Best Free Stock Photography Sites

By Kendall

best-stock-photography-sites Whether you need an image for a new website design, product packaging, or an upcoming PowerPoint presentation, there are many great places to find free stock photography online.

Not all sites have great quality photos, so I thought it’d be a good idea to put together a list of the best free stock photography site and royalty-free photography. But first, let’s look at what you can and cannot do with images that have copyrights and how this works with stock photo sites.

Copyright Laws Regarding Internet Images

Before we dive in, let’s go over the copyright laws regarding internet images a bit so everyone’s on the same page. First off, just because an image is on the internet doesn’t mean that it’s a public domain image. Works in the public domain are those that have no legal restriction on use and have an expired copyright. The length of copyright in the U.S. depends on the date of origination of the work and the purpose of the work, but it’s safe to say that published images before 1923 are in the public domain. If you’d like more information on U.S. copyright law, check the Wiki page.

I’m not a lawyer, so don’t take my word for it. These are simply things I’ve found in my own quest to understand internet copyright laws, and by no means is this all-inclusive. So do your homework, and if in doubt, get some actual legal advice from an authority.

Copyright Basics:

With copyright, you want to err on the conservative side, as you don’t want to accidentally find yourself stuck in the middle of a lawsuit. Here’s what I’ve found (and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong or add to the list):

1. A work with a current copyright cannot be manipulated a little and be considered a new work. It is still the original artist’s work.
2. If it has a copyright symbol, don’t mess with it.
3. You cannot make money off of someone else’s copyrighted material.
4. Just because an image is on the internet, Google images, or Flickr does not mean it’s available for reproduction.
5. User-generated content is the property of the user who created the content.
6. When you produce a work, it is automatically copyrighted by you for your lifetime plus 70 years. Registering copyrights is also a good idea.
7. “Fair use” allows you to use copyright materials in specific circumstances, but it’s a slippery slope, so tread lightly.
8. Logos and trademarks can be incorporated into another work as part of the “fair use” clause.

Sites like Flickr have helped to streamline and revolutionize the way we deal with copyright laws regarding internet images. The non-profit group, Creative Commons, has led the way in giving people an alternative to copyright licensing. Most Flickr users will license their works under some sort of a Creative Commons license. There are four different types of licenses: attribution, share alike, non-commercial, and no derivative works. Check out the Creative Commons site for more information.

Stock photography has its own specifics when it comes to copyright, so it’s important to check on each photo before using.

Royalty Free Stock Photos

Sites advertising royalty-free stock photos are basically stock photography sites, but they often charge a flat fee per image depending on how you are going to use the image. For professionals, this type of fee structure can be great for small commercial projects. Purchasing royalty-free images allows you to use the same photo multiple times and manipulate the image to your heart’s content. Royalty free stock photo sites include the following: