BEST SITES FOR FREE BLOG IMAGES By Jason Fox | www.JasonFox.me
ONLY ONE THING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD: TO FIND ANY SENSE IN ANY COPYRIGHT LAW ON THE PLANET. ~ MARK TWAIN
You can not use an image you find on google images on your website or blog! If you do… there is a chance that someone will sue you. If they sue you it will be for way more money than you feel that they deserve and there is a good chance they will win. It is called copyright infringement and it is serious business. Also be careful of my headline; free images for your blog. As they say, “there is no such thing as a free lunch”. No images are truly free. You either pay in your own time to take them, money and buy them, or you have to give credit to the creator of the image. It might be better to call these legal images.
This list contains links to sites from which you do not need to pay money, or time, but you do need to pay homeage. You do this by either mentioning the creators name or adding a link on your site to the creator, called attribution. It depends on what the creator wants and should be disclosed on each site. Some sites are monetized through advertising and do not require any links or mentions. Most of these sites rely on a set of rules called the “creative commons“.
Best Sites To Get Free Images For Your Blog (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)
1. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
HTTP://COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG/WIKI/MAIN_PAGE
THE WIKIPEDIA FOR MEDIA.
2. FLICKR COMMONS HTTPS://WWW.FLICKR.COM/EXPLORE
FLICKR IS THE SECOND LARGEST STORAGE OF IMAGES ON THE WEB AND MANY PHOTOGRAPHERS ALLOW YOU TO USE THEIR IMAGES.
3. GETTY IMAGES
- HTTP://WWW.GETTYIMAGES.COM
FOR A DETAILED DESCRIPTION YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT FREE GETTY IMAGES HERE.
4. PHOTO PIN
- HTTP://PHOTOPIN.COM
THIS IS A SEARCH ENGINE FOR FLICKR COMMONS.
5. FREE IMAGES
- HTTP://WWW.FREEIMAGES.COM
AN IMAGE EXCHANGE SITE THAT IS OWNED BY GETTY IMAGES.
6. MORGUE FILE
- HTTP://WWW.MORGUEFILE.COM
IMAGE EXCHANGE SITE.
7. MICROSOFT IMAGES
- HTTP://OFFICE.MICROSOFT.COM/ENUS/IMAGES/RESULTS.ASPX?QU=REAL+ESTATE&EX=1&ORIGIN=HA010201923
MICROSOFT OFFERS THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF IMAGES AND CLIP ART.
8. RBG STOCK
- HTTP://WWW.RGBSTOCK.COM
THEY ARE DEDICATED TO MAKING HIGH QUALITY IMAGES AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY FOR THEM.
9. DREAMSTIME
- HTTP://WWW.DREAMSTIME.COM/FREE-PHOTOS
THEY ARE PRIMARILY FOR PAY IMAGES, BUT OFFER A FREE SECTION.
10. FREEFOTO
- HTTP://WWW.FREEFOTO.COM/INDEX.JSP OVER 132549 IMAGES.
11. PIXABAY
- HTTP://PIXABAY.COM/EN
USE OF THESE IMAGES, EVEN FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES, WITHOUT ANY LINKS.
12. EVERY STOCK PHOTO - HTTP://WWW.EVERYSTOCKPHOTO.COM
MILLIONS OF FREELY LICENSED PHOTOS, FROM MANY SOURCES, IN A SEARCH ENGINE.
13. HISTORICAL STOCK PHOTOS - HTTP://WWW.HISTORICALSTOCKPHOTOS.COM
FREE HISTORICAL IMAGES.
14. FREE PIXELS
- HTTP://WWW.FREEPIXELS.COM
GRANTS TO YOU A LICENSE TO USE AND REPRODUCE THE IMAGE.
15. PUBLIC DOMAIN PHOTOS - HTTP://WWW.PUBLIC-DOMAIN-PHOTOS.COM
5,000 FREE IMAGES AND 8,000 FREE CLIP ART IMAGES FOR ANY PURPOSE.
16. PANORAMIO
- HTTP://WWW.PANORAMIO.COM
YOU CAN FIND LOCATION BASED IMAGES USED ON GOOGLE MAPS.
