How to Legally Use Images for Your Business Website

Neil JoryMarketing, Website68 Comments

How to Legally Use Images For Your Business Website

It’s a fairly typical scenario. You’ve developed your business idea, refined your marketing message, acquired a great domain name and your website is nearly ready to go. 

All you need now are some great pictures to support your carefully crafted words.  Simple, let’s grab a few pictures from Google images.  As long as there’s no copyright symbol you’ll be fine, and no one will ever know, right?

Wrong!

How do you know if an image is copyrighted on Google?

Just because an image appears in a Google search doesn’t mean that it’s free to use.  The vast majority of images on the internet are likely to be protected by copyright.

Whether it has a copyright symbol or not doesn’t matter either. Digital images often contain hidden metadata that provides evidence of the owner even without a copyright symbol.

Google Images

Always assume that an image is copyrighted unless you know for certain otherwise. If you use a copyrighted image without permission, be aware that you could be sued by the owner.

In the US, photographers own the images they have taken from the moment they press the camera shutter.  UK copyright law states that if you want to use a copyrighted image on your website, you need to have permission from the owner of the license before using it.

Don’t assume that if you got someone to design the website for you that they understand copyright law.

Graham Everitt, from Okehampton based Copyright Correct says, “Many web designers do not have a full understanding of copyright law and still use images that have not been licensed or have been ‘borrowed’ from Google images.”

Photographers, graphic designers and especially the large image repositories will sue in order to protect their intellectual property.  Some of the largest, such as Getty Images have huge resources to actively sift through websites looking for their images. If they find their copyrights being infringed they can and do take legal action. 

Where can you get images for your website?

Creative Commons image sites

If you are looking for free images that you can use for your website then there are a few sites that are worth checking out:

These sites provide a good range of free images that you can use under a Creative Commons license. That means that they allow you to use their images for free but there may be some conditions of use.

Make sure you check what the terms of use are for the image you want as there are different types of Creative Commons licenses. Some require you to provide an attribution back to the creator, others may let you modify the original and some may not. There may also be restrictions for commercial use. As always if you are unsure, then ask before using an image.

The other downside of using free images is that lots of other websites use the same ones. Perhaps if you are going to use them then be sparing and careful about where they are placed on your site. It may not provide a great impression if the main image on your home page is one that your visitor has seen on hundreds of other websites.

Stock photo sites

There are many commercial stock photo sites who manage pictures on behalf of photographers and ensure they get paid if their work is used. 

You’ll almost certainly find suitable photos and you’ll know that, having paid a fee, you can safely use that image for business purposes. Here are a few to look at:

These type of sites usually offer a subscription service depending on the number of photos you want to use in a month. That can be useful if you will need photos to support regular blog posts. You can generally buy one-off images as well for a fee. 

As with the free images be aware of the types of photos that you are using. People can usually spot a bad stock image from a mile off which may hurt your brand.

We’re all familiar with the white-toothed, grinning call centre operator or perfectly airbrushed family photo. If you search a little deeper through the results you can often find some great photos that aren’t so heavily used.

Take your own photos

If you are confident in your own ability, know what you are doing, and have the kit, you can take your own pictures.  This will mean that your pictures are relevant and unique. The composition and content will support your brand and message. 

With advances in technology, you can take some pretty good photos armed just with your smartphone. There are plenty of great photo editing apps that allow you to improve your photos as well.

Taking Photos

If you’re set on taking your own photos but don’t have the necessary skills then perhaps look for a local photography course or spend some time on YouTube learning how to snap that perfect image.

Taking excellent photos is even more important if you are running an e-commerce website. You will need to have high quality images of all your products, often from multiple angles. Product photography is a whole topic by itself but bear in mind that poor images here can really hurt your sales.

If you have a budget, you should consider hiring a professional photographer for an afternoon.  If you discuss what you need and plan your shoot well, you will end up with some stunning pictures that will enhance your website and be well worth the outlay. 

Talk to other local businesses if you need recommendations of photographers who do this type of work well.

What if you already have a website, it’s full of lovely pictures and your web designer merely shrugs when you ask where they came from? 

If that’s the case, for a fee you can use a company such as Copyright Correct to check the images on your website and offer you advice on any images that require a license.

Conclusion

The fact is, in marketing design is very important. It’s not enough to have wonderfully crafted text on your website (though it’s a good start), you also need some great images to go along with them.

Google can be a great resource for so many things but finding images that you can legally use on your website unfortunately is not one of them.

