Is it okay to use Google images for your blog posts or your website?
The quick answer is, NO.
Well, the reason is simple. The image is likely going to have a copyright on it and you won’t have permission to use it. Google Images search is a commonly used feature for finding pictures across the web.
But just because you found a picture after searching Google Images doesn’t mean it’s free for you to use. Those images aren’t free for the taking. They belong to people—and using one without permission could land your practice in a lot of legal trouble. You don’t want to find yourself using a copyrighted image without proper permission. If you do, you put yourself at risk of legal action.
There are plenty of stock photo agencies where you can get or buy stock photos online without breaking the bank, but knowing the best and most affordable might require a little help. That’s why we’ve decided to put together the top best sites to get free and paid stock photos so that you know exactly where to get the best ones for the best price.
Pexels: www.pexels.com - FREE
Pexels makes it easy to access databases of hundreds of thousands of high-quality photos.
The images can be modified and used for commercial and non-commercial purposes. Every photo is high quality and falls under the Creative Commons Zero license, allowing unrestricted use.
Unsplash: www.unsplash.com - FREE
Unsplash has its own license, which essentially lets you use the images for free, and is a great source of very artsy images to use for your blogs and digital projects. You can search the inventory on the website as well as subscribe to receive 10 new images every 10 days, delivered straight to your inbox.
Envato: www.envato.com - PAID
Envato is a world-leading online community for creative assets, tools and talent. Envato Elements, one of their products, is a creative assets service that works under an unlimited downloads subscription, a great fit for designers and creatives using multiple media formats in their work. Already offering a large selection of vectors, templates, WordPress themes, fonts and other graphic elements, now they are adding hundreds of thousands of high quality stock photos to complete their multimedia offer.
Adobe: www.stock.adobe.com - PAID
Also known as the "Graphic Designer's Best Friend", Adobe Stock is a stock photo service owned by Adobe –the design software giant– and it is built on the base of the photo library of Fotolia (a well-known stock photo agency acquired by Adobe). This best stock photography website is fully integrated into the Creative Cloud platform, allowing access to over 80 million stock photos right within your design apps, streamlining the design process, and saving time and effort.
iStock Photo: www.istockphoto.com - PAID
One of the top stock photo agencies in the industry, and the pioneer in the microstock model – selling royalty free photos online at low prices with minimum payment requirement. Thanks to its dedicated curation, they offer a huge collection of exclusive, high-level images: Signature.
Getty Images: www.gettyimages.com - PAID
They're well-known for their high curation level and extensive catalog that includes a huge collection of exclusive images. Getty Images is one of the most prestigious stock photography agencies in the world. A traditional company that started life before the Internet era and quickly adapted to an online platform, this agency is famous for its super varied catalog full of first-class photography for commercial purposes, including millions of exclusive images from all around the globe, plus a very large collection of editorial content.
The perfect image can solidify your design, article, ad, or other creative. Whatever your need, there are many resources for free stock photos out there.