A Quick Review of Ash Read's Post on Free Stock Images
This evening, I found this new post by Ash Read on the Buffer Blog. We use many CC0 images on our own and our client's websites. Since Rock Solid Info has created the largest list of websites offering free stock photos on the internet, I think it's a good thing to share this useful post with you.
Overall, this is a very good post. It covers much of the same territory as the introduction to the Creative Commons Media Guide. There is quite a bit of misunderstanding about using CC0 images in blog posts, editorials, and advertising.
One thing I wasn't fully aware of is the use of model releases. Apparently, even when using CC0 pictures, a model release is necessary is a person's image is identifiable. He goes on to detail how you can get the model releases, and how, in some cases, you can't get them. That's a good topic for a post, isn't it?
The tips Ash shares about choosing a stock photo are excellent... among the best ones I've seen. Here's one of his many tips...
Use Images That Compliment Your Content
Images shouldn’t feel like they’ve been randomly dropped into a piece of content. Where possible, try to ensure that the images you choose compliment your content in some way.
His image source of choice is Unsplash. I like them too. Recently, Unsplash has changed its licensing to prevent others from scraping their content and republishing it on other sites. The end user's rights aren't affected but it does protect Unsplash better.
The thing is, there are hundreds of sites offering free photos for you to use. We have found beautiful images on all of the 240+ sites we feature in the Creative Commons Media Guide. I hope you'll go explore some of them too...
