After reading a story about one person getting sued for using pictures from an agency, I wasn't feeling so secure about how you can use pictures on your website/blogs. So, how does all this process work? I've seen many other celebrity blogs with same photos in them, how do you know if you can use them or not?
I think the vast majority are following the "It's better to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission." approach.
Always give credit. E.g. picture was taken from x.com And always upload image on your own server. So you don't take their bandwidth which costs money.
It might be. Why worry about what hasn't happened? If someone complains, simply comply with their demands. In all other cases, cite as necessary.
Never heard of the guy. Basically, you can't use images that you haven't been given permission to use or that you haven't taken yourself. That's called copyright infringement In most cases, people just ask you to remove it, but I've been hearing a lot of instances where people are being sued. Personally, I think it depends on how much money you're making. That guy was making some good money and the company knew that, so they figure it's worth their time/legal fees to pursue it. If the average Joe Schmoe did it, the same company would probably just ask them to remove it. But you never know. If you're not sure, don't use it.
This would work with text, like quoting the NY Times and crediting them. With images it wouldn't give you any protection. Its kind of like selling pirated DVD's with a sticker on the front crediting the production company.