How to Get FREE Professional Images

Some beginning photographers work free for the benefit of experience.

An image adds great visual interest to text. This particularly true of text on the Web, which people often scan rather than reading thoroughly. However, if you are not a photographer, you might wonder how you can obtain professional images for your website or print advertisement without paying licensing fees or risking copyright violations. Millions of images are online that you can use without paying anything. Some may require you to credit the photographer, while others may require you to do nothing at all.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Use images that are no longer under copyright protection and have entered the public domain. Generally speaking, a photographer owns the copyright for an image that she created for her lifetime, after which time the rights pass to her estate for another 70 years. The works of a photographer who died before 1941, therefore, are now in the public domain and can be used freely. In addition, some photographers willingly release their works in the public domain.

2. Use images released under a Creative Commons license. The Creative Commons-Attribution license allows you to use an image for any purpose as long as you credit the photographer. Other types of Creative Commons licenses place additional restrictions on the use of photos, which pay prevent them from being modified or used for commercial purposes. Always check the license before using a Creative Commons image. Flickr.com has a library of nearly 200 million Creative Commons images.

3. Find a photographer willing to trade work for publicity if you are unable to find a Creative Commons or public domain image that you want to use. Many photographers struggle to find paid work when they are getting started in the field, and you may find a photographer willing to license a photo to you in exchange for a link on your website or credit in your print ad.

4. Make your own images if it is feasible to do so. For example, if you are creating a how-to article about how to use a computer application, capture your own screenshots -- you can do the job as well as a professional photographer could. In the case of real-life images, you may find that you can create something with your own camera that you are happy with.

Tips & Warnings

• Copyright law is complex. Consult an attorney if you are not sure whether you have the legal right to use an image on your website or advertisement.

References

• Cornell University; Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States; January 2011

Resources

• Flickr: Creative Commons