Recently we looked at the issue of copyright, and why it’s not OK to simply rip images off Google.

A great image can really draw in readers and support the words you’ve written. So what do you do if you want a beautiful picture to illustrate your amazing blog post?

Well, it’s easy really. Here are 5 places to find free and legal images to use on your blog:

• Create your own images
  This should always be your first choice, as it will make your blog more unique if you use pictures that you’ve created. You don’t even need a fancy camera – drawings or pictures taken on a phone would be great too. You can use sites and apps such as PicMonkey, Instagram, Instacollage or Pixlr to improve your image, create collages or add effects and words. Have fun and be creative when you’re illustrating your posts.
• Flickr Creative Commons
  These photographers are happy for you to use their work as long as you credit them and link back to the source. Tip: Try sorting your image search under ‘Interesting’ (look for the sorting tag in the top left hand side).
• Morguefile
  Yes this free photo archive has got a gruesome name, but if you’re a teen then that’s probably a bonus. You can use this site to find great, free photos or browse the information to pick up tips about how to become a better photographer yourself.
• Stock.Xchng
  You have to register to use this site, but once you do you’ll have a choice of many thousands of free stock images to use. Try not to use the first ones your search throws up, because that’s the obvious choice. You can still be unexpected even if it’s not your own original image.
• Getty Images
  Getty recently introduced an embed tool to allow bloggers access to its 35 million photo archive. You can find out how to use it here. When you use the tool, the photo will already have a credit to Getty and a link back to its’ licensing page – you can see how that looks from the picture at the top of this page. Getty is a good choice if you want current news or sports images.

Have you used any of these sites? Where do you get images for your blog?