Stock Images? Where to find them for free?

39 replies
I'm creating a niche website about bugs. I need stock images for all different kinds of bugs (Ants, Crickets, Spiders, Roaches, Termites, Etc)....

Where do you get your images? Do you purchase them from a stock image site, or is there a better way? I don't want to steal images off of someone elses work (That doesn't hardly seem fair lol) Do to the size of bugs, I believe I would have a hard time trying to capture the images myself. :confused:
#find #free #images #stock
  • Profile picture of the author IrisEyes
    I think you can find on google search , just key in the keyword on the search box and click images... if you find something that you need just do right click and tick 'save image as' now if you are man enough to ask the owner that you got the photo you can always email them, find the email address on the site where u got the image. it won't hurt in the end
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    • Profile picture of the author b1naryst0rm
      Originally Posted by IrisEyes View Post

      I think you can find on google search , just key in the keyword on the search box and click images... if you find something that you need just do right click and tick 'save image as' now if you are man enough to ask the owner that you got the photo you can always email them, find the email address on the site where u got the image. it won't hurt in the end
      Isn't that breaking copyright laws and considered infringement? I mean, I know "It's legal as long as nobody knows", but I would prefer to sleep well at night, ya know?
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      • Profile picture of the author Izzy9
        Originally Posted by b1naryst0rm View Post

        Isn't that breaking copyright laws and considered infringement? I mean, I know "It's legal as long as nobody knows", but I would prefer to sleep well at night, ya know?
        You are right. I don't recommend this process either. I have always relied on stock.xchng - the leading free stock photography site for my sites. They don't have a lot of images as compared to stockphotos but they are free.
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    • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
      Originally Posted by IrisEyes View Post

      I think you can find on google search , just key in the keyword on the search box and click images... if you find something that you need just do right click and tick 'save image as' now if you are man enough to ask the owner that you got the photo you can always email them, find the email address on the site where u got the image. it won't hurt in the end
      If you are not man enough to ask permission I hope you are man enough to pay the legal fees and thousands to millions of dollars in fines and potential punative damages.

      Don't be a dunce.

      I just paid $18 to license three images for a new site I am building. Better than paying thousands to a legal firm commissioned to find infringers.

      Ask permission of copyright holders and get it in writing. Realize that most free stock photo sites only offer free for non commercial use.

      If you cant afford bug pictures take them your self, hire someone to do it for you, or join a bug community online and solicit photos from other community members permission based or paid but get it in writing that they own copyright and you are properly licensed.

      Oh... dont forget to get the bug to sign a release form ;-)
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  • Profile picture of the author lkpub
    StockXchnge... that's my favorite... large selection too... just watch the requirements... some want a credit or link back...

    stock.xchng - the leading free stock photography site
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  • This question has been asked many times before. Please look at the thread below:
    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ee-images.html

    Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author garyv
    Actually you can use google images, but you have to do an "advanced" search, and you have to choose "labeled for commercial reuse with modification" from the "usage rights" drop down list.
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    • Profile picture of the author b1naryst0rm
      Originally Posted by garyv View Post

      Actually you can use google images, but you have to do an "advanced" search, and you have to choose "labeled for commercial reuse with modification" from the "usage rights" drop down list.
      Awesome! Will def. try that out. Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author darren13
    Try photobucket
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    Conquer or Die

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    • Originally Posted by darren13 View Post

      Try photobucket

      Thats not a good idea. Photobucket images are copyrighted. You are not allowed to use them for commercial use.
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  • Profile picture of the author lucky777
    Go to Google Advanced Image Search

    Google Advanced*Image*Search

    Usage Rights
    Return images that are
    labeled for commercial use
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  • Profile picture of the author Iqball
    i can help you on this: one is a good site is, as mentioned before
    in this thread is the sxc.hu + also very good one is
    morguefile.com ok
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    • Profile picture of the author frontiergold
      I like fotolia.com for images. They seem to have lots and keep their prices reasonable.
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  • Profile picture of the author mattbaehr
    photoxpress.com is my personal fav
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    • Profile picture of the author SuResearcher
      Dreamstime has a free section from where I have found decent images.

      Dreamstime - Download Free Stock Images and Photos

      I make sure to keep a record of the rights for any images I use and the date that I checked the rights.

      Not all images on Dreamstime are free. You have to pay for most of them. The free section contains images that photographers are giving away for free in order to gain exposure.
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  • Profile picture of the author RightGood10
    I use iStock for my photos, granted its not free, there some freebies but the prices aren't bad for the photos.
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  • Profile picture of the author Karan Goel
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    • Profile picture of the author oneplusone
      There's a big list of places where you can get FREE stock images over here:

      Free and Cheap Stock Images and Photos - SubHub

      I expect to receive 50+ thanks for this useful post!
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      'If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.' Vincent Van Gogh.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sarah S
    You can also try searching for Public Domain images and photos, which are free to use and are unrestricted with regards to copyright, as long as there are no copyrighted trademarks in the images (which probably shouldn't be much of a problem for you, since you're looking for pictures of bugs anyways).

