Copyright-free Eye-catching Images

What catches the eye more than an interesting picture? However, if you want to add pictures, but you're looking for something specific, the internet can be an easy place to accidentally, or thoughtlessly, steal someone's work. While the easiest way to avoid copyright infringement is to take pictures ourselves, that isn't always feasible. I wanted to take a moment to share with you some free ways to get high-quality images without stealing from someone. No one is paying me to write this. I am simply sharing my knowledge.

Firstly, let me say that Google is a great way to find images, but even selecting search parameters to only allow public-domain images is not perfect and has, in my experience, left much to be desired in the selection. Because of this I spent time finding places where I could find great pictures and still keep my conscience clear.

There are two websites I often use. The first is Pixabay. I will warn you, for those who are conscious of this, I have come across sexual or nude images on this site in the past. Not many, but they are there. I would rather my children use this site with me around. It's great for school projects, blog images, and even resource images. Most images are free to use and do not, to my knowledge, need to be cited. The downsides are that it can be difficult to find images that are specific to your needs. Pay-for-rights sites like iStock by Getty Images have a much bigger selection and often higher-quality images - in composition and subject particularly.

The second site I have recently begun to use, particularly for reference images for my artwork, is Unsplash. This site, it seems, is set up particularly to cater to artists. Again, these images are free to use, download, edit, etc. I believe. (read their disclosures to be sure!). I have found some absolutely stunning pictures to use as reference images. I was disappointed when trying to find specific images of people when I was seeking to capture a particular emotion. Perhaps because artists self-tag their images, it is difficult to keep the searches orderly and obvious. At any rate, just plan on taking a lot of time to find pictures you would like to use. There are lots of options and great quality images.

One final thought: Pixabay gives one the opportunity to tip the photographer/creator. As they say, "buy them a coffee." Unsplash encourages one to tag the photographer on social media. These are great ways to give back to people who take the time to provide great images for free. So, if you're in a position to do so, just know the options are out there!

Have any other favorite free-image sites? Leave me a comment and I'll check them out!