The best images are those that are unique and relevant for your business but if you don’t want to take your own photos or can’t afford a photographer then there are other free and paid for options that you can use.

Before you use any images on your website, always make sure that you have the copyright owner’s permission and don’t assume that if it doesn’t have a copyright symbol that it’s okay to use.  It’s better to be safe than sorry.

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68 Comments on “How to Legally Use Images for Your Business Website”

  2. Reply

    Thanks great article. I have a question:

    I know how to use a camera, lighting etc, and I can take quality pictures. The problem is, what if they are of a *brand product*?
    For example, say I make a website for cocktail recipes and I want to have a section listing common brands of liquor, mixers etc. So I go buy a bottle of Absolut Vodka, photograph it myself, and put the picture under a list of “vodka brands” on my website. Does Absolut sue me?

    There seem to be sites everywhere with images of brands for all sorts of purposes. How is everyone doing this?

    1. Reply

      Hi Will,

      That’s an interesting question and I’ll start off by pointing out that this does not constitute legal advice as I’m certainly no expert in intellectual property law. I’ll assume that you are based in the UK in which case if you are in any doubt then it’s best to contact the Intellectual Property Office.

      Firstly, if you take the photograph of the bottle then you own the copyright to the photo. It probably goes without saying that you couldn’t use a photo that you haven’t got permission for, say from Absolut’s website for example.

      The issue here lies in the fact that you would be displaying a photo of a branded product which could include copyrighted elements as well as a registered trademark. The only way to be 100% sure in this case is to contact the intellectual property owner for permission to display this on your website. There could be a case for fair use of copyrighted material in an editorial context such as writing a review for example.

      Taking a picture of a trademarked logo and putting it on your site would likely be an infringement of that trademark and could see the company pursue you. You may well see lots of sites that take various pictures of brands and use them in different ways. Some may well have obtained permission and some not. Even if they haven’t obtained permission and they do breach a copyright or trademark, it doesn’t mean the company either knows or is concerned about it. Bear in mind it’s up to the owner of the intellectual property to pursue you if they feel a breach has taken place. It’s likely in many cases they don’t feel it’s worth pursuing.

      Realistically if you are saying how good their product is for making a particular cocktail and take a photo to show that, then it’s unlikely they would be too concerned as it’s good publicity for them. That doesn’t mean you haven’t infringed any of their intellectual property rights. The decision is up to you in this case whether to go ahead without permission but legally they may be in their rights to take action against you.

      Sorry I can’t give you a clear yes or no answer but hopefully that gives you some guidance.

      Many thanks
      James

      1. Reply

        Hi,
        I appreciate your article. I have a question. We have a website, our customers take pictures of the product they purchased from us and submit them for registration. Do we now own them? If so, do we have to have have a disclaimer of some kind telling them that we now own them?
        If not, what do we do to gain ownership so we can copyright them?

        1. Reply

          Hi Patricia, thanks for your question. You don’t automatically own the image once someone has uploaded it. You would need to let people know that by uploading the image to your website that they are giving their permission for you to use their images in whatever ways you intend such as for marketing purposes. You’ll see that is quite common for sites such as social media platforms who have privacy policies stating how your images can be used by them if uploaded.

          Many thanks
          James

  3. Reply

    Hi James,

    I had a question. What if you take an image from a site and put it on your own site, but you give the owner credit for the image. I think it’s still technically infringement, but how likely is it that the brand or site will pursue the matter? In this case, I’m talking about selling fashion items on in a webshop. Brands like Gucci, Givenchy etc.

    Thanks,
    Boris

    1. Reply

      Hi Boris,

      Thanks for the question. As you suggested, if you use a photo from another site on yours without permission you would infringing their copyright and in the case of branded items, potentially trademarks as well. You would need to get permission to use their photos. As to whether they are likely to pursue you, that’s harder to answer – they may do, they may not, but that is a risk.

      A large brand such as Gucci like you mentioned I would imagine are highly likely to protect their intellectual property and you may get into serious issues. If you are selling their products as an approved retailer then most likely they will send you product photos to use. The safest thing to do is ask permission in all cases and find out what their guidelines are.

      Many thanks
      James

    2. Reply

      Hi there what about pictures from wholesale companies from clothing department would those pictures be protected?

  4. Reply

    Hi James,

    What is the best way to ask for permission? I have used pictures from Selfridges.com. It’s a massive department store in the UK.

