How to find free photos for your hubs and blogs

How do I find images for my blog posts or hubs? This might be an easy question for you if you are unaware of the Image licensing and creative commons. Conversely, if you are aware of the seriousness of copyright laws, finding good images can be a bothersome task for you. Throughout this hub, I am going to try to make it easy for you by providing some beautifully useful resources that you can avail online.

As an online writer or blogger, you must be aware of the laws you have to work within. Familiarize yourself with creative commons and its licenses ­­– believe me, you won’t regret understanding them. In a nutshell, creative commons has laid down some licenses for images. These licenses describe the rights under which the image has been published. The license will tell you if you can share the image or even modify it or use it for commercial use. what you are looking for are the images that are published under the permission of commercial use so you can put them while abiding by the laws.

Now let’s look at some useful services that can be availed online to fetch out some great photos.

That’s not new! Even I use Google to find images -- this is what you may be thinking. Yes, but are those images, that you obtain, valid for commercial use? Most of them are not. How to know if they are? Good question. You can filter your search in Google. follow me to filter your search:

1. go to Google.com
2. go to google images link at the top left.
3. click the ‘advance search’ link, at the right side of search button.
4. select 'labelled for commercial reuse' from the 'return images that are:' drop down menu as shown in the figure below.
   

Once you have set the filters right, you will get the images that are available for commercial use – but believe me, you will start hating Google after looking at the results. Most of the images will be irrelevant unfortunately.

TIP:  a method that mostly gets me some great stuff is that I translate the term that I am searching into different languages. Different languages generate different results and sometimes you can get some great pictures upload under their local names.

Flickr is a well known image sharing web. As we did in Google, here also, we will have to filter the images to locate the images with our desired labels. Now, to filter the search, follow the below instructions:

1. Go to www.flickr.com

2. Search the term you want to acquire images for in the search field.

3. By now, you would have gotten the results for your search but avoid them and click the advance search options link, right next to the search button.

4. Go to the last section, which will be labeled as Creative commons.

5. Put a check on ‘Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content ’

6. Now you are allowed to put check on the ‘Find content to use commercially ’

7. Now press and the search and you have the images that are completely OK to use.

I find results at Flickr, way better than Google’s results. You can acquire some great stuff here for your writing – with great I mean ‘real great’.

Creative commons, the non-profit creative content licencing organization, is offering a search to help you spot the content available for commercial use. As you visit Creative commons search (linked text), you will see the search bar on the top of the home page followed by two options to put a check on: Use for commercial purposes and modify, adapt or build upon.

The search covers the following platforms automatically while searching the content for you:

•  Google (web & images)
•  flickr
•  Wikimedia commons.

You can also find audios and videos here.

Now lets explore some ‘not so common’ services on the web that can help you ornament your writings.

Its an online service to provide you with Images that you can use commercially. The site provides proper categorization for your convenience. Only thing you are required here is to credit the owner.

link: freedigitalphotos

Everystockphoto, like creative commons, is a searching tool that looks into image providing sites for restriction free content. If there are limits on any of the photos, they are clearly defined.

Freefoto has nice database of useful photos that may interest you; look for the licesnes though.

This is yet another nice resource for you to find images.

link: Bigfoto

Photoree also has some decent stuff to offer to you. IT also search the internet according to license you select form the list it provides.

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Making your writing more presentable and colorful is vital but on the other hand it is equally important to ensure the appropriateness of the means taken to obtain the ornaments. Using the provided services your writings will be legally beautiful and presentable.

Lastly, I will request you to always check if the photo you have selected -- even from a free resource -- is under a license. Just as a precaution. You will be surprised to see how many nice people are out there who can offer their priceless work just asking for the credit in return.

Help me improve with your feedback.

Thank you,

AS