I love my guest authors. Stella Walker provides us with some photo gathering tips today.

Photos 300x228 3 Quick Sources to Find Quality PhotosBloggers know that photos can help draw in a reader substantially—if an accommodating photo looks attractive, a reader is more prone to check out and read the actual post. But sometimes finding a quality photo, more importantly a royalty-free legal-to use photo, can be tricky. Sure you could always pay for photos; some charge as little as 50 cents per image. But we all know 50 cents can add up. To explore all of your other (free) options, however continue reading below.

1. Google Images

By far one of the easiest ways to find useable photos is to use the power of Google. You can’t just simply type in a key word and then download the first image you see however. You need to filter your search and find out which one are labeled for reuse using the advanced settings. Otherwise you might just see yourself sued for copyright infringement. To do this, all you need to do is go to the Google Images page and type in your key word(s). Instead of clicking on search, click on the link that is the right of the search button. It should say “advanced image search.” From here you can specify exactly what you are looking for and rearrange the phrasing. No matter what it is, make sure that under usage rights you select the “labeled for reuse” or “labeled for commercial use” option before clicking Google Search. Once you find an image you like make sure that you still follow the owner’s guidelines on how he or she would like the photo to be credited.

2. Wikipedia Commons

Wikipedia might not be a great source for 100 percent reliable information, but it is a great source to find public domain photos which are automatically free.  The database contains more than 10 million photos of animals, historical figures, and landmarks for example that are free to use.  Just make sure to pay attention to the licensing terms and conditions that are located at the end of the image so that you know how to properly attribute the photo. While these photos are part of public domain, it’s nice to know that all images created/painted before 1923 are also considered public domain and are ok to use without copyright issues.

3. Everystockphoto

While using photo-sharing sites like Flickr is great ways to find reusable and professional-looking photos, an even better option is checking out Everystockphoto.com. What this site does is searches a bunch of different stock photo websites like Flickr all at once in order to help you find the image you are looking for. This means you don’t have to waste time scouring individual sites. While some sources that the web site brings up cost some money, the majority of them are free.  Again, like said many times before, be aware of attribution terms.


Stella Walker is a freelance writer of free credit score where she writes about topics including credit, debt, investment, bankruptcy.

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