Questions that I get from clients all the time and designers just starting out is: Do I really have to worry about copyright infringement? Is it a big deal if I use images that I find online in my marketing, informational materials or website?

The answer to both those questions is yes unless you created the image yourself or are incredibly lucky and happen to pluck images that all fall under a free-to-use license. But, that is about as likely as buying lotto tickets that are all winners. The penalties for using an image without an author’s permission can include you getting sued for copyright infringement.

So, lets talk about how you can stay on the right side of the law plus enjoy finished projects that don’t look like a cut and paste project from around the web. I’m talking about investing in stock images. For those of us who aren’t Rockefeller, you want to find a stock photo or stock design site with a wide range of genres and categories.

Best on a budget: So for the budget-conscious designer, I recommend the deposit photos flexible plan which includes 30 high res photos and vectors for $29 a month and unused downloads rollover. This is much cheaper than the $79.99 plan on Adobe for 40 standard assets per month. Disclosure some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.  I have used deposit photos for over two years and the small amount of compensation that I may or may not received did not influence my review.