The Cheapskate’s Guide to Free Royalty Free Photos
When you first launch your website or blog, you’re often desperate for photos. You barely scraped together the content, and now you’re trying to add a little flashiness without breaking the bank.
We get you, but we also realize the value of brand identity. Below, you’ll find a list of resources for free royalty free photos.
But, let’s discuss copyright for a moment.
Read all of the rules regarding attribution. Follow them. If you don’t, you’re liable for a slew of awful legal ramifications just because you didn’t want to pay a few bucks. Would you rather be fined? Sued? I sure wouldn’t!
If it says you link back to another site or provide attribution by the photographer’s name, do it. Don’t fight it. If you really can’t manage that, go without or pay the fee for publication rights. It’s just not worth it.
Without further ado…
Free Digital Photos
There’s quite a wide variety of free royalty free photos available from this free site, and it is where I got my start before I knew where else to go. It’s very handy, but does require attribution for the free images (which are a relatively small size).
It works, and will help you out in a pinch.
Plus, paid royalty free images start at about $3 each, which isn't bad at all.
Wikimedia Commons
This is one of the biggest collections of public domain images out there! I love it for ease of use, and there are many, many public domain images available. But, many others require attribution, which doesn't always look good on a business site (I don’t want potential business prospects to think I’m cutting corners while asking for their good money). It’s still a fantastic resource.
Flickr – Public Domain
Despite the legal sense of the term, the “Public Domain” group on Flickr doesn't necessarily mean that the images are completely free for use. Many require attribution, so be sure to follow those rules by clicking the “License” link. Although many artists will write “I waive all rights to this image,” the license does not always say as such.
But, these are some fantastic pictures. Most are taken by users, and there are images from everywhere, about everything.
Our Favorite Paid Image Site: iStockphoto
Although this post is about where to find free pictures, we want to provide you with at least one awesome paid option: Veer. Some of their pictures can be pretty pricey, but there are a ton that start at $2 each. Plus, all new users get 10 free image credits (aka 10 pictures or 1 font).
These aren’t weird, cheap pictures. They’re good, very good. I love Veer because it makes it look like I’ve paid a lot of money for high-quality pictures but in reality, I paid barely anything. We don’t know of a single paid-image site that even comes close for the financial and professional value.
Where do you go for your graphics fix? Do you have another free site we don’t know about? Tell us below in the comments!