    Here are a couple of links that might be helpful to you:

    Free Stock Photos of Insects

    Insects and Bugs Public Domain Images

    Free Pictures of Insects, Spiders, and Snails
    Free Pictures of Caterpillars, Butterflies, and Moths
    (You can use these pictures for free from this site as long as you give credit to the photographer, which is explained in more detail when you download your images.)

    There you go! That should give you a good start with some free pictures you can use right away on your site. I hope that helps, good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    The FIRST place to check is www.Morgufile.com as they have the most liberal usage license, which includes not having to credit the image.


    morgueFile Free License

    Morguefile free photo license

    You are free:
    • Remix — to adapt the work.
    • Commercial — to use this work for commercial purposes.
    • Without Attribution — to use without attributing the original author.
    Under the following conditions:
    • Stand alone basis — You can not sell, license, sublicense, rent, transfer or distribute this image exactly as it is without alteration.


    • Ownership — You may not claim ownership of this image in its original state.
    • Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the contributor.
    • Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author's moral rights.
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    Discover the fastest and easiest ways to create your own valuable products.
    Tons of FREE Public Domain content you can use to make your own content, PLR, digital and POD products.
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    • Profile picture of the author NeverStop
      Sometimes when i want an image on istock I use tineye.com to search for the image on the web, 9 times out of 10 I'll find a decent sized version without the istock watermark.
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      • Profile picture of the author Heidi White
        Originally Posted by NeverStop View Post

        Sometimes when i want an image on istock I use tineye.com to search for the image on the web, 9 times out of 10 I'll find a decent sized version without the istock watermark.
        NO - please don't do that. If you know it's iStock - then for sure it's Copyrighted and you are breaking the law!

        iStock could easily use Tineye right back at you.

        Getty Images, for example, is notorious for going after people.

        http://extortionletterinfo.com/gettyimages-extortionletter-web.pdf
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  • Profile picture of the author Presto Smith
    sxc.hu is the best source I have found. Plus it seems to have a thousand new photos each time I visit.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Miranda
    Don't steal photos from the web

    - Pro photogrpaher
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  • Profile picture of the author Evanna Zainal
    you can subsribe for free trial on depositphotos.com and get 35 photos for free. (5 photos in 7 days)
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    nothing to put here..

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    • Be careful with the Advanced Google Image Search.

      In most cases you have to give an attribution to the source.
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      • Profile picture of the author Rumpleteazer
        The FIRST place to check is www.Morgufile.com as they have the most liberal usage license, which includes not having to credit the image.
        I think you mean www.morguefile.com

        This site has loads of free stock images.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vlad Bacioiu
    You can use a little google search trick !
    1.go to Google Images
    2.go to Advanced Image Search Google Advanced*Image*Search
    3. You'll see there " Usage Rights Return images that are" - ( now it's "not filtered by license) - Select " Labeled for commercial reuse "

    You can use sites that have been said above. It's pointless to repeat them
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  • Profile picture of the author royljestr
    Yeah SXU is about the best! However make sure that you read the licenses of each photo before blindly using it!
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  • Profile picture of the author Pixel Minisite
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  • Profile picture of the author bank1010
    go to google images ... select images ... select Advanced Image Search ... and go the bottom select Usage Rights ... then scroll down to "labeled for commercial reuse" ... hope this helps
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  • Profile picture of the author GuruGazette
    For all of you using advanced image search at Google:
    Before reusing content that you've found, you should verify that its license is legitimate and check the exact terms of reuse stated in the license. For example, most licenses require that you give credit to the image creator when reusing an image. Google has no way of knowing whether the license is legitimate, so we aren't making any representation that the content is actually or lawfully licensed.
    from: Usage rights : Features - Web Search Help
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    • Profile picture of the author Heidi White
      Originally Posted by GuruGazette View Post

      For all of you using advanced image search at Google:

      from: Usage rights : Features - Web Search Help
      I agree completely. Unless you can get to the page which shows the terms of the actual license for an image, a Google Advanced search for Commercially OK isn't necessarily enough.
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    • Profile picture of the author Heidi White
      Originally Posted by GuruGazette View Post

      For all of you using advanced image search at Google:

      from: Usage rights : Features - Web Search Help
      Exactly - Google is no help at the end of the day - unless you locate the original source of the image you just can't be sure of the usage rights and obligations.
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  • Profile picture of the author davidtong
    Hmm, if folks are willing to pay for WSO deals or IM tools, why not cheap, legal stock photos?
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    • Profile picture of the author GuruGazette
      Originally Posted by davidtong View Post

      Hmm, if folks are willing to pay for WSO deals or IM tools, why not cheap, legal stock photos?
      I've tried this once or twice in the past and had fairly limited success. I only have about 2000 high quality shots though, and they cover a wide spectrum of topics. Variety packs apparently had too many topics people went interested in but specialty packs were too narrow. I primarily shoot food photos these days for example, and people didn't seem to understand the various ways those could be used.

      It also seemed as if warriors weren't really sure what to do with just base images.

      I have seen a couple of other photographers try WSOs on photos but I don't know how successful they were. One was all people shots so that might have sold well
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  • Profile picture of the author manicmethods
    There are some stock photo sites offering unlimited downloads for like $100 a year. I'd recommend joining one of them because you know there is nothing to worry about when it comes to copyright etc.
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