Where do people get stock images for their blog?

A lot of people use sxc.hu.

I get mine from Photo Dune they have very good images for $1 and they give away freebies once a month.

They also are owned by the same company that owns themeforest, code canyon and many more useful sites for webmasters.

I second photo dune, good quality photos for a decent price too.

Go to flickr.com and search the "Interesting" category. Check the box for creative commons licensed images and make sure to link to the image from your blog in a small caption.

There was a WordPress pulgin which automatically adds the caption to flickr images, I but don't remember the name off the top of my head.

Chris

I use istockphoto for most images.

You can free ones from flickr or sxc.hu if it's a low budget project.

Flickr (and be sure to give credit)

If you are in the U.S. you can get images from the USA.gov site. Many are public domain when the photog was working for the government.

However, some photogs were hired privately which means they own the copyright and you would have to get clearance from the individual. Check each image to be sure.

I'd avoid any images with identifiable people because then you would have to get a release from each person to use their image.

Monkeys usually won't sign the release even if you ask nice.

Also note this only applies to the Federal government. State and cities own the copyright on their images.


credit National Zoo (Jessie Cohen NZP photographer)

This is my favorite place to find photos. It searches dozens of free databases of photos and will also tell you what you have to do to legally use them. I do avoid the Flickr stuff though (just uncheck the box):everystockphoto - searching free photos

search google for "free images for commercial use"

Morgue File and Dreamstime are two that I've used in the past with great results, though for certain projects it's best to pay the nominal fee for the most relevant pic.

although I don't necessarily recommend this, I have taken photos from the web and run them through a photoshop filter so they are pretty much unrecognizable, especially if you are using them as a background or partial image, some risk I suppose however

Canstock Photos...good prices

Stock Photography Images and Footage at Can Stock Photo

Try Fotolia they're one of the biggest and best stock photo sites

If you're not specifically after photos, but clip art, 3D people etc, then PresenterMedia.com is a good option. It has a yearly subscription.

Most people prefer istock, images are in good quality.

There's a discussion on the use of images plus a fairly extensive list of place to find them here: Blog Images 101: When, Where, and How to use Images in your Blog | The Blogging Meta Blog

I'd like to suggest BigStockPhoto.com. I used to go to Istock, but then they got really expensive. BSP is decently priced... for about $13 I can get about a dozen images, I think, and they are much better quality than what you'd find with the free sites.

I've used a lot of iStockPhotos on my blog. They are a bit pricey, but I can usually quickly find what I want.

I use freedigitalphotographs.net. They are free but you need to add a link to their site in exchange for free usage.

Have recently started using fotolia.com and am happy so far.

I use the free one at
Free Photos - Free Images - Royalty Free Photos - Free Stock Photos - FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Lots of great photos for no cost.

A limited 35 free images here, and you can choose your downloads from a million images which is a plus: ingimage.com
I found them on this post which gives you an idea of the selection onextrapixel.com/2012/02/27/a-cut-above-20-exceptionally-creative-stock-photos

i second ingimage.com they also have a 7 day free trial going on at the moment

I signed up for the trial here Register | Ingimage: Cheap Royalty Free Subscription, Stock Images, Photos, Vector Illustrations & Fonts - and they really have some nice images. The subscription plan is very affordable too, £44 if I'm not mistaken...

You can find some really cool images at istockphoto and some free images are located at sxc.hu and Google images.

However - with Google images you want to cite the image and give credit where credit is due. You also need to go into the "Advanced Search" option and make adjustments accordingly under the "Usage Rights" drop down box so you don't infringe on copyright.

Well, I am a stock photographer and I have around 2000 free pictures (updated daily) on my site.. Feel free to use them in your personal or commercial works.

I've found that making a text image in photoshop with a free brush or two and some good typography is a good way of whipping something up fast.

As others say above, you can't always be sure that a free image comes with permission to use at flickr or other free sources and we don't think it's worth the risk to chance it.

We always start our search by looking through the free images at sxc.hu . It you take care to check the brief conditions or lack of conditions in the text beneath the image, you'll be safe. Some owners want you to either 1) tell them how you plan to use their images or 2) request permission to use. We've found many professional-looking images there but when we don't, we then go to Pond5 dot com and pay.

At Pond5 the bottom price is $1 and is offered on every image, not just a rare few as in istockphoto and dreamstime (last time we looked). Pond5 compares in quality, quantity and every other respect to istockphoto and dreamstime, whereas the latter two had gone over a dollar last time we looked. Pond5 has many identical images to those that cost more istockphoto and dreamstime. Also, Pond5 prices ALL its photos at a range starting at $1 and up from there depending on size desired. Their $1 images are perfect for blogs.

And no we are not affiliates.

MBDirect

I use sxc.hu and I like it

i've learned so much from you guys... thanks for all the comments you made available here... truly, reading from this forum makes me a bit wiser each day... a couple of days back, i was thinking and having difficulty with the decision i have to make whether i should buy photos from istock, i feared that exposing my credit too much online might get me in trouble and maybe i could just ask a photographer friend to provide the photos which i will need and would just mention his name on the article/blog in which i will make use of his photo... now i have two sure options... istock and a photographer friend.

There are lots of public domain images on commons . wikimedia . org .

My design team always goes to Kozzi first.

check them out its the best free deal going. If you use their new refer a friend program you can gain access to even more free images.

Kozzi | EXCLUSIVE FREE IMAGES | High-quality Photos and Illustrations.