Popular Stock Photography Sites on the Web
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If you are trying to create your own website on the Internet, one problem you will likely run into is finding images to use. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that every photo on the web is fair game – when actually that is far from the truth.
Photos you find on the web could be copyrighted and if you use those photos on your website without proper permission, you could find yourself in legal trouble. With that in mind, it’s extremely important to find photos you can legally use.
Luckily for those people in search of photos, there are a lot of popular stock photography sites on the web. These sites offer a wide variety of stock photography for your personal use. Some of these sites are free, some charge you for the photos and others offer both options.
It’s important to read the small print when you are finding the images on these sites. The small print may indicate that you are obliged to give attribution. Some small print will tell you that you can use the photos for any purpose. Each site is unique in the way it handles attribution in addition to payment.
Here are some popular stock photography sites you should consider:
Using Flickr to find photos that are free to use is quite easy. All you have to do is do an advanced search and look for photos that have a Creative Commons license. This license means that the owner of the picture allows others to use the picture. However, be sure to check what restrictions are placed on the Creative Commons license. Some photos still require attribution, while other photos are not to be displayed on commercial websites.
credit: __Dori__
If you know how to use Wikipedia, you’ll know how to us Wikimedia Commons. All you have to do is search their database for the piece of media you are looking for and then read the restriction for that particular piece of media. That’s all there is to it! A lot of the photographs are free to use.
credit: dannysullivan
Google Images isn’t a true stock photography site, however its unmatched database of pictures makes it a useful resource. Basically, Google Images searching the entire internet to find photos that correspond to the term you search. For example, if you search for “doorknobs” you will be given hundreds and hundreds of search results for images on the internet that are doorknobs. The tricky part is figuring out the copyright status of the images you find. If it doesn’t specifically say the copyright status on the website, your best bet is to email the website to find out. Don’t simply use whatever you find because you may end up using a photograph that is copyrighted.
If you are looking for royalty free photographs, PD Photos might be the easiest place to find just that. The website is geared specifically toward royalty free photos, which makes finding a photo on PD Photos quick and painless! You can either search for a keyword to find the photo you are looking for or you can navigate the available categories. The photos on this site tend to be big, clear and free – a good combination for photo seekers.
If you have a blog that needs images, Buzznet is a good option for you. It’s a place where a lot of bloggers share photos. You can search through the database of photos to find the one you need. Be sure to read for any restrictions that may apply if you are going to use a photograph you find off of Buzznet. The database of photographs on this website isn’t huge but it’s usually large enough to find what you are look for when searching.
FreeStockPhotos is just that, free stock photos! You can use the photos found on this site for both profit and non-profit means. However, there are a few drawbacks regarding this website. First of all, the selection is quite small. There are mostly animal, scenery and religious photos available on FreeStockPhotos. Additionally, each photo has a FreeStockPhotos logo located on the pictures. As part of the restrictions, you must keep the logo on the picture.
FreeFoto is extremely similar to FreeStockPhotos. You can search their database of photographs, which is actually quite a bit larger than FreeStockPhotos’ database. However, in addition to a FreeFoto logo on the picture, their restrictions state that you have to give a link back to the FreeFoto website. If linking back works for you, using FreeFoto to find quality pictures is a good idea.
ImageAfter is a very lenient stock photography website. They don’t watermark their images and they don’t require a link back to their website. Their only restriction is that you don’t download all their photos and then open up a similar website – which isn’t much of a restriction. In addition to pictures, you can find textures that you can download and use or alter. This is a very good site if you just want to find no-hassle photos on the internet.
With over three million images, Fotolia Stock Photos has one of the internet’s largest collections of photos. The way Fotolia Stock Photos works is that photographers use this website to sell their photos. You can search their database for photos and then purchase the one you like best. There are two different options when you buy a photo from Fotolia Stock Photos. You can simply buy the right to use the photograph or you can purchase exclusive rights to the photograph.
credit: Steve Keys
While the photos cost a bit more at iStockPhoto than at Fotolia Stock Photos, iStockPhoto has a reputation of being arguably the best stock photography website on the internet. The prices are still very reasonable and you can find an almost unlimited amount of quality pictures. They have six different sizes of pictures and video clips. “Extra Small” photos (300 x 400 pixels) are as little as $1 each and great for use in blogs. The “XXLarge” photos are as little as $20 each and 3300×4900. Video clips range from $10 to $50 a piece.
Even if you don’t think anyone is watching your website or blog for copyright infringements, you’d be surprised how often people get in trouble for breaking copyright law. And the fines can really add up. For example, if you have 1,000 copyrighted photos on your website, you could be fined something like $250 per photo – which would cost you $250,000! Obviously, you want to avoid that and going through the above websites and following their regulations is the best way to do that.
You shouldn’t simply avoid using photographs on the Internet because photographs are a great way to spice up a webpage. Readers are more likely to come back if the presentation of your website or blog is enjoyable, and photographs help do just that! With the number of stock photography sites on the web, you can no doubt find exactly it is you are looking for without wasting too much time. After a while, finding the right photo will become easier and easier once you know where to look and how to search.
Photo credit: Flickr
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Thanks this will really help me spice up my website - without getting in trouble - brilliant article!