    Thanks,
    Boris

    1. Reply

      Hi Boris,

      It’s difficult for me to help you with specifics, though you need to get permission before you use their photos. If it were me I would try and contact their head office to find out who deals with this. If you aren’t an official seller of their products I would be prepared for a negative answer though there’s no harm in asking.

      Many thanks
      James

    1. Reply

      Hi Andy,

      I’ll start off by pointing out that this does not constitute legal advice and I’ll assume that you are based in the UK. The simple answer is that there is no problem taking photos of people in public places and displaying them on your website. However, you can’t take photos on private property without permission, cause harassment, invade anyone’s privacy or publish anything indecent. Hope that helps.

      Many thanks
      James

  6. Reply

    Hi James,

    I have a contract in place with brand influencers that provide me with photographs of my products in use in return for compensation. If a brand influencer uses a photographer to take these photographs for them and passes them on to me to use, I can’t use them on my website without permission from the original photographer (copyright holder).

    How would I go about obtaining permission for using the photographs on my website?

    Thanks,
    Becky

    1. Reply

      Hi Becky

      I would probably speak to the influencers you are using to make sure that they have the permissions in place for you to use the images on your website. The photographer might not be the copyright holder. They may be under a contract to sell the the copyright to the influencer as part of their services but there’s no way to know without asking the question. If the photographer retains the copyright then you would need to get permission directly from them if there isn’t something already in writing. I would have thought that if you have a contract with the influencer for the photographs that they should have the necessary rights to be able to give them to you but you’ll want to check this.

      Hope that helps.
      James

  7. Reply

    Hey,

    can I use stock photos, e.g. of Pexels of modles and persons for an ad and promotion for my app? Or do I have to ask the person which is being shown in the picture for permission?

    Thanks,
    Marlon

    1. Reply

      Hi Marlon

      If you are using stock photography from sites such as pexels you just need to check what their licensing agreement is and what you’re allowed to use the photos for. Most stock photography sites will tell you what you can use the images for, for example whether it’s for private or commercial use. On checking the pexels license it appears you can use their images for commercial activities (but you’ll want to check this). In this case you wouldn’t need any further permission to use them as they will have obtained the necessary permissions to offer them on a commercial basis. They do say, however, that you can’t imply any endorsement of your product or service by the people or brands in their images.

      Usually you will not be allowed to sell the photos and some places will have tighter restrictions on the use of photos. For example you may need to provide an attribute for the photographer or not make any alterations to the original photo. You always just need to check what the restrictions are for the photo you want to use, especially on websites where they are offered for free.

      Hope that helps
      James

  8. Reply

    Hi,
    Just wondering, we as a charity have a website which is purely for promoting our charity. We have recently changed the name of the charity though in all other aspects it is the exactly the same organisation run by the same people just with a new name. Does copyright we have been granted on photo`s and information on the old website automatically transfer to the new website???

  9. Reply

    First I would say nice post. But I want to know how to use other websites images for news content in legal way? Many websites who publish tech news they are using images from many different sites. Example Gsmarena, 91 mobiles and many more. Can any one help me out with this. And all those big websites are showing google ads. It means that is legal too. So if there is any one who know about this plase answer?

  10. Reply

    Lots of useful information I found about Legally Use Images in this blog. Thanks for shearing such a valuable information.

    I also have seen many tech news websites who use others images for there tech news. And I don’t think they could get a permission from so many sites. The also takes from twitter as well as from chines sites. I tried to find a lot about this topic but unfortunately did not find any answer till now. Its a secret and a mystery which I am gone a sole some day.

  11. Reply

    Great article,
    Quick question, This may or may not fit into this, however, I started my own Landscaping company 3 years ago. I am just now deciding to launch my website. I am trying to add photos for some of my services and projects for a portfolio section. I have pictures that I took with my own camera of projects that I personally designed and installed while working for another company several years ago. What are your thoughts of me using some of these pictures that I designed and installed. I even thought about cropping them and or editing the pictures to make them less recognizable or obvious as to what project they are from. My use of them is merely as an example of the services and or possibilities that are available to my future clients. My intentions are not to use them as projects that I am trying to take ownership of, or use as references for work my company has installed. They would be simply just a snippet or a small part of a project, rather than an entire picture. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

    1. Reply

      Hi, thanks for your comment. Firstly a disclaimer that this doesn’t constitute legal advice so if you have any doubts it’s worth contacting a copyright expert. That’s quite a tricky one to answer and depends on a number of factors. Generally speaking if you’ve taken a photo then you would be the copyright owner. As you were employed at the time, it may depend on your contract and whether your firm asked you to take them as part of your employment because it may be that they own the copyright to them. I would certainly be very cautious about using those photos as it could potentially land you in difficulties with your previous employer. If you have a good relationship with them, you could check with them first to avoid any issues. Probably safer in the long run to try and build up some new photos from your own jobs.

