Tips for Working with Stock Images as an Indie Author

Why it matters where you get them:

As an author, you are running a business, whether you like it or not. Even if you’re not in it for the money, you have to act like you are or you could end up in big trouble. You HAVE to have permission to use every image, even for social media. If you use images without permission, the artist or photographer who holds the copyright for it can sue you.

How to know if you can use an image:

When you’re determining if you can use an image, you’ll need to look at the image’s license. You’ll likely see one of four types of licenses:

1. Free for Commercial Use - Feel free to use images labeled this way.

2. Free with Attribution - You can use these images as long as you properly credit the creator. Sites that use this kind of license usually include the correct crediting format.

3. Creative Commons Zero (often written CC0) - The creator has allowed the image to enter the public domain, and you can use it however you want.

4. Commercial License Required - You must purchase a license for commercial use of these images.

If you can’t find any info on an image’s license, don’t use it! 

Where NOT to get them:

Pinterest - Pinterest is notorious for being full of images that were uploaded without permission from the copyright holders.

Google Images - Google simply catalogs images it finds online. There is no way for artists to opt out and still share their work. Just because an image is online does not mean it is available to use, especially for commercial (business) purposes.

AI generators - As they exist now, AI image generators cannot work without stealing from and exploiting human artists. They're also using huge amounts of natural resources like water and creating a massive ammount of pollution around the data centers that are often built near majority poor and racialized communities. Not only is using these generators unethical, but it’s also a bad business idea, as many readers refuse to support authors who use AI.

Where TO look for them:

For free:

• Pexels

• Pixabay

• Canva

• Unsplash

• Vecteezy

• Rawpixel

• Freepik

• Depositphotos (free section)

• PxHere

• Burst (Shopify Stock)

Not Free:

• Shutterstock

• Depositphotos (full library)

• iStock

• Adobe Stock

Finding the right image:

• Brainstorm multiple keywords and variations of them. You might need to try different combinations to find what you want.

• Sometimes, your search can get too specific. Depending on how the site you’re searching runs its algorithm, using too many keywords at once can exclude photos you’d like.

• Remember that you can edit photos that might not be 100% perfect. You can easily make pictures black and white/add filters or crop something out to make them fit your vision.