by James Richardson

Created on: July 14, 2008

Finding free stock photos is an easy task. Anymore, telling someone to "Google" something seems almost clich. Unfortunately, that's the first place I would suggest turning to if you're just looking for some acceptable but free photos that you can use.

I did a search under "free stock photos" and numerous sites popped up. Most of them seemed legitimate and appeared to have a variety of free photos available. These free sites make their money by allowing a lot of ads to be placed on them, and by attempting to up-sell you to stock photos that cost a few dollars.

The internet is, as is the case for so many things, a great place to start your search for free stock photography. It may very well give you exactly what you are looking for.

Another method, although not technically one-hundred percent free is to search clipart galleries that come with a many desktop publishing programs. I assume that you're going to be using some page-layout design software to create flyers, invitations, etc. with those stock photos you're hunting for. So give the clipart gallery a try. Many programs have more than just little cartoony pieces of clipart; they also feature a variety of stock photos. Microsoft Office, for example, gives a nice collection of stock photos within its included clipart gallery. Other desktop publishing software suites do the same. Or you may consider purchasing a CD-ROM of clipart. Vast collections of clipart, photos, and even fonts can often be had for about $10 at stores like Wal Mart or Staples. Like I said, this is not technically free, but it sure beats paying $20 for a premium stock photo from sites like iStockPhoto.com.

Something else I've done when in need of stock photos for my website or print publications is to visit a premium stock photo site, like iStock, and look at the low-resolution, watermarked samples for ideas. When I've found something that I like, I simply try to recreate it. An idea can be something as simple as framing a shot of wildflowers in a new way, or taking a new approach to lighting a scene. And you're not violating copyright since all you did was find your inspiration from someone else's artwork. Doing things this way also gives you the satisfaction (and bragging rights!) of knowing that your stock photos are completely your original work. Get good at it, post some photos on a stock site, and you just might find people paying you for your stock photos! (Check out some premium stock sites-they're often great not just for buying, but also selling photos onexplore.)

There are a variety of methods you can use to find stock photos that are free or cost next to nothing. Just make absolute certain of copyright restrictions on any photos you dig up and decide to use. For example: some are only free if they're being used by private individuals (think: on a party invitation). Be sure to read all the fine print. And whatever you do, don't go to Google Image Search or Flickr and rip photos off of there. Not only are the photos low resolution, but this is tacky and often illegal. I've seen too many people steal low-res photos off these sites. Quality stock photos that you can use are out there all over the place-some may be in your own backyard just waiting to be snapped! Best wishes in your photo search!

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