  12. Reply

    I am going to check if the images I am going to use for my business is copywrite on google. I think that this article will surely help me. I will follow what you said here. Thanks for sharing this. This is very useful.

  14. Reply

    Very good and useful article. I have a question if you wouldn’t mind shading some light on. But i am a tradesman with a certain skill set of ornamental plastering. That being said photos are very helpful in me finding work. My question is can i post photos that i took of my work while on assignment from a company? If i give full credit to the company under each photo? Any thoughts? Thank you
    Nathan

    1. Reply

      Hi Nathan

      That will probably be dependent on your contract with the company and whether you worked as an employee or under a ‘contract for services’ assuming that you’re in the UK. Here’s what the IPO says about it:

      “Where a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or a film, is made by an employee in the course of his employment, his employer is the first owner of any copyright in the work (subject to any agreement to the contrary). The expression “in the course of employment” is not defined by the Act but in settling disputes the courts have typically had to decide whether the employee was working under a ‘contract of service’ (eg as an employee) or a ‘contract for services’ (eg as a freelancer or independent contractor).

      Where a person works under a ‘contract for services’ he will usually retain copyright in any works he produces, unless there is a contractual agreement to the contrary.”

      So if you were an ’employee’ it’s pretty certain that your employer would own the copyright to the photos. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t necessarily let you use them and if you have a good relationship still it would be worth asking if they mind. If you weren’t an employee but operated under a ‘contract for services’ then it’s more likely that you own the copyright to the photos unless something in the agreement states otherwise.

      Hope that helps.
      James

  15. Reply

    I have a Google My Business Page. I have loaded this with many photographs that I have taken myself showing furniture that we have supplied in my customers’ homes. In addition, I have asked customers to send photographs that they have taken. I have specifically advised that I want to upload the photos to my website and/ or to other locations, so presumably, by sending the images the customers are giving permission for me to use them as advised?
    Despite the above, I see against many photos on my “Google My Business” Page – “May be subject to Copyright.” Certainly, I own the copyright on my own photos and I feel that I have implied permission for those photos sent by customers.
    What can I do to advise Google that I do own the copyright and get these notices removed?

    1. Reply

      Hi Graeme

      As long as you make it clear to people how you are going to use their images and you have their permission to do so then there’s no problem there. With regards to the ‘subject to copyright’ notice I don’t know of a way to remove this though if it’s your own image then you do retain copyright though in Google’s privacy policies they are likely to have the right to use that image themselves in a variety of ways. There’s some further information here – https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7412443?hl=en&ref_topic=7422769.

      Many thanks
      James

  16. Reply

    Yes, I totally agree with what you said. I think that it is very important to have a good images that can catch the attention of customers . This article is very informative and helpful. Thanks for sharing this article.

  18. Reply

    Hi James,
    I am building my website. I have a wedding and event company and would like to feature galleries of images for each event. Do I need permission from the photographer, or is the bride and groom’s consent enough. Also, the images I am using though out the content of the site are by one photographer, but all of the images are from group creative collaborations, of which I was part of the creative team. Ie. I was a contributor and provide product/styling/planning to the shoot.

    1. Reply

      Hi Debbie

      In the UK it is the generally the photographer who owns the copyright. The main exception would be if the photographer is your employee, then it would almost certainly be your company that owns the copyright. So it all depends on your contractual relationship with the photographer. If the photographer was contracted to provide the photos then unless the contract stated that you/your company owns the copyright to the photos afterwards then the photographer will retain copyright ownership. You will have to discuss with the photographer as usually they would retain copyright but you would pay for a license to use those images in a certain way such as on your website. The same would go for any group collaboration – the copyright will be retained by the person who actually took the photos unless some other arrangement was specifically made.

      The usual caveat applies as I am not a legal expert and this doesn’t constitute legal advice. If you are in any doubt then it’s always best to contact a legal professional.

      Hope that helps.
      James

  19. Reply

    Hi
    I own an artificial grass company, I have noticed another company are using some of my photos from work I have completed. They have blocked out my logo by photo-shopping images over it. Is this legal?

    1. Reply

      Hi Shirley

      Before I answer, as always the usual caveat applies as I am not a legal expert and this doesn’t constitute legal advice. If you are in any doubt then it’s always best to contact a legal professional.

