One of the most important things in a blog post is the photo. All blog posts must have at least one photo to accompany it. So it will be presentable and readers have an idea at first look what they are reading about. It’s like a book cover for online artcles. But not all bloggers are skilled photographers, or have budgets for stock photos in Getty Images or Shutterstock. Thus, most bloggers especially the independent and those who are just starting resorts to copying from Google Image Search.
But did you know unauthorized use of the photos from Google Image Search are dangerous… legally speaking. I’ve read an article before about a blogger spent $7,500 for copying an image from Google. I swear that article freaked me out and started to be careful on the photos I use. To prevent that from happening to me, I searched for websites where I could get free stock photos, since not everything in the internet are bad. And yes, I found websites where you could get free stock photos. Below are websites where you could get royalty-free, follows the Creative Commons rule, free stock photos:
1. Pexels
Pexels.com is the best site for free stock photos for me because a) they have the largest archive among all the sites I used, and b) you have an option to donate to the photographer as a thank you for the photo. You get to decide how much you want to donate as well. That is why this is my top choice when I decided to made three photos I shot available to the public. Since I have these photos that so many people online are using without my permission, I decided to put them on Pexels. At least I get credited or if my lucky, someone will buy a coffee for me. You can see my photos in here.
2. Unsplash
Unsplash.com is my second go-to website for free stock photos. They have an archive of beautiful photos in HD quality and the site is very easy to navigate as well. You could also sign up to their newsletter to receive ten free stock photos weekly.
3. Runner Ups
When I cannot find the photos I need on those two websites above, I go to StockSnap.io, Splitshare and ISO Republic. Both provides high quality images, free and very easy to navigate.
