This is a crash course in using images from the web on a a blog and website.  If you do want to use an image you find in a Google, Yahoo or some other image search, please follow these simple steps.

1. DON’T just use an image from a GOOGLE or YAHOO image search!
2. Find a legal place to purchase a graphic you want to use on your website or blog (iStock, Dreamstime, BigStock Photo, etc.)
3. Make sure this image doesn’t belong to someone else (9 times out of 10 it will).
4. Use an image legally, take the time to find out who the author of the image is.
5. Just because an image is on the Internet, and you can right click to save to your desktop, doesn’t mean it’s free to take an use, especially for commercial use.
6. If you don’t want to do any of that, make your own graphics or images.
7. If you don’t want to make your own images and still take whatever you want, legal action could be taken against you by the artist or image owner.

Just remember, the Internet is not a place to just take whatever you want and use it.  The sad truth is that it happens way to much and many artists and designers are left with the bad taste in their mouth from copyright infringement.