      Generally speaking copyright infringement is a civil not a criminal matter unless it’s on a commercial scale such as pirating and selling DVDs. That means that in an extreme case you would need to take the case to court or mediation yourself to resolve it which usually involves a lot of time and money. If you have taken the photos and own the copyright, then someone else using them without permission is infringing your ownership. This may have been done by accident and it’s possible they haven’t realised that this is an infringement. In the first instance it’s probably best to make contact with them, point out it’s your images and either ask them to stop using them or you can license them to use the photos for a fee that you negotiate. If they refuse then you may need to take this further but only you can decide whether this is worth pursuing. Here is a link to a guide from the Intellectual Property Office that has some further information you may find useful – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/481194/c-notice-201401.pdf.

      Many thanks
      James

  20. Reply

    Very good and useful article. I do have a question though. Am I allowed to use pictures that I have taken of the hotel building or inside hotel (lobby or room) and use this on my commercial website ? I make a list of interesting hotels and wanna add a picture to every hotel. Thanks Nancy

    1. Reply

      Hi Nancy, thanks for your comments. Quite simply I can’t see any issue with that. The hotel will likely be privately owned so they could ask that you not take photos inside, however they don’t have any right to confiscate equipment or get you to delete images. They could of course ask you to leave, as is their right. Museums or galleries pose different problems, as they are more likely to enforce restrictions and there are copyright issues around photographing artistic works. As for hotels you’re on pretty safe ground depending on how you intend to use the images but from what you’ve described I can’t foresee any issue.

  22. Reply

    Hi James
    Great article! I have a question and hoping you could help clear it up for me.. Sites like Buzz, Whatculture create quizzes and web articles using movies/TV stills. Is this considered a fair use? I am looking to maybe start my own website but would like to find out more information about the copyright laws on photos. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks so much!

    1. Reply

      Hi Sarah

      Thanks for your comment. As always the usual caveat applies as I am not a legal expert and this doesn’t constitute legal advice. If you are in any doubt then it’s always best to contact a legal professional.

      It’s an interesting question and I wish I could give you a definitive answer but fair use is a bit of grey area in terms of exactly what that means. I’d direct you to this article from the University of Nottingham for further info on this – https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/library/help/copyright/compliant/exceptions.aspx. I suspect that technically it isn’t fair use though could be argued it’s for teaching perhaps. In practice I expect given that these works are in the public domain anyway and widely used and shared by society that simply the copyright holders don’t enforce their copyright in these cases as it isn’t worth it and doesn’t do them any good to do so given the effort and cost involved. That’s not saying that the copyright isn’t breached but it is up to the copyright holder to decide whether it’s worth enforcing it. I’d ask a professional who knows much more about the legal side than me for a more definitive answer.

      Many thanks
      James

  23. Reply

    Hi James,

    I would just like to confirm that if I would like to print a picture on to say a tshirt of someone ‘famous’ and I have found a picture on google id like to use and there’s quite a lot of the same picture taken or used by different people, I would need to go straight to whomever took the picture to get the permission to print?
    Thanks

    1. Reply

      Hi Siobahn

      Not necessarily as that my be difficult to work out. Usually these type of pictures will be licensed so that the photographer can make an income out of them. Best place is to check on a stock photography website where you can examine and purchase the correct license for your needs. Some also offer subscriptions if you’re going to need a number of photos and that can work out cheaper. Check the license agreement though to see if there are any restrictions around how you can use the images.

      Many thanks
      James

  24. Reply

    Hi I sub contract to a company that supplies oak buildings And I fit them, I am planning on going it alone can I use the pictures I have taken Of there buildings that I fitted and have taken the pictures to put on my own website

    1. Reply

      Hi Gavin

      Thanks for your comment. As always the usual caveat applies as I am not a legal expert and this doesn’t constitute legal advice. If you are in any doubt then it’s always best to contact a legal professional.

      Generally speaking if you were an employee at the time you took the photos then your employer would own the copyright. If you were subcontracted then most likely if you took the photo then you would be the owner of the copyright. It may depend if there was anything specifically in your contract suggests anything otherwise. It isn’t always that simple of course and may depend on other factors such as whether the photos were taken during working hours and whether that constituted a normal part of your services. That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t own the copyright, it’s just not always completely clear cut. If you have a good relationship with them anyway, you may just want to ask if that’s okay whether it’s their copyright or not and also how likely you think they would have an issue with it in any case.

