9 Top image websites to legally license images for your next press release

Copyright violation is a serious offense (up to $150,000 in fines and potential jail time!), so always be sure you have the rights to use any image (or text copy) in your press release. NEVER steal/borrow someone else’s photo and use it in your press release (or anywhere else). You just do not need to take that risk.

But adding an interesting image to your press release can really help capture a reader’s attention. So, if you do not produce your own images, here are some great websites where you can legally license images for your press release for a few dollars (or even for free!). Be sure to always check the exact usage terms when licensing an image.

• Pexels: (https://www.pexels.com/) They market their site as free images as “all photos on Pexels are licensed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. This means the pictures are completely free to be used for any legal purpose.” The image to the right is actually one from Pexels that was used free and legally.
• Pixabay: (https://pixabay.com/) Pixabay also offers images free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. The “Growth Hacking” illustration to he right is free from Pixabay.
• Unsplash: (https://unsplash.com/) Another free image site with images licensed under Creative Commons Zero “which means you can copy, modify, distribute and use the photos for free, including commercial purposes, without asking permission from or providing attribution to the photographer or Unsplash.”
• WordSwag: (https://wordswag.co/) One of our current faves, this app lets you quickly add text in cool fonts to your images or a selection of stock images.
• Fotolia: (https://www.fotolia.com/Info/Images) Fotolia has instant access to over “69 million images, vectors, illustrations and video clips” that can be downloaded for as little as $1.
• iStockPhoto: (https://www.istockphoto.com) Now part of the Getty Images family of companies, IstockPhoto offers millions of images for purchase with credit packs or subscriptions.
• ShutterStock: (https://www.shutterstock.com) Shutterstock gives you access to over 100 million pieces of content including images and also music, video, icons, and illustrations. BigStock is also part of the Shutterstock family.
• Adobe: (https://stock.adobe.com) High quality images starting at about $10 each.
• Getty Images: (https://www.gettyimages.com/) Getty has approximately 80 million still images and illustrations

And remember that the Terms of Service that you agree to with every press release you submit to PRunderground.com includes a provision that you have the right to deliver to PRUnderground.com all information, images, and copy submitted to us. S0 please just get your images legally! Now go out and find some amazing images for your next press release.