This is a question that has been puzzling me for quite a while. Especially now, after seeing Shah says “Do not use my pics” or something along those lines. Till now, I had been using Google Images, searching for pictures, and using them. Yep, this implies without permission.

Then when I was blogging on the Olympics, I had to search like mad to get Olympic pics, and I had to settle for pictures that The Guardian and Reuters photographers who are experts in photo editing.

But then, I asked myself this question: “Ddid I just ripped off somebody’s work?”

Yes, I guess I did. Some guy or lady had to go to the Olympics, sit there for hours, waiting for the perfect shot, using thousands of dollars worth of equipment that they had carried with them. And what did I just do? STEAL THEIR WORK! Oh shi..!

Even then, I tried to redeem myself by posting link back to the work of those people, and giving them credits for the work. But after some research, I found that credits mean nothing. I had just violated the copyright of these people!

There are some sources where you can get pictures which you can use freely. Some examples would be Wikimedia Commons, and Creative Commons Search. For stock photos, there is Sxc.hu and Everystockphoto. Sxc.hu is a great source by the way. Do you know any more sources?

This is why I am posting this. To ask you readers and bloggers a question. Where do you get your pictures for use on your blog? How do you proceed to use these pictures? Do you give credits? Do you link back? Something else? Please comment, and take some time to answer the following poll. Thanks! 😀