stock photos
 

I've been wondering about stock photos.

Is it ok to use photos you find on the Internet for your layouts? I'm assuming credit needs to be given just like I would with a kit?
Do any of you do that or is it a big NO in the scrapping community?

I personally prefer to look at layouts that are made with 'professional'-looking photos but of course it's not always the case when I snap with my phone. It's just more appealing to the eye.

Anyway I'm just curious. Oh and is there a website that has them for free?

The only time I use photos that aren't my own or from family/friends is when I'm scrapping something like book covers, tv shows, etc. Otherwise, the point of scrapping to me is to scrap my life- and my life isn't stock photo perfect.

Same here...or I'll pull a photo if I'm scrapping about a place I'd love to visit. Otherwise, I use my own photos for the most part.

Hi Lea, I use stock photos/friends and family pics (that I have permission from) in most of my layouts since my husband does not like to have our kiddos pics on the internet. I'd love to use my own photos but I respect my husband's wishes as I know the reasoning for him not wanting them out there. I do this for my Creative Teams and then switch out the photo with my own kids photos for our family books, so that way I'm not "wasting" my scrap time.

As for what I use, I make sure to use copyright free images. There are a couple of sites out there that do this. Hope that helps! :)

Oh my! That makes total sense! I didn't even think about this. I tend to always scrapbook with my best photos and end up not using the ones that have meaningful moments because I find them ugly. I'm very picky with my photos I guess.

I was also curious because sometimes in the gallery there are some photos that are really good but look unnatural in a family setting so that made me wonder. Thanks I appreciate your answers ladies!

And Mary it's the same here. My husband doesn't want our kids online and it made me upset at first not being able to share with family so that's why I blur their face. But I agree with him now. I'd rather they chose that for themselves when they are old enough to decide.
And it's a good idea to switch photos afterwards. I'd rather look at layouts that don't have faces blurred so maybe I'll do that in the future.

That makes total sense. :)

I have never really used stock photos because scrapbooking for me is mostly about the memories.

However, for lots of people it's about creative expression, and if your main purpose is to create beautiful art, then there's no reason not to use stock photos.

We all scrap for different reasons, and some people just like making prety pages. Or they like supporting the designers they create for. I think there could be many reasons to scrap besides the one that is important to me.

It would probably be helpful if people credited the source of their photos, though, if they are using stock photos, because if one of us takes a really amazing photo, I want to say YAY! What a great photo!, but it's weird to say that about someone else's photo.

haha yes that's true! I almost say that sometimes and then I realize maybe the person wasn't using their own photos and it would be weird. :p

My compromise for safety and privacy is to make sure our last name is never associated with my scrapping identity. I'm also careful about details that pinpoint us too closely, like the names of my kids' schools. I don't participate on SSD's Facebook page and won't post layouts on Facebook. That way nothing I scrap will come up in a search of their names, and so far photo recognition software that tags names isn't an issue anyplace I post. If that changes, I may have to switch to swapping out my photos for stock photos in the future, too.

I sent a PM with some good sites to find good stock photo images that are royalty free and safe to use :)

This for me as well.

But I totally understand Mary's reason to use stockphotos and/or borrowed photos.

Also - I will add - I started scrapbooking well before I became a mother and there's only so many All About Me and Here's a Picture of My Food pages you can do! I would regularly use photos from friends and family to scrap with because sometimes you just need an adorable chubby little face to scrap with!

I'm pretty sure Conny uses stock photos so you could PM her for suggestions as well.

https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com...earchid=212459

I do not scrap with stock photos generally. It's just not for me, I like telling stories and using my own photos to supplement them. I also enjoy having really nice photos on my pages and definitely prefer the pages where I used nicer photos - I have spent a lot of time learning how to improve both the actual photo itself (like, trying to make the most out of not so great lighting/staging situations with photos) and the post processing of the not so great photos that accompany really great stories. It's a work in progress, but I'm pretty happy for the most part with how far I've come (though I've still got a long way to go).

