Captivating images and videos are key to grabbing attention—not just from your audience but also from search engines. More views, comments, and engagement boost your brand’s visibility and influence. But where do you find the best visuals to complement your message?
Paid Licensed Videos and Images
For top-quality visuals, platforms like Adobe Stock Photo, Getty Images, and iStock Photo offer a wide range of videos and images available for licensing. With a small fee, you gain access to premium content that you can use—even for commercial purposes—under straightforward licensing terms. These fees are typically affordable, even for those on a budget.
Canva and Canva Pro also provide an extensive library of images and videos as part of their subscription service. Since these are reputable companies, as long as you follow their licensing terms, you can confidently avoid any copyright issues.
Free Images via Creative Commons License
In recent years, the Creative Commons License (CC License) has surged in popularity, allowing users to access and modify images at no cost. Websites like Google™ and Flickr™ aggregate CC-licensed images from various photographers. While this offers a wealth of free resources, there’s a catch: strict attribution requirements.
Failing to attribute the image exactly as specified in the license can lead to copyright infringement. This opens the door for copyright trolls, who use advanced AI search tools and digital watermarking to hunt down misattributed images. These trolls can pursue legal action, even for infractions that happened years ago, leading to significant financial penalties.
Free Image Sites
If you’re looking for no-cost options without attribution requirements, sites like Unsplash, Pexels, and Depositphotos are popular choices. Photographers on these platforms give up their copyright rights, allowing you to use their images freely. Attribution is optional, making these sites appealing for quick, hassle-free downloads.
However, these sites come with their own risks. The images are submitted without warranties, which means they might include identifiable people or protected elements without proper releases. This is particularly risky for commercial use.
To minimize the risk, choose more generic images—like landscapes, animals, or locations—or photos where individuals are not easily identifiable. Avoid using images that include recognizable people or other protected works.
In all cases, it’s crucial to read the fine print and fully understand the terms of use on any free image site to avoid potential copyright infringement issues.