How do I use professional images online without having to pay so much to do it?

[Andy]

I'm starting a website which will have a focus on television and sport. In an ideal world, I'd like to use a range of images of professional sportspeople, but they all seem to be about £70 to use the images. don't know the ins and outs of the copyright laws, but is there any way in which to use images of professional footballers, for example, without having to pay £70 to use them? If not, what other alternatives are there to make a website look professional with no budget to spend?

Any help or guidance is massively appreciated!

Thanks very much.

Andy

[KRSONMar]

Have you tried corbis.com and Getty Images? I believe they both allow a certain amount of free images to be used per user. In any case, there are plenty of websites that will let you use license-free stock imagery. Sometimes you have to sign up or buy an account for these, but sometimes you don't. The first two I mentioned are the only ones I can think of that might give you access to free, professional-grade photography or images of specific, current sports stars, though. Those guys make a ton of their money off of licensing and royalties for this kind of thing.

Hope that helps!