In my last post, we discussed the importance of photos for brokerage websites; specifically, the value of recognizing when a photo is used where it doesn’t belong. We didn’t talk about the actual content or subject matter of the photography, so much as the technical aspects of those photos, their sizes and shapes. If we communicated nothing else with that post, we hope we at least conveyed that a square photo probably won’t look great in a rectangular space. (We try not to get too jargon-y around here.)
Be wary of the Google search
Now, we’d like to go a step further, and share some tips for finding photos for brokerage websites. Fortunately or unfortunately, it’s not as simple as Googling “real estate pictures” and downloading the first batch of examples you find. Odds are you’re going to find some really nice photos with such a broad search, but consider these questions: Can you use those photos? Should you use those photos? Might you be violating any copyright laws by using those photos? That last question should give you an idea of where we’re going with this…
You mean I can’t just download and use any photos I want?
Without going into the nitty gritty of U.S. copyright laws (you can find all of that and more here), it’s safest to operate under the assumption that most photos you find on the internet are not, as we say, free to use. Why, you ask? Well, a lot of photographers have this funny thing about wanting to be paid for their hard work. If you’re thinking “But I have a little REALTOR website in Anytown, U.S.A.; they’re never going to catch me.” Oh, ye of little faith! We can share firsthand experience of a rather large stock photography company claiming a violation, and encouraging (you might even say demanding) that we pay a hefty fee for what turned out to be a definite, though accidental, violation. We all make mistakes!
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In other words, downloading photos for brokerage websites without confirming whether or not they’re free to use is a really bad idea.
It’s not all bad news — there are free photos for brokerage websites out there
When we’re prepping a new client for launch, they often ask if we can help them find good photos for them to use on their site. They don’t usually specify that the photos should have no copyright restrictions, but we know better! If the time or budget isn’t there to either shoot your own photos, or hire a photographer, there are some alternatives. Here are some of our favorite go-to sites for finding great, free-to-use photos.
- Pexels — This site is usually our first stop. The subject matter and categories of photos to choose from is wide-ranging, and they offer downloads in multiple size configurations.
- Kaboompics — The neat thing about this site is its color palette feature. Next to each free-to-use photo, you’ll see up to six of the most dominant colors that appear in the photo. This feature is more geared toward web designers who have more control over their website’s color options, but we think it’s still pretty cool.
- StockSnap — This site allows you to search and sort by image popularity. So, if you don’t want to use photos that everyone else is using, just keep scrolling!
- Unsplash — We like the simplicity of this site’s interface.
If the above sites don’t offer the specificity you’re looking for (for example, if you want a photos of a community in your coverage area, you’ll never find it on a big stock photo site), where do you turn?
Maybe you can “just Google it”
Google actually does provide a tool for finding images that are free to use. It just takes a few extra clicks beyond what you’re used to.
- First, go to Google’s Images search page.
- Enter your search criteria. For example: “Downtown Columbus Ohio” (hey, some of us are partial to our hometowns!)
- Click “Tools” under the Google search box
- Click “Usage Rights”
- Select “Labeled for reuse”
The results you find should be available for you to download and use on your website without copyright restrictions.
Here’s a quick video of the above steps:
Searching for content for your website doesn’t have to be a chore. In fact, it can be pretty enjoyable. What’s not enjoyable is having to pay a fee you weren’t expecting because you used a copyright-protected image on your site without permission. We hope we’ve provided you with some good tips in this post for finding photos for your website… and maybe also saved you a few bucks!
