Legal: Stock Images -

You've just written a great article, and decide to upload it online. But wait! There's no photo! So you decide to look around the Internet, and you stumble upon a microstock photography agency that happens to have just the image you are looking for. So you casually take a screen shot of the image, and post it with your article. Guess what? You just committed a crime.

What is Microstock Photography?

Microstock photography is a fairly new way for photographers to make money. Instead of photographers selling their images at a gallery, they simply post their images online to a microstock agency such as iStockphoto. These photographers develop online photos which Internet users can view and purchase.

Unfortunately, some of these Internet users will take a screen shot of these photographs. These individuals then use the photos for free, which is definitely illegal. Perhaps these individuals simply do not realize that what they are doing is illegal.

An Explanation of Royalty Free -

First off, don't steal the images! Royalty free does not mean that the images you see before you are free. If you see a digital watermark on an image then it is definitely a copyrighted image. And even if there isn't a digital watermark, you still need to check and see if the image is copyrighted.

If you go ahead and use the image without paying for it then you could be fined, or even sued by the copyright holder. So just buy the image. And no, linking back to royalty free images that you've stolen is not good enough; you must purchase the image(s).

What's sad is that microstock photos cost so little that there really isn't any reason to steal them. Anyone who steals microstock photography is either ignorant of the rules or just plain lazy. A small 300X300 image would only cost about a dollar or less at most microstock agencies. So sign up for an account and buy the image.

You Don't Want to Buy an Image -

Okay, so you don't want to buy the image. Then please go to another site that has free images for you to download. Be sure and read the terms of use for these free photos, and use them as much as you want. I'll even provide you with a microstock agency called Dreamstime that gives away some photos for free. Click here for the link.

By the way, don't make the mistake of thinking that all of the images at Dreamstime are free. The free images will not be watermarked, and they will have their own special section. The search bar will also specify between free and commercial images.

Stealing royalty free images is unacceptable. Especially since these royalty free images are so cheap. So if you've been stealing royalty free images then please stop doing it, and just use the free sites from now on. If you don't, someone might report you(hint).