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Navigating the waters of photography for your doula blog can sometimes prove to be tricky. That said, there are low-cost and even no-cost options that offer high-quality, attractive stock photographs that are safe to use and will keep you out of copyright infringement and legal trouble. My two favorite go-two sites are www.pixabay.com and www.pexels.com. Both of these sites fall under the Creative Commons Zero license, meaning you can download them, modify them and use them for your business without having to ask permission or provide attribution.  The search bar in these sites makes finding relevant images infinitely easier.

Below is a list of other stock photography sites that have the same or similar licenses that will keep you out of trouble.

*Note* Be sure to read over the terms of the individual images to be sure you’re legally in the clear.

www.unsplash.com

www.realisticshots.com

www.lifeofpix.com

www.gratisography.com

https://magdeleine.co/license/cc0/

http://publicdomainarchive.com/

http://startupstockphotos.com/

Admittedly, finding just the right image can be difficult as there aren’t a lot of doula images out there. You can step around this obstacle by determining which emotion your blog post emanates and using images found in nature that emanate the same emotion. For instance, if you’re writing about the ebb and flow of labor contractions, you can use an image of the sea lapping the shore. If you’re writing about fears during labor, you might find that an image of a foggy forest might be appropriate.

There is the option of paid stock photography if you really want to find the images that relate specifically to your topic. Visiting www.depositphotos.com or www.canva.com might prove useful, and the fees are fairly affordable. If all else fails, using images you take yourself for your blog will ensure you get the exact image you are looking for and won’t have to jump through a dozen hoops for it.

The one thing you want be sure you don’t do is to use images found Google or Pinterest as they are more than likely protected by copyright and using them could lead to big, expensive fines for you. You also do not want to use professional images from friends or family, or even your own, without written consent of the photographer. If you find an image you can’t live without, contact the photographer and ask for permission. They may let you use it for free, they may ask for a fee, or they may say no altogether, but it never hurts to find out.

Follow Rachel Leavitt:

Rachel has worked as a register nurse (BSN from University of Utah) since 2004 with a work history in Labor and Delivery, NICU and Postpartum Care. She is also the founder of New Beginnings Doula Training which she organized in 2011. When she's not busy being a mother and grandmother, she can be found reading research papers related to some aspect of childbirth.

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