  25. Reply

    Hello,
    I hope you can help me.
    Me and my husband bough an online business nearly 5 years ago. That was an online pet shop, so had a lot of photos. We used them and operated for 2 years, but due to family circumstances we had to sell that business nearly 2 years ago. Now the new owner was contacted by some company which demanding money for one of the photo, saying it’s somebody else’s. The new owner contacted us, saying that they did not put that photo on their website, neither are we. Are we still responsible for that even tough we are not an owners anymore? I’d appreciate your help.

    1. Reply

      Hi Agnes

      That’s a tricky one for me to answer to be honest as I simply don’t know enough about the specifics. If you are in any way in doubt about your liabilities as the previous owner of the business I would consult a legal professional. If you have legal cover with your home insurance, that may cover a consultation or many practices will offer a short session for free which may be all you need to get an answer.

      Many thanks
      James

  26. Reply

    Hello,

    My team and I are putting together some training to certify our clients as operators of *a system*. The system has many parts and pieces from different vendors. Can we take an image off of a vendors website and use it in our training. i.e “This is a (this part) it is used for (this thing)?

    Thanks,
    Davis

    1. Reply

      Hi Davis

      Thanks for your comment. As always the usual caveat applies as I am not a legal expert and this doesn’t constitute legal advice. If you are in any doubt then it’s always best to contact a legal professional.

      The thing to bear in mind is that a copyright breech comes under civil law not criminal, therefore it relies on the affected party pursuing legal action if they want to. If you take an image from a vendors website and use it without permission then it’s possible that you are breaching their copyright. There is a reasonable allowance for use of material for educational purposes so your uses may fall under that exception anyway (see more here under ‘Teaching’ – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright#:~:text=in%20competitor's%20publications.-,Teaching,the%20use%20is%20fair%20dealing). That aside, the fact that you are training people who will be selling their products, I suspect they are unlikely to have an issue with you using their images to help do so (coming back to my first point). Of course you can always ask permission from each of the vendors to make sure.

      Thanks
      James

  27. Reply

    Hi James,
    I work for a Flooring retailer where we have a contract with a Local Home Builder.

    They offer a Flooring Package to all their clients which we supply and fit this is included in the House Sale.
    The clients visit our showroom to make all their selections.
    I was wondering where do we stand on taking photographs of the flooring once we have completed the works?
    We would like to use these pictures for our website and our social media pages.
    Do we need permission from the Home Builder (with who our contract is with) or do we need permission from the clients directly as they have purchased the property?

    The owner of our company seems to think that as long as we do not post their address we can take whatever photos we want and use them as we wish.
    Is this not a breach of Data Protection in some form as we are publishing their personal choices without consent from the paying client of the property?
    I welcome your thoughts.
    Thanks
    Susan

    1. Reply

      Hi Susan

      Thanks for your comment. As always the usual caveat applies as I am not a legal expert and this doesn’t constitute legal advice. If you are in any doubt then it’s always best to contact a legal professional.

      It is the person taking the photo who owns the copyright and you have permission to be on the property to carry out the work so I can’t see any issue there to be honest. I don’t see that you would need any further permission and would be very common for images to be taken and used in this way for marketing purposes. If you wanted to make sure you could always add this into your contract to state that you will be taking images for marketing purposes. From a GDPR perspective, you certainly can’t share any personal information that would identify an individual without permission but an image of some flooring (as long as you don’t give the address away) shouldn’t be an issue as far as I can see.

      Thanks
      James

  29. Reply

    Hey, I have written an article about a company. And I want to upload images of their logo and product. I didn’t take any existing images on Google but instead, I used a screenshot and cropped the image only up to the logo and product. Can I publish that image on my website? Since the company is new I didn’t find it anywhere on stock image websites. And I want to put images of the company or the article will look incomplete. What to do?

  31. Reply

    A tradesman has taken photographs of his work of our house and garden from our land
    He has used them on his website to promote his services. He has not asked permission
    We are in dispute with him over damage to our property and do not want our private property advertising his work
    We are UK based

  34. Reply

    Question:

    I do beauty work. I work for myself. I take before and after pictures of my customers. I post them on my business website.

    Do I need the customer’s permission, or am I the owner of the images, free to do as a please?

    Thank you

  35. Reply

    Hi,

    thanks, i have a question. i need images for my eCommerce website. what if i bought products from my store and i snapped the images and upload to my website, would that be a crime too?

    Royce cu

  44. Reply

    Thanks for this informative post. It is crucial for businesses to understand the legal aspects of using images online. Keep sharing more such valuable insights!!

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