17. FREE DIGITAL PHOTOS - HTTP://WWW.FREEDIGITALPHOTOS.NET
FREE & PREMIUM IMAGES PRODUCED BY A COMMUNITY OF PROFESSIONALS.
18. ANCESTRY IMAGES - HTTP://WWW.ANCESTRYIMAGES.COM
27,800 IMAGES OF OLD AND ANTIQUE PRINTS, MAPS AND PORTRAITS.
19. PICJUMBO - HTTP://PICJUMBO.COM
TOTALLY FREE PHOTOS FOR YOUR COMMERCIAL & PERSONAL WORKS.
20. GRATISOGRAPHY
- HTTP://WWW.GRATISOGRAPHY.COM
ALL PICTURES CAPTURED BY RYAN MCGUIRE AND FREE OF COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS.
21. COMPFIGHT - HTTP://COMPFIGHT.COM
ANOTHER FLICKR SEARCH TOOL.
22. UNSPLASH -HTTP://UNSPLASH.COM
FREE (DO WHATEVER YOU WANT) HIRESOLUTION PHOTOS.
23. ICON FINDER
- HTTPS://WWW.ICONFINDER.COM
LOOKING FOR ICONS.
24. LITTLE VISUALS - HTTP://LITTLEVISUALS.CO
GET 7 HI-RES IMAGES ZIPPED UP IN YOUR INBOX EVERY 7 DAYS.
25. NEW OLD STOCK - HTTP://NOS.TWNSND.CO
VINTAGE PHOTOS FROM PUBLIC ARCHIVES.
26. DEATH TO THE STOCK PHOTO - HTTP://DEATHTOTHESTOCKPHOTO.COM
FREE MONTHLY PHOTOS.
27. SUBTLE PATTERNS - HTTP://SUBTLEPATTERNS.COM
OVER 380 TILABLE TEXTURED PATTERNS, FREE TO USE.
28. FREERANGE
- HTTP://FREERANGESTOCK.COM
PHOTOGRAPHERS GET PAID WHEN USERS CLICK ON THE ADS THAT APPEAR NEXT TO IMAGES.
29. OPENPHOTO - HTTP://OPENPHOTO.NET
PHOTO SHARING PLATFORM WHERE IMAGES ARE OFFERED FREE OF CHARGE.
30. DOTSPIN
- HTTP://WWW.DOTSPIN.COM
A COLLECTION OF INSTAGRAM IMAGES FREE FOR PERSONAL USE.
31. PHOTOGEN
- HTTP://WWW.PHOTOGEN.COM
QUALITY STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY FOR BOTH COMMERCIAL AND PERSONAL USE.
32. SUPERFAMOUS STUDIOS - HTTP://SUPERFAMOUS.COM
LOS ANGELES-BASED STUDIO OF DUTCH INTERACTION DESIGNER FOLKERT GORTER.
33. GRAPHICSTOCK
HTTPS://WWW.GRAPHICSTOCK.COM/FREEIMAGES/?GCLID=CK 3A-F3M8R0CFQWTFGODXICA7A
7 DAYS OF FREE UNLIMITED DOWNLOADING OF IMAGES.
34. CREATIVE COMMONS - HTTP://SEARCH.CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG
LINKS TO MANY IMAGE SITES & INFORMATION ABOUT COPYRIGHT AND SHARING LAWS.
35. GOOGLE IMAGES - HTTP://WWW.GOOGLE.COM
I KNOW I SAID YOU CAN’T USE GOOGLE IMAGES IN THE INTRO… UNLESS YOU MAKE SURE TO FILTER OUT “LABLED FOR REUSE”.
36. FOTOPEDIA
HTTP://WWW.FOTOPEDIA.COM/SEARCH?HUMAN_LICENSE=REU SE_COMMERCIAL_MODIFY
SEARCH PEOPLE, PLACES, SUBJECTS, HASHTAGS
WARNING: This is meant to be used as a reference and is not legal advice. While these sites are all safe as long as you familiarize yourself with the requirements to use and share the images, copyright law is complex and confusing.