstract. Nature leads the directory, but there is room for architecture, food and drink, animals, objects, arts and culture, transportation, interiors, technology, patterns, and much more. A useful photo library should have depth, not just a lot of leaves and dramatic sunsets.
Your best photo might be more useful than you think
If you have strong photographs sitting in Lightroom, Photos, or a forgotten folder on your phone, this is a nudge to look through them again. Not every good photo belongs in the directory. But some absolutely do.
The best submissions are not merely “nice.” They are clean, useful, and made with care: a clear subject, solid composition, good light, sharp focus, natural color, and no distracting clutter. Think about the kind of image a site owner, educator, nonprofit, designer, or small business could confidently use next week.
The directory has standards for a reason. Submitted images must be original photographs you have the right to share, licensed CC0, and uploaded as JPEGs between 1–20 MB and 2,000–7,500 pixels on each side. Moderators also look for images without watermarks, text overlays, borders, heavy processing, obvious branding, identifiable faces, private information, or near-duplicate submissions. Take a few minutes to read the full guidelines before you upload.
That is not a pile of gotchas. It is what keeps the directory useful. If someone needs an image for a client project, an event page, a classroom resource, or a personal site, they should be able to browse with confidence.
Five is plenty to start
You do not need to unload an entire archive. The directory currently allows up to five photos in the moderation queue at once. Start there. Pick five you would be happy to see used somewhere you will never visit by someone you will never meet.
That last part matters. CC0 is a real gift. It means letting go of the usual controls around a photo: no required credit, no approval workflow, no invoice. If that does not feel right for a particular image, keep it. But if you have a few photographs you can truly set free, the WordPress Photo Directory is a great home for them.
Moderation is handled by volunteers, and the directory says a review may take 24–36 hours. You will get an email either way. If something is declined, the explanation is useful feedback for the next submission.
Make the directory better by adding to it
I will keep tracking the numbers at WP Photo Stats. But the part I am rooting for is not the counter ticking up. It is the next batch of photos that makes the directory more useful, more varied, and more generous than it was yesterday.
If you have high-quality photos worth sharing, log in to WordPress.org and submit your first five. Then come back and see what your contribution joins.
There is plenty of room in this library. Bring your best work.