Free Photos

26
Sep

Annette Frei

Hire a Photographer

There is no replacing a good photographer who can create personalized images to best represent your brand. I work with a number of photographers and advocate for customers to spend the money on the quality images they create. Support local photographers who have been recommended and don’t forget to look at their portfolio of work to see if they match the look you are hoping to achieve.

Remember that first impressions are everything. Creatives need to be supported for their hard work and brilliant talent. Therefore I implore you to hire a local professional before looking elsewhere.

Royalty-Free

If you do look elsewhere, be aware of what images you can use, how you are allowed to use them, and for how long you can use them. In a general web search, do not assume you can take and use them in your PowerPoint presentation, website, or other marketing materials. This is against the law, and professionals can take action against you. This comes up over and over again in my blogs. I can’t stress enough that the copy and paste without licensing is stealing. It is so easy, but so wrong.

When local photographers are not an option, or if you need specific imagery that could not be easily achieved using a photographer, there are royalty-free stock photo companies that represent photographers. These images are NOT free. They are relatively low priced and the sites are easy to use. Highly specific visuals are going to cost more. Shutterstock, IStock are just two of many that sell rights to use images. Search “royalty-free photos” and see what comes up.

General Imagery

Then there are the Free Free photos. These are public domain images that you can use for your marketing needs. Pixabay, Pexels and Unsplash are a few that I have used. Below are a list of these websites compiled by Hubspot.