Stock Photo or your own

lm44west

lm44west

Active member
Even though I love scrapbooking, I rarely take photos and rely on Pexels or AI generated. Do you take your own photos or do you rely on a site. If you rely on a site, which one? I normally go to Pexels.
 
This is a really interesting question, lm44west! I use scrapbooking as a way of getting our family's memories recorded in a tangible form for the kids, grandkids, and eventual multiple-greats to read. So for that reason, I tend to stick with photographs I've captured. I have so many, and I'm so far behind in scrapping them, I think I'll never run out!

However, sometimes there are layouts I want to create for which I don't have images, and for those, I'll hit up a Google image search. Like layouts about current events, I'll grab shots from news sites, or anything about pop culture, I might grab movie posters or album covers or that kind of thing.
 
I pretty much mirror what Angie said.

I've been using Pixabay for a few years now, and recently found Unsplash.
 
I took a zillion shots of my daughter before she eventually said no more. LOL. I am happily so far behind on scrapping everything. She's all grown up and in the working world now and will usually pose for 1 or 2 photos when we get together. The only time I might grab a photo from a place like pexels, is if I need to have a photo that further explains something in a layout or perhaps a non photo layout that might benefit.
Morguefile is another place you can get stock photos for free use. And pixabay, but I feel like it might be owned by pexels.
 
I do a mix depending on my mood. I use about 90-95% my own when I'm working on albums - but as the other ladies said, it's great to mix in some stock/Google photos to enhance a story. I've also started exploring generating my own AI photos and I'm totally obsessed.
 
Always my own photos. If I don't have a photo for a page I need to make I either go take one or re-use an old photo.
 
I'm with Angie- almost all old photos or make something work off-theme. Occasionally I will grab stock photos from specific places or websites for places we've been & I didn't get a good pic or forgot. I try to not scrap photos twice, but sometimes I have the perfect pic for the supplies & just have to do another layout with it/them!
 
Almost exclusively my own photos. Occasionally if I need to supplement I'll use royalty free photos, but most of the time I scrapbook to capture my family's memories.
 
I never use stock photos - I scrap for memory keeping. To be honest, I've never even thought about using a photo that wasn't my own!

If I have a kit but no photos that match, I usually do an off-theme layout or go out and take a photo to put in a layout. Kind of a photography challenge to myself.
 
I used my own pictures almost all the time.
I think the only time I used stock photos is when I need supporting photos to scrap, for example, top 10 fave movies or something like that :)
 
I exclusively use my own photo's.

But i also wanted to suggest you if you don't want to use stock photos you could always ask a friend if she has fitting photos so you could make a RAK layout for her.
 
I only use my own pictures, but sometimes it is difficult to find one that fits a kit..so you brought up something smart, AI....maybe I have to trie that one too.
 
I scrapbook for memory keeping, so almost always use my own photos, or those of my extended family. I have 14 nephews and nieces who's parents are happy for me to scrap photos for. They'll send me pics if I ask. I find I take less and less photos myself now, so really rely on my kids and family members to share theirs.

Very occasionally I'll use stock photos or google photos for pages like a travel bucket list or top 10 books/movies etc. Just last week I did a bucket list layout of Paris. Had to use Unsplash and google photos for that one since I haven't yet been myself.
 
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99% my own photos... but I do love to take screen shots of news articles or memes and add those to my pages or to tell the story. I also have download photos of places that we have go to, but don't allow photography - like the Sistine Chapel in Italy. If I don't have photos, I just do a photoless page.
 
I only use my own as well but I have scrapped my bff's photos in the past. It's getting harder to do though as my kids are getting older and getting them to take a photo is like pulling teeth!
 
I just use my photos. (Or photos my older guys give me.) Like others have said, if it's something about movie stars, musicians, books, movies, etc then I'll use something from the web.
 
This is personal, but I have a STRONG DISLIKE for stock photos when scrapping! I know some people don't like to show their family members, but for me, I have so many photos, I can't imagine not using our own! (Double the work to switch out photos). So ALL of my photos (minus a handful where I didn't get a photo of a sign or building or ours didn't turn out) are all my personal photos. If I do use ones from Google Images, I make sure there are no people in the photos.
 
96% of the photos are my own. I will use a stock photo if I have been somewhere and didn't get the photo or if it is somewhere I want to go. I have also used an image if it is movies, books, or celebrities.
 
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