Skip to content

Using free images for your eBook

You already know that a picture says a thousand words, so where do you get these images? Can you use any photo you find on the internet? If you don’t know the answer, keep reading the following tips to save yourself from future trouble.

Images you can legally use

I used to think that any picture available on the internet could be used for my own projects, until I went into publishing my content.  Unfortunately the idea that everything is free on the internet is not true. Many images are protected by copyright laws and may require permission from the creator in one way or another. Here are some ways to images with permission:

  • Purchase (the right to use) the image
  • Use images released in the Public Domain
  • Download images available under Creative Commons license
  • Ask the owner
  • Create your own

use of images
Image from our sister-site Gritwebstudio.com

 

Respect for creativity

As a creative business owner, you would like others to respect your creations by not using your work without permission. If using images and have permission from the creator, be kind and give proper attribution too. Let visitors know the source of images, even if it’s not required. You can do this by including their name and/or link in the caption or elsewhere on your site. This will create goodwill and is how you would want to be treated too if you were the photographer or illustrator.

Go picture-crazy, within limits

Now that you know this, creating engaging and appealing articles to attract more readers is a lot easier. It’s a fact that people are more interested in articles that include pictures, just don’t go overboard 🙂

When using pictures for your eBook or website, remember to avoid the use of

  • Gigantic images that require a lot of scrolling (get me to the recipe already!); use medium or smaller sizes
  • Too many pictures that drown out written content (unless it’s your portfolio), may only confuse users
  • Images that slow download times; online visitors are not patient so compress or resize first
  • Pictures that are not on topic; it’s too distracting
  • Low quality images that look blurry; sharp photos keep viewers engaged.

Search google imagesHow to find free images

If you are like most people, you’ll google images needed for your book or post. That’s also where I go first! The images showing up in your search results include the free and paid kind, so how do you know which images are free to use and share?

Here is one way using a search engine:

  • Start your Google search by topic, i.e. dogs
  • Click on Images to display photos (instead of links only)
  • Go to Settings on the google menu bar
  • Click on Advanced Search
  • On the last row (Usage rights), select “free to use or share”
  • Click on Advanced Search again to see new results
  • Select the image you like and download to save on your computer.

The new result lists images that can be used with or without attribution, depending on the source site.

List of sites for free images

This is my main go-to list of sites that allow free use of their images:
Tools to create & edit your own images:

Bonus tip

Optimize your images for search engines (SEO), by using descriptive file names, adding ALT tags and captions to your images.

Want more tips? Click on the link to learn more about using images for your website.

Do you have resources you’d like to share? Please let us know below.

Liked this post? Get on the list for newsletter updates.