Stock.Xchng makes it easy to add free photos to your blog or Web site
If you want to improve your blog or Web site by adding photos and don’t want to spend a dime to do it, Stock.Xchng, located at www.sxc.hu, is a great resource. I’ve found many quality photos there over the years, including the cut newspaper letters you see incorporated into the header of this blog, and most of the photos on the pages.
Free images from the Stock.Xchng site may be used in any of the following ways:
- In digital format on Web sites, multimedia presentations, broadcast film and video, and cell phones
- In printed promotional materials, magazines, newspapers, books, brochures, fliers and CD/DVD covers
- Along with your corporate identity (but not as your company logo) on business cards, letterhead, etc.
- To decorate your home or office
If you’re going to use a photograph from the site, all Stock.Xchng asks is that you leave a comment for the photographer, telling him how you plan to use the image. (You might also want to write a compliment to encourage him to post more photos in the future.) There are a few additional conditions if you want to use images for purposes other than in the above list, but those are clearly spelled out on the standard restrictions page. Also, be aware that a few photographers have their own sets of restrictions. But these are posted under the preview images of their photos, so you’ll know about the requirements before you download.
The Stock.Xchng site also offers an extensive collection of member-written tutorials and blogs on photography and graphic manipulation. They cover topics such as using a scanner to generate photographic images, “drawing” with light, repairing images made from torn printed photos, and many others. If you’re interested in photography or graphics, their large collection of user-generated information alone is worth a trip to their Web site.
Sample Stock.Xchng image by John Nyberg
Looking for other free content? See our free cartoons and free clip art pages.
Copyright 2007 WordPlayBlog.com
