They might… and you DON’T want that.

More and more companies that specialize in stock images are using sophisticated software to catch people who use their images without paying for them. Even if you take the tiniest, littlest piece of Jessica Simpson’s big toe, they can find you. And if they do they’ll ask for WAY more money than it would have cost to buy rights to the image in the first place.

But you CAN find free images, and use them with no worries.

You don’t need to be a photographer — or even own a camera — to add a free, eye-catching, relevant image to your content. All you need is the Creative Commons, also known as CC, and this handy guide.

CC has four different licensing conditions:

Attribution: You may copy, distribute, and alter this image however you like, as long as you give credit for it, in the manner requested by the photographer.

Share Alike: If you want to distribute alterations of an image — if, for example, you crop it to put it on your card, you have to allow others to freely use YOUR image, too. It’s sort of a pay-it-forward condition.

Noncommercial: STAY AWAY FROM PICTURES WITH THIS CONDITION!! You cannot use any Noncommercially licensed images for your business. No exceptions.

No Derivative Works: You can use these images only if you do not change them in any way. Images with this condition are probably not suitable for your purposes.

These four conditions make up six different kinds of Creative Commons license:

	Attribution License
	Attribution Share Alike License
	Attribution No Derivatives License
	Attribution Non-Commercial License
	Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License
	Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License

Now that you know what all the symbols mean, you can head out onto the Creative Commons and find that perfect image — one that will capture your readers’ attention and make them want to stick around to find out how to buy your products!

CC on the street image from Flickr user Giuli-O, some rights reserved