A Guide to Using Stock Photos

Hello fellow bloggers! Today, I’m going to be sharing a guide to using stock photos on your blog.

Photo by Life Of Pix on Pexels.com

Picture this. You’re sitting at your desk getting ready to make a blog post. But…you don’t have any photos to add! You don’t need photos in a post, but they can definitely help break up long and boring chunks of text. Preferrably, you can have some photos that you took yourself but, if you’re in a pinch, you can use stock photos!

photo via Unsplash

What are stock photos?

I’m glad you asked!

“Stock photography is the supply of photographs which are often licensed for specific uses.”

Wikipedia’s definition

photo via Pixabay

How do I use stock photos?

Now, a lot of times stock photography costs money. If you’re a serious blogger, it could be beneficial to invest in some stock photos, but if blogging is just your hobby, there is probably no need. There are plenty of free sites out there. I personally have used and liked Unsplash, Pixabay, and Pexels. Pexels is probably the easiest, as you can access it directly from the WP editor, but the selection is usually better at Unsplash or Pixabay.

All you need to do now, is find a photo that you want to use in your post, and copy it in.

photo via Unsplash

Okay, so I just find a photo on the internet and add it in?

Oh no, that’s not how it works. ALWAYS link to the owner! You should NEVER claim photos that someone else took as your own. Not only is this illegal, but it’s just plain rude. How would you like it if someone tried to pass of your work as their own?

Also, don’t use a random image from Google or another blog. Those images are not free to use, and you could get into serious copyright trouble. Make sure you are getting your photos from a free stock photo website such as the ones listed above.

Now, I’m going to be sharing some pros and cons to using stock photos.

photo via Pixabay

Pros

• It takes less time
• There is no chance of someone stealing your personal photos
• Stock photography has a wide selection of photos that you may not have access to take yourself
• High-quality photos

Photo by Ithalu Dominguez on Pexels.com

Cons

• Not as personal
• Everyone uses the same stock photos
• More generic than personalized photos
• You can’t use stock photos in things like hauls

There are probably more pros/cons that I’m forgetting, but those are a few! Each blogger will vary their preferences and it will even vary post to post. Overall, I prefer using my own images, but there are a few posts where I use stock photos.

That’s a brief guide to using stock photos! The most important point I have for you is to make sure to not try to pass off someone else’s photos as your own and to make sure the photos you are using are truly free.

What do you prefer? Stock photos or taking your own photos?

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