Relevant visual content can mean the difference between website that users simply pass over and forget all about and an eye-catching engaging experience for the visitor. It’s not enough to just have pictures, you need pictures that round out your content and direct the reader to a certain mindset.
However, for the entrepreneurs out there who don’t have the budget for an account on the largest image sharing sites, copyrights and licensing fees can pose a problem. Of course, there is always a solution for the savvy entrepreneur! In addition to ordering custom graphics on Fiverr®, you can also find some free Creative Commons or public domain pictures.
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a nonprofit image source. Not every photo on Creative Commons is up for grabs though. The site employs a unique multi-layered licensing process, which means sometimes you must credit the original photo even if you change it. However, it is a great resource for free photos and crediting those whose art you are using is worth the benefit of visual content. Creative Commons makes it straightforward to understand how each photo is licensed as you browse. For a complete overview of their licenses, you can check out their explanation.
Public Domain
Public domain photos are those images whose copyright has expired or is inapplicable for other reasons. Just because you found a photo on the internet does not mean it is public domain. To make matters even more confusing, US law no longer requires a copyright notice so even if you don’t see one, an image might still be under copyright. It gets murky but a good rule of thumb is that any photo created by the US government is public domain as well as any image created in 1922 or before.
If you are looking for a database of photos that are free for the taking, here are some sites to check out:
1. Free Photos Bank – A large collection of downloadable pictures, no signup required.
2. Pixabay – An easily searchable database of free Creative Commons photos that can be used anywhere.
3. Public Domain Pictures – Takes all of the guesswork out of figuring out whether or not an image belongs to the public domain.
4. Death to the Stock Photo – A monthly delivery straight to your inbox of free images.
5. StockPhotos.io – Thousands of high quality photos, both from Creative Commons and the public domain.
Have any other great sources to share? Let us know in the comments!
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