How to Find Copyright Free and Royalty Free Stock Photography and Images

Adding color photographs and stock photography is a great way to make money online, but you need pictures to make you shine. A photograph will bring life to your article and show the beauty behind the lens. The secret is to find copyright free and royalty free images that you can use without restrictions. So where do you find these photographs? Especially if you are looking for free photos without any copyright restrictions? Try some easy tricks to help you find free photos. As you incorporate images into your articles, they will come alive with color. The articles are more attractive, and readers are enticed into reading the entire piece. Free images are available all over the internet, but you do want to make sure that the photographer has given you permission.

Copyright and royalty free photos and images are a wonderful addition to your website. Upload beautiful photographs to help you make money with your freelance writing.

Flickr is currently my favorite site to find copyright free images. The photographers are so skilled, and most of them are extremely nice. However, be careful when choosing a photo. Once, I ran into an artist who was quite unpleasant. She had mistakenly thought that I didn't include a link back to her site, which was one of her terms. However, I did in fact include a link; in the end, I just used a photography from someone else. 

When looking for a photograph on Flickr, make sure that you do an Advanced Search. Type in your search term, and then scroll down until you see the area for the Creative Commons content. This is the area that helps you find royalty free content that has few copyright restrictions. Make sure you click the box for Creative Commons, AND choose commercial content AND adapt and modify. Make sure you choose all three. My previous trouble was because I didn't know to check the adapt and modify button.

Morgue File is another image provider that I have used. This site also has a bevy of  images, many of which are perfect for illustrating my articles. Again, when downloading images, make sure you keep track of the requests of the photographer. These artists do like to share free photos, but generally want to receive a link back or some the image credits. It's very kind to thank them with a link to their site.

The best images are the photos that you have taken yourself. These images are priceless, as you know exactly where they were taken, and you obviously have a license to use them as you wish. You can credit yourself as the image source, and provide a link back to your own website or blog.

Even better, you can go one step further and add these photos to either Flickr or Morgue File for other writers to use. They can also benefit from your fine skills, and you can ask for a link back to your main site. This is an excellent way to promote your articles and blog, simply by providing a service to others. It is truly a win-win situation.

When you include images from another person, always make sure that you properly credit the source. These photographers and illustrators have been very generous by sharing their work with others; it is appropriate to return the kind gesture with a link to their site.

Many photographers share their work for the same reasons that we writers often share ours. Perhaps, like us, they are willing to showcase their work for free, simply because they are proud of the good job they have done. In other cases, maybe like us, they are simply trying to promote their site. Just as we writers try to share our articles in order to promote our site, some photographers are willing to share their pictures for free in order to promote their sites. So be kind and credit the source. A link to their site is a small price to pay!

After you have worked hard on your articles, take the time to thank your photographer for providing you with a copyright free image. You can be kind to the artist and thank them for the image, and provide a link to your work as well. It will help promote both your work and theirs as well. It is polite to leave a kind word on the photographer's website. The artist can enjoy your compliment and you're improving their reputation, and you've created a backlink to your site.