If you work in the digital space you’ve not fallen foul of the the evil that is Getty Images, you are lucky … and a rare beast indeed. So here is a really good tip for finding images that won’t (shouldn’t) come back to haunt you in the night, or the courts.
Finding a source of good free images has been a bit hit and miss until Google added a filter to check, “labelled for re-use“. Simply select it under search tools when you are doing a Google image search and bingo, you’re away.
You’ll never be stuck for a quick image again. I should add that you should use proper images, ones that you own the rights to, for key images but freebie images are great for blog posts, short articles and snippets.
Caution, disclaimer: Before reusing content that you’ve found, you should verify that its license is legitimate and check the exact terms of reuse stated in the license. For example, most require that you give credit to the image creator when reusing an image. Google has no way of knowing whether the license is legitimate, so don’t make any representation that the content is actually or lawfully licensed.
