If you maintain a blog, a website, or writing an article for a traditional publication, you may be in need of a few images to spruce up your work. Images help make words more dynamic and concrete. It gives the reader an instant visual connection. All types of media can benefit from the use of photos, including school projects, promotional products, and fliers. The Internet is a great resource for finding images that are not only free but also free to use.

Before you start searching for the appropriate image, there are a few guidelines to keep in mind. The most important guideline is to check an image's copyright status. There are two types of copyright, traditional and creative commons.

Traditional copyright is known as "all rights reserved." It is signified with the letter "C" in a circle. A photo under a traditional copyright means that you are not allowed to use the image, unless you acquire written permission from the owner.This includes commerical printing or printing using a home inkjet printer.

A photo under a creative commons, signified by two "C"s in a circle, allows four different types of use. The four types of creative common licenses are attribution, share alike, noncommercial, and no derivatives.

For any image distributed under the attribution license, users can copy and distribute the copyrighted work as long as credit the creator. Under share alike, users can create distribute derivative work under the same type of license. Under noncommercials, users cannot profit upon the creator's images. It must be for personal, nonprofit use. Under no derivatives, users cannot in any way manipulate, crop, or add to an image. There are different combinations of the four, but most images fall into these standard definitions.

Copyrights are not the only thing to consider when looking for free images online. There are many websites that offer huge stock image galleries. Some of these images are called royalty free. Royalty free does not mean free, instead it means that you pay a flat fee for the image, and are free to use it for as long as you like, in whatever way that you like. Some of the most popular companies that offer royalty free photos are Getty and Corbis.

Another thing to consider when searching for free images is the type of image you would like to use. Images are not just narrowed into photos. Illustrations, digital art, textures, and abstract wallpapers are also popular images. Here are some resources to help you find the best free images the web has to offer.

Creative Commons Search
Flickr
Stock.Xchng
Morgue File
Free Stock Photos
Free Digital Photos
Free Large Photos
PhotoGen
OpenPhoto
FreeFoto
Mayang's Free Textures
Nations Illustrated
Wikimedia
ImageBase

This was written by Printerinks.com the home of Printer inks and Laser Toner