From Malhar Barai:

Free Images!! Ha…I see your eyes light up.

You have written some great content, but we know that it is incomplete without an image. Images have the ability tell a story and they form an integral part of the many articles we write.

The web is a treasure trove of some beautiful images, but not all of these images are available for FREE. Though the challenge lies in finding the right images at the right price.At the highest level, they are classified as premium, freemium or free images.

Before we dig into the resources for free images, here is the classification you should know about from Google:

Labeled for reuse

Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy and/or modify the image in ways specified in the license.

Labeled for commercial reuse

Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy the image for commercial purposes, in ways specified in the license.

Labeled for reuse with modification

Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy and modify the image in ways specified in the license.

Labeled for commercial reuse with modification

Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy the image for commercial purposes and modify it in ways specified in the license.

Here is another great resource on copyright guidelines.

Back to our main topic…

1. Google Images

Google Images is one of the best place to search for some beautiful images. For free images, look for the small ‘gear’ on the right side of the screen and select ‘Advanced Search’. Select the correct image usage type from the blue sign that says ‘Usage Rights’ and you’re set.

Warning: Don’t just pick up any image from the search result, they are protected by strict copyrights

2. Flickr Creative Commons

To pick up free images from Flickr, put the image subject in the search string and click the ‘Advanced Search’ on the right corner of the screen. On the Advanced search page, select ‘Creative Commons’  at the bottom.

3. PhotoPin

One of the easier ways to find free images from Creative Commons is to search through Photopin. It find images with all the attribution license details, making it easier for you to plugin the image to your content.

4. FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This site has one of the best stock of images. Free images are lower in size, apt for blogs, but if you want a bigger size, they offer it at a premium. With some best images, it is often my go-to site.

5. Create Your Own

Yes, this could one of your best ways to get free images. I often end up making my own images when I am unable to find a suitable image on the web. With cameras on most phones now, it is pretty much easy to click a snap and utilize it on your content. You can even add some beautiful text over it using image editing tools like PicMonkey.