Royalty Free Images – Where to find them
If you are still using the old “copy and paste” method from random websites to add images to your blog, worksheets or websites then you should stop. It’s probably a violation of copyright but there are better and more legal ways.
People are paying more attention to where photos come from and what they are being used for. Basically, if you have done the old copy and paste you may have committed a copyright violation. 
You can always try and ask for permission but those requests usually go ignored.
A problem before was where do you find these images? Where can you go to safely and confidently know that you are downloading an image that is safe to use?
You can always sign up for an image repository website like stockphoto.com, gettyimages.com or shutterstock.com. These sites have millions of photos and you can either purchase them individually or sign up for a subscription and just download away, but if you’re a teacher and are just looking for something fun to drop in the corner of a worksheet this seems a little over the top. Not to mention these sites can get expensive fast.
Luckily, there are sites out there that can help you with this little predicament. These sites offer royalty free images that are also free to download and use. As always be sure to check each individual photo for its licenses or restrictions. Some may allow for download and use but won’t let you modify it, some may let you do whatever you want to it but require attribution. At any rate, here are four sites that I like to use.
morguefile.com
Pretty straightforward here. Just type what you’re looking for and a bunch of images will appear! I find the images here to be a little more amateur, but that is nice sometimes and you can also find some odd ones as well. Like searching for cell phone.
pixabay.com
This site has a lot more professional looking images but they feel much more sterile and stock. Again, this could be perfect for your needs. Just like morguefile.com this has tons of photos, just search. When you click on an image you can see its license on the right hand side.
unsplash.com
Great photos period! This is one I found a few weeks ago and really like. Loads of photos, great quality. I didn’t find any license info but what it does have is some meta data. Kind of neat if you’re into photography.
pexels.com
Finally there is pexels. Great photos and some real fun ones too. They do feel a bit more generic and stock than morguefiles and pixabay but hey having choices is always a nice thing. They even have some video.
Source: IT Babble Blog and Podcast
You must be logged in to post a comment.