Myths About Using Photos on Your Website

If you publish a website, you understand the need to have high-quality images to accompany your articles. Otherwise, it can be very difficult to keep readers sufficiently engaged. However, there is substantial misinformation about the rights and laws concerning the use of photos on websites.

Myth: You Can Use Any Picture of Public Figures Without Worry

One of the most common misconceptions about using photos will be the perception that any image of a public figure will be free to use. While it is true that public figures have fewer privacy rights when it comes to pictures of themselves, the same can not be said of the photographer that took the picture. As a result, using a picture of a public figure without the permission of the photographer can land you in potential legal trouble as the photographer may be able to take legal action against you. Instead, consider finding stock photos of public figures through resources such as John Madden Photos.

Myth: It Will Be Too Expensive to Pay for Professional Stock Photos

The safest option for avoiding violating the law when it concerns photographs will be to purchase them from photographers. In fact, there are many services that make it easy for individuals to find the perfect picture for their needs and to easily pay for the rights to use it. While some individuals may assume that these services will be far too expensive, it is common for them to offer subscription services that provide individuals with a set number of photos that can be used each month. These services can often represent the most economical way of meeting your photography needs.

Myth: Hotlinking to Photos Is a Harmless Choice

In an effort to save bandwidth and to avoid paying for images, some websites will use the practice of hotlinking to images. This will involve essential substituting a link to the image from another website on your own, which will have the effect of displaying this picture on your website.

Unfortunately, this can be a poor choice to make as it can put a substantial drain on the website that is originally hosting the image. Furthermore, you may still be in violation of copyright laws for using images in this fashion as you do not hold the rights to use it. Lastly, this can be a poor decision from a technical standpoint as the hosting website could move or delete the image file, which would cause it to break the image on your site. Due to these various serious problems, hotlinking should be avoided unless you have received permission.