Where writers can get free stock photos

We all want awesome photos to use for our promo pics or blogs. However, you can’t just copy any picture you find on the internet. To use photos for your books, website, or blogs, you need permission to use them. Images are copyrighted to whoever took the picture or created the image. Give them the same respect we writers want for our copyrighted works. You can find free stock photos that are for personal or commercial use at the following websites.

My favorites are
pixababy, pexels, and unsplash.
 
www.flickr.com has some that are open use with no citation required and others that require a citation. 
 
www.freerangestock.com
 
www.kaboompics.com 

www.libreshot.com
 
www.lifeofpix.com
 
www.pexels.com
 
www.pixabay.com
 
www.stocksnap.io
 
www.travelcoffeebook.com
 
www.unsplash.com
 
If you use Weebly for your website @ www.weebly.com, they have a collection of photos you can use. Some photos require citation and will add a reference to the photographer in the footer of that web page. 
 
There are public domain photos available freely. 

There is also the world of Creative Commons. Some CC photos are what we call Creative Commons Zero. They require no citation. They are free to use personally or commercially, modify, and distribute. The original owner has given up all rights. Other CC pictures are available for use with a citation to the creator. www.creativecommons.org
 
If you’re looking for educational type photos, check out www.photosforclass.com
 
Of course, there are many places to buy professional photos.
 
Shutterstock is quite popular www.shutterstock.com

​Getty Images is popular as well.  

You can contact the photographer of a picture you want to use and request permission to share. Professional photographers are worth paying for their work. 
 
And last but certainly not least, you can create your own.

• You can always use a photo you’ve taken.
• You can also create images with Microsoft PowerPoint slides.
• You can also take any of the images from the websites above and modify them. For example, take a stock photo you like. Add words to it plus your website. I make many of my book promos this way.
• Possibly an unpopular opinion, but I think it's okay if your blog doesn't have a picture. Some of mine don't. I'm fine with that.