Do you have a favourite site for free photos to use with your writing? Or do you use paid photos?
When it comes to my website or in my newsletters, I don’t use many pictures that I haven’t taken myself.
I used to get artwork from Pixabay, but I was warned about the copyright issues there and the growing prevalence of AI-generated art among its offerings. To avoid any potential problems in the future, I’ve stopped using that site.
I tend to create most of my graphx in Canva, for which I have a subscription, using clipart and backgrounds. If I need anything else, I’m happy to buy stock images from Shutterstock, Storyblocks or DepositPhotos.
It can be hard to find suitable stock images for Sci-Fi or Steampunk. Even so, as far as I’m able, I avoid anything that uses AI or has been created by AI. A bit of imagination can help to create meaningful images from what is available.
If I use any artwork on Substack, I go to Unsplash, as the images there are verified as copyright-free.
Wherever you get your images, the most important thing is to keep a trail of provenance.
And that’s about it.
What do you think about this week’s subject?
Let me know by leaving me a comment.
While you’re here, please click the InLinkz link to check out what my fellow writers have to say about this week’s topic.
I’ll be back with another post on Thursday. See you then. Meanwhile, have a great week.
I’d love to get your comments, please leave them below. While you’re here, why not take a look around? There are some freebies and lots more content, about me, my writing and everything else that I do.
Janice Matthews
I did not know that about Pixabay! I love Canva…
Richard Dee
I can’t remember who told me, only that it was a while ago. I mostly use Canva now, avoiding their AI tools as much as possible.
P.J. MacLayne
I’ve heard of Pexals using AI, and I’ve see a few AI images on Pixabay, but I still see more “real” original stuff on Pixabay.
Richard Dee
I haven’t looked at Pixabay for ages; the last time I did, they still warned that extra consents and licenses MAY be required in some cases.
Lela Markham
My favorite art software is Paint.net. I have a subscription. I can get some really nice results there. They don’t provide the image. They provide me and my cover designer with the means to manipuate the images.
Most of the images I get are from Unsplash, but I’ll visit other sides as I have need and I’ll usually buy individual images there. Unsplash is just easy to work with and the frew times I’ve reached out to artists and told them what I was doing, they’ve been very supportive.
I also use a lot of my own photographs because they don’t cost me anything.
But my favorite image source is US federal, state or local government websites because they’re free (watch for the copyright because occasionally they belong to the photographer–and they aren’t supportive of indie authors!). Free or paid, I heavily edit the images for my own purposes, so it’s really not their art by the time I’m done, but I want to be fair to other artists, so I do acknowledge them in my books.
Richard Dee
I didn’t know that about the US government websites. I have a Canva subscription, which provides most of what I need.
Kelly Williams
Canva, I’m hearing, is employing a lot of AI. I wish there was a way to slow this down and put in real protections for artists, but the greedy are pedal to the metal on it.
Richard Dee
I agree, it’s getting harder to use anything without the sure knowledge that it’s untainted.