I hope you were able to get connected to some sites that work for you in finding photos you love!

I will occasionally use a stock photo - or a screenshot from Google Earth - if I was unable to get a decent photo of someplace that I've visited. For example, I was in a church a couple of days ago and didn't feel comfortable taking a picture there, so I found a picture online that was similar to one that I would have taken. I'd rather use my own pictures, but sometimes that's not possible.

There are some good reasons why people do use stock photos. I have to say, though, that I much prefer to see layouts with real family photos in product previews. I've been known to not purchase a kit when most of the previews were made with stock photos, because I want to see how a kit might work with my photos - and my family photos definitely don't look like stock photos! I'd rather see real photos with blurred faces than perfect stock photos.

Likewise for me!

I respect the creativity that other people put into their layouts (using photos of their choice), but I know I mostly skim over those in the gallery that are clearly made using stock photos. To be honest, I'd rather use a phone-quality photo that I took myself than a professional's stock photo. However, a couple of other ladies here mentioned about swapping out stock photos for their own family's photos in their albums as to keep their family's privacy - I hadn't considered that scrappers here did that. So thanks for opening my eyes a little. xx

This is super interesting to hear. At a previous scrapping site when my deliema occurred with scrapping my kids photos, most of the designers didn't want blurred out faces to use for product preview.

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I have probably used stock photos a handful of times. They were mostly generic photos, like a santa image or a skyline photo. This time of year is hard for me to CT because there are so many christmas kits and I do not have photos for that. Unsplash has great stock photos and that is where I have grabbed mine.

And I love that I opened this discussion because as we can see we are all different and we all have different views on things and it's great to hear a bit about how everybody stands.

Thanks to everyone who contributed!

same here.

I understand all the different points posted here. I can understand if you don't want to post information or photos of your kids or family. But for me, scrapping is about my family and our memories. I would prefer to use a not so great photo because it represents that moment in time, than to use a perfect stock photo that is not a representation of us. I also tend to be annoyed by the use of stock photos used in the promotion of kits. If there were only 2 CT members scrapping with a given kit, than by all means use a stock photo layout. But for most designers they have multiple choices of layouts to use to promote that kit. I would prefer to see real life family scrapped with a kit, rather than a fully perfect looking page that I know my own page won't look like. While the pages with stock photos are very pretty, I would much rather see how a lollipop page can be scrapped in everyday life, rather than a stock photo of the perfect lollipop licking photo. Or how a cutting down the tree kit can be used for daily life photos, than a perfect couple cutting down the perfect tree, with perfect lighting and perfect outfits. My life is NOT perfect by any means, but I love it and love to scrap our not so perfect moments of our life!

I guess all that to say, to each their own. I do agree that stock photos need to be credited, since that way when leaving love you are not praising someone for their wonderful photography skills, only to realize it was a stock photo.

I agree 100% with you! Some of the most imperfect photos turn into my favorite layouts! I also understand not having a photo to work with & only so many 'all about me' layouts. It's a tough spot to be in.

Just wanted to say that, as a designer, I see the benefits of scrapbooking as a creative outlet first and foremost. I'm a designer for all people... whether they do it as a non-memory keeping art, for journaling and not using ANY photos, or for purely 100% memory keeping with their personal photos (perfect or not). My creative team is comprised of both stock photo and real life photo kinds of scrappers, and I appreciate their hard work to show off my product no matter what their photos look like. <3

As for promoting products in the store with "perfect" layouts using stock photos. Let me say, just because someone didn't take a photo themselves doesn't automatically make their layout perfect. In fact, I've seen bad layouts with amazingly perfect stock photos. :D I choose what layouts to use in the store to promote me based on how they show off my kits and templates. The photo they use is only a small part of that. :)

It’s nice to hear from a designer’s point of view too. Thanks all!