Let's say i started an animal niche site about "snakes". I hired someone to write my content so all the content is legal. In her text about the "snake species" she included pictures of every specie. She found the pictures on google images. Normally i would take the pictures by myself but in this case it's impossible because they live on the other side of the world. Could i get in trouble by using these informational pictures on my site ?
Yes. It's illegal. Buy the images form a site like Getty Images or iStockPhoto.com and get a proper license.
Alternatively, you can contact the owners of the websites they were taken from and request permission to use them. They might say "yes" for a backlink.
i think that's the only solution because i cant find any pics on my niche on the sites mentioned above. thx for your advice
There are hundreds of "photo outlets." Some are pretty pricey. Search for "royalty free images" and see what pops up. Also search for "stock photo."
You might also check some of the US Government web sites- their photos are usually in the public domain, and might include some snakes: Fish and Wildlife Service: http://pictures.fws.gov/ http://images.fws.gov/ US Dept of Agriculture http://www.usda.gov/oc/photo/opchomea.htm More Listed at Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain_image_resources#U.S._Government_sites (Be sure to read the terms and conditions page for each site to be certain you can reuse any photos you find).