Where Do I Get the Best Free Pet Photos for Blog Commercial Use?
If you have a pet business then you may be looking for the best copyright-free pet images you can use to display on your pet blog. There are many paid stock image websites but these can get very expensive. Luckily there are a whole host of websites that provide commercial use pet images you can use for free!
What Is Copyright?
If you’re looking for the best pet photos for free then it’s important to first understand copyright law and how it works.
Copyright gives creators legal rights to their work and means that others cannot share or use their work without permission (to do this would be breaking the law). A creator is anyone who creates creative work such as: artists, photographers, writers, music composers, software and video game creators.
Copyright law automatically applies to any image you find on the internet (unless it is a public domain image). In the UK, images are protected by copyright law for 70 years after the creator’s death.
For this reason, you cannot legally use images you have found on Google for your business because these would be protected by copyright law. You would not legally be able to use these images without permission for personal or commercial use.
What Is a Public Domain Image?
A public domain image is an image where the copyright has expired (copyright law only protects images for around 70 years after the creator’s death in the UK, US and EU). This means it is no longer protected by copyright law.
If an image is in the public domain, then it is free to use.
What Is Commercial Use of an Image?
Commercial use of an image means you are using that image for some type of monetary gain, e.g. to advertise your business, on your website, social media or blog.
Can I Use Images for Commercial Use?
You can use images for commercial use but only with the creator’s permission.
This Could Include:
Getting written permission from the copyright owner of the image
Purchasing a licence from a stock photo website
Obtaining the image with a royalty-free licence
Where Do I Get the Best Free Pet Photos for Blog Commercial Use? (Royalty-Free Images)
There are several free photo websites for commercial use that allow you to download images with a royalty-free licence. You are allowed to use these photos because the creator has agreed to licence the image for reuse when they have uploaded the photo to the website.
You should always check the licence details of each website because the terms and conditions differ depending on the site; however images from these photo websites below are all generally safe for commercial use on your blog.
These images do not require attribution, this means you do not have to include the creator's name or a link to the source where you got the photo, in order to use them.
1 - Pexels
Pexels has millions of royalty-free photos to choose from with a global creator community and new photos are being added to the site all the time.
2 - Unsplash
If you’re looking for the best free pet photos for blog commercial use then Unsplash is a solid choice. They provide millions of photos to choose from with a great mix of high-quality dog and cat photos.
3 - Pixabay
Pixabay has over 6.1 million high-resolution photos and resources to choose from and you can definitely find lots of high-quality pet images for any type of pet business.
4 - Gratisography
Gratisography was created in 2011 by photographer Ryan McGuire. The images on Gratisography are different from other sites and generally offer a more whimsical and artistic aesthetic.
5 - Kaboompics
If you’re looking for more creative, artistic images then Kaboompics may be for you. Kaboompics does entire photo shoots so the images generally look a lot more curated than other sites.
If you’re looking for the best pet photos free download then they have many pages of carefully selected pet photos.
Licence Terms
If you’re looking for the best free pet photos for blog commercial use then it’s important to familiarise yourself with the licence terms. The licence for each website is slightly different so I would advise that you read each one individually however here is a list below of some things they all have in common:
Images are free to use for commercial use
Attribution is not required
You cannot sell or redistribute the pictures
You cannot claim endorsement of your brand or that the photos are your own
You cannot use photos for immoral or defamatory purposes
You cannot use content as part of a logo or trademark
You cannot use the images to make a competing service
Where Do I Get the Best Free Pet Photos for Blog Commercial Use? (Public Domain Images)
As we discussed earlier, public domain images are typically images that used to be protected under copyright law but the copyright has now expired because the image is old.
If you’re looking specifically for images that are in the public domain then The Public Domain Review has lots of freely available vintage images.
Picryl is also a large public domain search engine however there is a monthly charge for unlimited downloads.
Conclusion
When it comes to copyright you should assume by default that every image you see on the internet is copyrighted (because it usually is!) This makes it unsuitable for commercial use on your blog.
Finding the best free pet photos for blog commercial use can be easy if you know where to look! There are several photo sharing websites that offer a royalty-free licence, making the photos suitable for commercial use for your pet business. I hope this list has given you some clarity and the tools you need to continue your journey towards pet blogging success.
