# Looking for some royalty-free photos **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913 "2016-03-13T21:49:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Flying\_Saucer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Flying\_Saucer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Saucer)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/1 "2016-03-13T21:49:11Z")
I hope this is the right forum for this question, since it involves making a music video. If not, mods, feel free to move. I’m looking for some royalty-free images – and yes, I know that means the creators get paid. I want to pay them. After looking at several big-name, legitimate sites, I’m hitting a dead end when it comes to two specific images. So I’m looking to filmmaker or editor Dopers for help. Here’s what I need: [ul] [li]An image (or video) of a politician or candidate giving a speech – _photographed from behind_, so you see the back of the candidate and the faces of the audience. Lighting doesn’t matter.[/li][li]A similar image (or video) of people in church or outside, bowing down to a pope, cardinal, or bishop.[/li][/ul] I’ve searched quite a bit. I’ve found a few images that are copyrighted, but might fall under fair use. Still, I’d rather go the way of the least headaches. If you can recommend any sites aside from Getty, Shutterstock, Videoblocks, and Fotolia, or direct links to the actual photos, I’d be very grateful. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/2 "2016-03-13T23:15:21Z")
I’m looking for some too, that darn Elizabeth II is always photobombing my best pictures. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/3 "2016-03-14T13:34:58Z")
> [@Flying\_Saucer](#): > > I hope this is the right forum for this question, since it involves making a music video. If not, mods, feel free to move. > > I’m looking for some royalty-free images – and yes, I know that means the creators get paid. I want to pay them. > > After looking at several big-name, legitimate sites, I’m hitting a dead end when it comes to two specific images. So I’m looking to filmmaker or editor Dopers for help. Here’s what I need: > > [ul] > [li]An image (or video) of a politician or candidate giving a speech – _photographed from behind_, so you see the back of the candidate and the faces of the audience. Lighting doesn’t matter.[/li][li]A similar image (or video) of people in church or outside, bowing down to a pope, cardinal, or bishop.[/li][/ul] > I’ve searched quite a bit. I’ve found a few images that are copyrighted, but might fall under fair use. Still, I’d rather go the way of the least headaches. > > If you can recommend any sites aside from Getty, Shutterstock, Videoblocks, and Fotolia, or direct links to the actual photos, I’d be very grateful. > > Thanks. The problem you will have is that these sorts of images are generally for ‘editorial use only’, as crowd pictures like these don’t have model release consent from the people in the picture. To get creative model release, a photographer would need to set up the shot with ‘models’ (or his mates) who have all signed a release form. Otherwise the libraries won’t sell it. This is obviously very costly, and is done for commissioned shoots were there’s a decent budget, but stock photography often has no budget at all - the photographer just takes shots and tries to sell them to the libraries. Sorry, not very helpful, but that’s the way it is. Otherwise, if you want to keep hunting, then Stocksy and Offset are two more libraries worth looking at. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/4 "2016-03-14T13:44:01Z")
Have you tried Wikimedia Commons? A little searching with Google or the site’s own search engine could turn up what you’re looking for. For example, here’s [a shot of Marco Rubio, from behind, giving a speech](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Speaker_Rubio_From_Behind.jpg). It’s public-domain and therefore royalty-free. ---
**Author:** ![Flying\_Saucer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Flying\_Saucer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Saucer)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/5 "2016-03-27T01:55:32Z")
Thanks for the info, **SanVito** , but I think photographers take crowd shots without releases all the time. [Here’s an example of pilgrims outside the Vatican](https://d2v9y0dukr6mq2.cloudfront.net/video/preview/VBRVHv3De/pilgrims-in-st-peters-square-during-first-angelus-of-pope-francis_vibimsuqfx__PS.mp4). Think all those people signed releases? And yet it’s for sale on VideoBlocks, a legitimate site. **psychonaut** , thanks for that link. What I’m looking for is more from the point of view of the politician, or right behind them, so you don’t see their face at all. You don’t even need to see the faces of the audience, which is why I was thinking of some kind of speech on a stage where the speaker is lit but the audience is in darkness. If anyone else has any ideas, I’m listening. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/6 "2016-03-27T02:12:06Z")
[Bigstockphoto.com](http://Bigstockphoto.com) lets you download one free image a month. There are a few limitations on use, but not many, and they have a big selection. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/7 "2016-03-27T04:19:27Z")
> [@Flying\_Saucer](#): > > Thanks for the info, **SanVito** , but I think photographers take crowd shots without releases all the time. > > [Here’s an example of pilgrims outside the Vatican](https://d2v9y0dukr6mq2.cloudfront.net/video/preview/VBRVHv3De/pilgrims-in-st-peters-square-during-first-angelus-of-pope-francis_vibimsuqfx__PS.mp4). Think all those people signed releases? And yet it’s for sale on VideoBlocks, a legitimate site. …just reviewing reviews on yelp and a few other places lead me to believe that VideoBlocks may not be as “legitimate” as you believe. here is similar footage on a similar (but definately legitimate) site: [http://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-3578000-stock-footage-rome-italy-march-pilgrims-in-st-peter-s-square-during-first-angelus-of-pope-francis-on.html](http://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-3578000-stock-footage-rome-italy-march-pilgrims-in-st-peter-s-square-during-first-angelus-of-pope-francis-on.html) Note this: “Editorial use only. Use of this clip for advertising or promotional purposes is prohibited.” Yes: photographers take crowd shots without releases all the time. And if they sell those images as stock they typically can only be used, as San Vito states, for editorial usage. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/8 "2016-03-27T08:00:25Z")
Not sure if this will show up for you, I have an Adobe ID, but [these](https://stock.adobe.com/au/Search?serie_id=83352473=1) almost fit the speech image you want. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/9 "2016-03-27T08:18:56Z")
What about www. [Businessman Standing On Podium Stock Photo - Download Image Now - Politician, Speech, Talking - iStock](http://istockphoto.com/photo/businessman-standing-on-podium-gm488825400-74391761) or www. [istockphoto.com/photo/preacher-6-gm186866765-180536?st=9c6f7d4](http://istockphoto.com/photo/preacher-6-gm186866765-180536?st=9c6f7d4)? VigLink sucks balls (it changes the URLs to some other Stock Photo site), so you’ll need to copy the URLs, remove the space and then it should work for you. If anyone is aware of how to bypass the VigLink BS without going through such hoops, I’d appreciate the input. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/10 "2016-03-27T22:43:31Z")
[morguefile.com](http://morguefile.com) ---
**Author:** ![Flying\_Saucer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Flying\_Saucer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Saucer)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/11 "2016-04-02T19:37:23Z")
All of this info has been very helpful in my search. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/12 "2016-04-05T18:59:26Z")
Try [The New York Public Library Digital Public Domain Collections](http://www.nypl.org/research/collections/digital-collections/public-domain). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-royalty-free-photos/748913/13 "2016-04-08T04:39:11Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > I’m looking for some too, that darn Elizabeth II is always photobombing my best pictures. 😉 You want royalty-free? Here you go: [http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/303385/7908361/1280383335563/founding+fathers+3.jpg?token=sjgOch1bnI4mn5wOsKju9%2FE%2BT1g%3D](http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/303385/7908361/1280383335563/founding+fathers+3.jpg?token=sjgOch1bnI4mn5wOsKju9%2FE%2BT1g%3D)