How to find free vector images and stock photo images online

Introduction

Stock photography

Stock photography is an old industry which started in 1920s. It involves the supply of licensed photographs for specific uses. Stock photo photographs are licensed to the public for commercial use and are found on professional stock photography websites. Rather than hiring the services of a professional photographer to take unique photos for advertising and web design, a company can take advantage of the stock photography upon purchase of royalty. The stock photos are custom made to your specifications.

Vector graphics

Vector images are comprised of paths defined by a start and end point along with curves, other points and angles along the way. It involves of mathematical expression such as lines, curves, points and shapes to represent images in computer graphics. Vector images are ideal for logos since they can be reduced to fit business cards and still they can be.

Step 1

Avoid looking for stock photo images in Google or other search engines. A serious publisher should rely on traditional stock photo libraries or on trustable photographers who have availed their work on the internet for free.

Step 2

Distinguish between free and royalty free. A free image means that downloading and use of such image is completely free. A royalty free image on the other hand means that you pay for the image once and you are free to use it where and when you like without spending extra cost. This has an advantage from the traditional copyrighted image where you pay for royalties every time you display an image. So ensure that you take note of the stock photo image you decide to download.

Step 3

Before  you download a stock photo image, it is advisable to pay attention to the license of the image you want to use. Some images may be restricted from a number of things which may include, not for commercial use, no editing to the original image or restrictions on the number of times an image can be displayed. It is hence very important to know what the license terms entail to avoid breach of contract which may lead to criminal charges and hefty penalties.

Step 4

Ensure you are an ethical publisher by providing full credit and link back for images stock photo images downloaded from internet. By giving credit to the photo owners even if you purchased them makes you ethical and also assist in providing exposure and visibility to the image producer.

Step 5

And finally when you have all the above steps completed, ensure you have enough space to save all your stock photo downloads and preferably a back-up.

Tips

Some of the best websites available that offer free or royalty free vector images and stock photo images online include the following,

1. Free flowerimages.com
   This website collects flowers that you can use for personal or for commercial projects. The images available here are JPEG format in high resolution. You can get the flowers you desire by comparing the various colors or by searching the list of categories.
   
   
2. Getty images RF
   This is a royalty free version of the digital library Getty images which offers a wide range of pictures and vectors for commercial and personal use. Images here are in JPEG format and high resolution. However, for one to use this site, you need to register.
   
   
3. Studio 7 designs
   This is a free website which is nature oriented. Images here are of different sizes, in JPEG format and of high resolution and can be downloaded by a simple right click. Studio 7 designs only ask the image users to link back to the service for acknowledgement purposes.
   
   
4. Other recommended sites may include, F11 Digital.com, Hoover stock photography and FlickrCC

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