Can anyone lend any advice and what is the correct way to grab photo's off the internet? A lot seem free with no 'overprint' on them but I am not sure this is 'legal'. How do i make sure i am not setting myself up for future trouble?

Is there a place to get free stock photo's without worrying about fees or charges?

On the other hand, what are the chances..........

Look first and foremost for Creative Commons images (you can google them) and see which are being offered up for use by photographers or illustrators around the world.
http://creativecommons.org/
Not all the Creative Commons licences are the same, so check out what you are actually allowed to do with the image you choose.

Flickr also has images which the community allow people to use, but many of those would be with a Creative Commons licence anyway. I have in the past used a couple of images from Flickr members, and found that just a short note requesting use of (and explaining how and where) an image - got me a pleasant reply. For individuals using them you will often get them for free... for companies that may be a different case though.

Or do what I did... learn how to use a camera and let others worry that they are not treading on your toes instead of the other way around!


ps. If you can find a way to use them legally you will sleep better at night!

In general the best approach is usually to visit the website that the images are off from and send a contact to the webmaster asking permission. The assumption is all photo's are protected with the exception of free photo stock, which is almost always clearly marked as such.

Just pay for images you like from the top image websites like IStock. They're relatively cheap and you have the right to do what you want with them.

Most sites with royalty free images are for personal websites. If you create websites or have a business site, they aren't for you. Read the fine print.

As Tom mentioned istock, here is their licence details about what you can or can't do. You will find that most stock photo agencies have similar rules:
http://www.istockphoto.com/license_comparison.php

Thanks all for your comments and feeback. I signed up for Canstockphto and iStock. Looks like they both have some good photo's plus more.

george

Honestly, I think it is worth it to just pay for your photos. You just never know.
I like to use istockphoto.com and fotalia.com. istock has a bargain bin, but you have to spend all day searching for the right photo. I never pay more than 1 credit for my photos, and I am certain that no one is going to try to call me on them.

bigstockphoto.com offers the best images for the lowest price. Personally I use istockphoto.com because they offer the best images period, but they are much more expensive that big stock. istock also offers videos to embed in your web site, audio files, and animations.

Another website which is quite popular for free photos is "sxc.hu" . It does not have the best images, but fairly descent ones. It was acquired by Getty Images last year. There are some restrictions for commercial use, but for personal blogs and general use, it's great.