Taking and using your own photos is obviously the best option whenever you want to show something visually. But sometimes there are instances where you will not be able to make use of your own picture but you still want to show something visually. That’s where royalty-free imagery comes in handy.
What is Royalty-free imagery?
Royalty-free imagery is imagery that the original creator has made free for use by others. There are different license types for imagery and they are determined by the creator. It can be photographs, illustrations or other graphic designs that all come under this. The term royalty-free can also be applied to videos and music as well.
The most important thing to look for if you’re thinking of using royalty-free imagery to promote your florist shop is whether it’s been made available for commercial use or for personal use. If it’s for personal use only, then you can’t use it to promote a business or product.
Do I have to credit the original creator?
For all of the websites we’ve listed below, you do not have to credit the original creator. The imagery from these sites comes under the Creative Commons Zero licenses, or similar. This type of license means you are free to download and use the imagery and even edit or change it in any way you like and use it for both personal or commercial use without attributing the original creator.
If you were to use imagery that does not fall under the Creative Commons Zero license, you would need to get the permission of the creator in order to use it in any way. If you do not do this, you can get in trouble for copyright infringement and legal action may be taken against you (see the gov.uk website for more on this).
Why would you want to use this imagery?
There are lots of reasons you may want to use royalty-free imagery. Here at The Floristry Trade Club, we often use imagery from places like this if we don’t have our own imagery to represent a specific flower variety or concept we’re talking about in an article.
If you wanted to place a job advert, then you might need an image to let people know that you’re hiring, or a nice background for a poster, or as part of your Christmas promotion, you may want to show festive scenes. Using royalty-free imagery here is an easy way to get this type of imagery without you having to pay for a licence for it, or have to set up a scene and take the photos yourself.
Both of these were downloaded from Pexels and are free for commercial use.
