Finding Free Images online: Part 2

As promised from my earlier posting about finding free images online, I will now reveal the various sources and methods in which one may find free images online while adhering to the various legality pertaining to any one particular source.

Many might not know that search engines such as Google can actually filter your searches to very specific criteria. If you search under the Advanced Google image search, not only are you able to specify what type of photo (clip art vs. photo content), file format preference (ie. Jpg. Vs. gif.), and photo size, you may also conduct your search within the realms of usage rights. Google specifies these rights as follows:

In the Usage Rights drop-down, select one of the following options:

• Labeled for reuse
  Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy and/or modify the image in ways specified in the license.
• Labeled for commercial reuse
  Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy the image for commercial purposes, in ways specified in the license.
• Labeled for reuse with modification
  Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy and modify the image in ways specified in the license.
• Labeled for commercial reuse with modification
  Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy the image for commercial purposes and modify it in ways specified in the license.
  

My suggestion is to try out Google’s advanced image search options and which filters are successful in searching your specified criteria. However, do keep in mind that Google is searching numerous databases and might not always filter search results with 100% accuracy and as such, you should consider verifying with the source site where the image is accessible within the parameters of creative commons license.

The second option in conducting your image search online is also directly via image databases online. The list below is a comprehensive compilation of sites that are useful although you may discover there are many additional online resources available.

http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

allows you to share, store, search, and sort your photos. There are always plenty of images available for you to use. Flickr is free, though you will have to register if you want to upload and edit your own images. The photographers establish the terms, so read the permissions carefully. If you use someone else’s Flickr image, it’s always in good taste to link back to its source.

Bigfoto.com offers pictures from around the world, including America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and Pacific. Each main category has subcategories, for instance “aviation,” which allows you to choose from pictures in a certain theme.

FreeDigitalPhotos.net has over 2000 free images that you can use in commercial and noncommercial work. You are not allowed to sell, redistribute, or claim these images as your own. You can browse by category or search for exactly what you need.

http://morguefile.com/archive/: You are allowed to copy, distribute, transmit the work and to adapt the work. Attribution is not required. You are prohibited from using this work in a stand alone (commercial) manner.

http://www.sxc.hu/ offers high quality images taken around the world by amateur photographers. If you have an interest in photography, you can even submit your own pictures. There are various searching options and over 100,000 images. The photographers establish the terms and require notification of use, but most pictures can be reused immediately. Pictures are not meant to be utilized for commercial use, but it is always best to read the restrictions.

http://wylio.com/ : Wylio is a web-based image search engine that you can use to find all images shared on the popular photo-sharing Flickr which are released under a Creative Commons iicense. Once you have found the image you need, Wylio generates a standard snippet of embed code that you can paste on your blog or webpage to display the image. The embed code is complete with attribution to the original author and source. However if you are not familiar with html coding, I would recommend utilizing one of the other database sites referenced above.