Where to Find Free Photos for Your Blog -- and Even for Commercial Use

As writers, we are all sensitive (or should be) to copyright and the intellectual property rights of others.  But what do you do for illustrations for your blog?  Or for your kid's homework project?

I make great use of Istockphoto.com.  It has a vast array of images available in different sizes at very reasonable costs. For small size images used for non-commercial purposes (a blog, for example), the price ranges from as low as $1 to maybe $5.  For larger resolution of the same image, you may pay $4-10.

But there are other sources for licensed images, many of them free. 

Photo:  Flkr via Google.  Free for all uses, including commercial use.

There is  a wonderful compilation of these resources for free licensed media:  Your Guide to Finding Free Creative Images and Other Media Online (click here).  The web article is posted on WonderHowTo.com.

This is not just a listing, but also explains the various licenses and how to both post photos and use photos from those various resources.

For me, the best source seems to be Google.  Go to advanced search (there's a link at the bottom of your search results page).  The last line on the bottom of the advanced search page is "Usage rights."  Its default is "not filtered by license."  But you can change this by clicking on the drop down menu and chosing from:

1.  "free to use or share," 
2.  "free to use or share, even commercially," 
3.  "free to use, share or modify," and 
4. "free to use, share of modify, even commercially."

Another example of artwork available for free use or sharing through Google

If you have any need for images to highlight your blog, spruce up your civic club newsletter, or give a little assist to your child's homework project, you should check this out.

Image through Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 license