Web sites are pretty boring without relevant images to accompany the text. Finding good quality, appropriate images though can be rather difficult, especially if you do not know where to look. This article will go into detail on how to find images and how to make sure that any images you choose can be used legally on your site.
Image Licensing and The Web
Search sites such as Google Images may lead people to believe that any image can be freely copied and used on a web site without any problems. In truth, the same copyright laws that apply to printed materials also apply to images that are found on the Internet. In order to use an image found on a web site you must get permission from the photographer and/or follow guidelines that the photographer set forth for the use of the image. While there are many different kinds of licensing of online images the most common is Royalty Free licensing.
What are Royalty Free Licenses for Images?
Royalty free does not necessarily mean free of charge. In most cases royalty free image web sites offer the ability to download high resolution images for a fee. Once this fee is paid, the images may eb used for any purpose the buyer sees fit with no further compensation being required by the photographer. The buyer of a royalty free photograph can use it in a print publication with dozens or even thousands of copies, and the same thing applies for use on a web site. Purchasing the image normally does NOT include the right to resell the photo by itself (such as by creating another royalty free image site to sell it on).
