Ever heard someone say that a picture’s worth a thousand words? A picture can draw out emotion. It can help explain a problem that otherwise just doesn’t make sense. There are endless uses for pictures and as such, finding pictures that you can actually use without any legal issues isn’t easy.
Legality of Pictures
Every country is different, however there’s a pretty general set of rules to follow before you post any pictures or add any pictures, even ones you’ve taken!
- Don’t post media content (pictures, videos, etc) of another person without their permission.
- Don’t take media content from another person without crediting them
- Don’t use images that might falsely, purposefully harm a brand or person
There’s a lot more to these rules in reality, but these are the big three. Because there are some pretty strict laws regarding pictures (and rightfully so), it might at times be difficult to find images. This is where free image source websites come in.
What is free image source?
In most cases, it means you can freely use the pictures found on these websites. You don’t have to pay. You don’t have to credit. You can post them to your hearts content because the people that took these pictures choose not to earn from them. They’re copyright free and totally legal for you to use!
List of Free Image Sources
Pixabay — My personal favorite. It’s got thousands of images on there and, unless you’re looking for something very specific, you can almost always find an image that works for your blog. You’ll want to double check the images you want to use as some can contain commercial restrictions but most don’t.
Flickr — Another good and popular free image website. Like Pixabay, it’s got enough diversity that you should find it easy to find a suitable image.
Other websites include:
- Unsplash
- PickupImage
- Gratisography
And tons more. Just do a google search for stock free images if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for on those websites or try and use a broader image.