How to Find Free Images That Won’t Ruin Your Own Image
So what’s the big fuss over using free images on a website, blog or marketing material?
Free is good right?
Maybe. Maybe not.
How to Find and Use Free Images – Legally
The internet is a gold mine of fabulous free goodies – free images, free videos and free graphics.
What you might not have realized when you downloaded that seemingly free photo image from Google Images is that you may have put yourself and your business in some legal hot water!
You can, however, learn a few tips and tricks is to use free images from the internet in a smart, wise and more importantly, legal way.
What is Creative Commons?
Still confused about Creative Commons license types in regards to using free images?
Here, this might help.
[slideshare id=138804&doc=creative-commons-spectrum-of-rights-1192738788152957-2]
Where do the pro’s get their worry-free images?
1. Flickr Creative Commons
Touted as one of the best online photo management and sharing applications in the world, Flickr houses a treasure trove of images that you can use under their Creative Commons area.
- Kristi Hines, a freelance writer, ghostwriter, professional blogger and social media enthusiast, says that when it comes to finding just the right photo, she turns to Flickr. “I use Creative Commons search on Flickr under their Advanced Search Options.”
- When David Crandall isn’t posting his own work on Flickr, you can find him flexing his super powers over at his blog, Heroic Destiny where he uses Flickr’s Creative Commons.
2. Photo Pin
If you’re in the business of blogging, Photo Pin makes the chore of finding fantabulous photos and images for your blog.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
- Annie Sisk of Pajama Productivity . She’s the queen of the fuzzy slippers who teaches people how to rule the world in your PJ’s. She says, “Seriously, there’s NO need to go elsewhere. It gathers all the Flickr images, gives you Photo Credit HTML code, lets you download a number of sizes …. Oh. And FREE.”
- Marketing consultant, writer, WordPress gourmet and story-telling gastronaut, Tea Silvestre (aka The Word Chef) is also a fan.
- Veteran blogger, John Jantsch over at Duct Tape Marketing has even given Photo Pin his seal of approval.
3. Compfight
Compfight is another image search engine tailored to find the perfect image for your design or writing project. Like Photo Pin, they also use the Flickr API.
When the uber creative Bombchelle Michelle Nickolaisen isn’t making incredibly boring sounding stuff incredibly NOT boring so that that you + your biz can reap the rewards, she’s checking out images using Compfight.
The same goes for Srinivas Rao. He uses the Compfight WordPress Plugin to hunt down just the right free image to use on the BlogcastFM blog. Now that’s how you take the work out of free image research!
However, when you use your newly discovered bevy of free images do what’s right and give credit where credit is due.
Who couldn’t use some “link love” these days to drive traffic to their site?
The end result? You’re happy, they’re happy and fluttery hearts were just released across the world wide interwebz.
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