Warning: Google Images May Cost Thousands
Google images can cost you thousands of dollars
A Presbyterian church in Dallas used a photo they found online and published it on their website. The photo which had an electronic watermark and was tracked by the owner who charged the church $10,000 for using it without permission or compensation. The church was able to negotiate the price down to $6,000 for one photo.
It’s illegal to use images without permission from the owner of the image, and now those owners have a way of tracking whether or not someone is using their photos or graphics and are legally able to collect payment.
The moral of this story is do not rip images off the internet and publish them. Not only is it wrong, it could cost your church thousands.
Instead, hire a photographer to take stock photos that you can use for publishing.
You could also use an online image bank at the following:
You can make your own graphics at www.canva.org