How to Find Free Pictures for Your Blog


In this article I have provided some useful information and ideas about free pictures for a blog. As you know that pictures can attract peoples towards it self. And those websites and blogs that are providing images in their articles are very attractive and, therefore, they are looking very beautiful than the other that only publishing articles.
In fact adding visual interest in the form of images is a commonly and widely-used method for attracting readers to blog articles. If you’re holding back from spicing up your blog for fear of cost or (gasp) copyright infringement, so don't worry, I have provided, here, some advice to get you informed and comfortable with posting images. You will need to read out this story about free pictures and after reading this article you will be able to find free images for your blog or website.

Get to Know the Terminology

First of all you will need to familiar with the terminology that is used for this purpose. After getting familiar with these terminologies you will be able to download what kind of pictures for your blog or website. Unless explicitly noted, any image that you find on the internet could be copyrighted. What it mean? It means that you could be held liable for copyright infringement. Are you up for taking that chance? Those of us who prefer to stay legal will typically be looking for images with some form of a Creative Commons license. This license is less restrictive than the traditional “all rights reserved” copyright (to varying degrees). Here’s a breakdown of the terms, acronyms, and icons associated with them, according to creativecommons.org:
Attribution: CC BY
This kind of pictures allows you to distribute, tweak, and/or build upon the original image for personal or commercial purposes, provided that you credit the creator.
Attribution-NoDerivs: CC BY-ND
It allows you to distribute the image “unchanged and in whole” for commercial and non-commercial purposes, provided that you credit the creator. Keep in mind that you will not be allowed to change the original picture.
Attribution-ShareAlike: CC BY-SA
Allows you to tweak and build upon the original image for commercial and non-commercial purposes, provided that you credit the creator. Any new art you create based on the original image will carry the same license and be available for commercial use by others.
Attribution-NonCommercial: CC BY-NC
Allows you to tweak or build upon the image non-commercial purposes, provided that you credit the creator. It should be noted that any new art you create will not carry the same license as the original image, but still must be used for non-commercial purposes only.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike: CC BY-NC-SA
Allows you to tweak and build upon the original photo for non-commercial reasons only, provided that you credit the creator.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs: CCBY-NC-ND
Allows you to share the image, but unchanged, for non-commercial purposes only provided that you credit the author. This is the most limited license.

Image Borrowing Best Practices

It is important to note and keep in mind that each image released under creative commons likely has one of the above licenses or some variation of it. To keep your self away from violating any things and to be on the safe side, you should always check the license agreement to make sure that you aren’t violating anything. It may take some time at first, but as you become more familiar with the licenses, you’ll know where to look to determine the facts more quickly.
Note that not all free images require a credit to the image creator; many images on stock photography site Stock.xchng don’t ask for attribution, but their standard license does request that you “take the time to comment on and rate the Image you downloaded and do your best to show the work you created with the Image to the photographer.” Whether you’re crediting the image author or simply letting them know how the photo was used, it really is a small price to pay for a free, quality, and legal image.

Where to Find Free, Quality Images

I have provided a list of websites where you can find free and quality images. And you can use these images for your blogs or websites. These are given in the list below.
1. Everystockphoto
It is a best site for finding free images. In fact this site describes itself as a “license-specific photo search engine.” It searches many of the popular free stock photo sources and allows you restrict results based on a variety of parameters, including account requirement, shape, resolution, and license.
This site also provides a large amount of information about the requirements of account, license and the like more. If you want to search some free images for your blog or website you will need to search these pictures through this image search engine.
2. Flickr’s Creative Commons Search
Flickr, one of the most popular images sharing site for free images. In fact this social image-sharing site has gained a lot of reputation for harboring high-quality free photos. Search through the Creative Commons section or use the advanced search feature to specify a search within the Creative Commons-licensed content, plus you can identify whether you’re looking for content that can be edited or used commercially.
Those who want to find free images for blog can use the services of flickr. A large number of peoples are providing their images on this site and share them, and most of them are free and you will not be required to pay for them.
3. Stock.xchng
It is another best source for finding free images. As I have discussed earlier, there are plenty of images on this site with more lax licensing. And these images don't require any attribution. However, you’ve got to watch out for the much higher quality, payment-requiring iStockphoto thumbnails that get posted alongside the free stock.xchng results.
4. 123rf
It is the number fourth (4th) useful site for free images. Its services are completely free, and you will not need to pay a penny for any picture. You can get your desired pictures here for your blog or website. It provide small sized pictures to its users.
If you’re just looking for something small, stock photography site 123rf offers many of its small-sized (think 400px at the longest side) images for free. Just search their free images section, found under the Stock Photography header on the home page or by clicking their link above.
5. Google Creative Commons Image Search
Google, which is one of the larges search engine of the world, also providing this facility to its users. Of course, if there’s a searching need, Google has a tool for it. Within their existing image search, Google added a usage rights parameter to their advanced image search. Here, you can specify whether the image should carry a license that allows reuse, commercial use, and/or modification. If the license allows you to reuse the image then you can use it again. But if it prohibits you from using these images then you will need to pay for it to its authors. And after taking legal permission from its creator you will be allowed to use it on you webpage.
The last Thought
If you have read this article carefully then you have got familiarity about finding free images. Now, as I hope, you’re able and equipped to find images legally and without charge. But here’s one last advice to you: why not try creating your own images? Original photography and graphics can add value to your blog and make it appear more personal. While stock photos are a great option, especially in a pinch, doesn't rule out the idea of adding non-canned images to your next post. Challenge yourself to come up with your own pictures depicting your product, service, or company; and guess what? It’s license-free!
By creating your own images, your blog will appear very beautiful and your visitors will appreciate your hard work. And the other advantage is that it is free and you will not need to pay a penny for it. So do it and make your blog or website most attractive.


Nadeem Khan Khattak

The writer is an international journalist, commentator and has vast experience in the international Politics & Finance. He is providing the most recent information, and reasonable discussions with proofs. If any readers want to contact him or ask a question, you can reach him by writing in the comment section.

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