Happy Friday! In this edition of Friday Five, we’re revisiting a topic we’ve covered in the past–where can presenters, teachers and students go to find free, high-quality images? Keep reading to learn how to use my five preferred sources.
1. Flickr
If you’ve seen me present in the last three years or so, you’ve seen lots of examples of images I found through the Flickr advanced search option. The trick is to scroll to the bottom and check the only search within Creative Commons-licensed content. Depending on what you intend to do with the image, you may wish to check one or both of the other boxes as well, but generally speaking, for presentations and instruction anything with a general Creative Commons license is legal for you to use (you’re encouraged to cite and/or give credit to the image’s creator).
Caveat: Keep in mind that Flickr is a social media site, so it’s possible that a perfectly innocent search may yield some unexpected results, and it’s most likely that Flickr is blocked at most schools. However, if you’re working from home and know how to use your browser’s back button, Flickr is an excellent resource for free imagery.
2. Google image search
Google’s image search option has been around for a number of years now, but technically just because you can easily find and download images from the service doesn’t mean you’ve got the right to do so. Luckily, you can now use Google advanced image search to filter images by license type, as well as by a number of other criteria. Google also has a SafeSearch filter, keeping would-be questionable images off your computer.
3. morgueFile
Odd name, but great resource for free images: morgueFile has tons of high-quality digital stock photographs, free for use for educational and creative projects. In return, you’re asked to abide by their free photo license–in essence, you can “remix” or adapt the photo, use it for commercial purposes, and use it without attributing the author; however, you can’t sell or license an unaltered version yourself or claim ownership of the original image.
4. Public domain
The blog Making Teachers Nerdy has a great list of public domain image archives for your perusal. Public domain materials have no ownership rights attached to them, so you can use them in any way you wish, without crediting sources. There are some surprisingly good finds in the public domain–for example, many United States government agencies release photography and other resources this way (though not that not all government-created materials are licensed this way; in particular the Library of Congress’ licensing varies from item to item). In addition, the public domain includes materials no longer protected by copyright–so if your presentation or lesson could benefit from vintage photos or artwork, check the public domain!
5. Free samples
If you can’t find a suitable image through Flickr, Google, morgueFile or the public domain, your next best bet might be an affordable, royalty-free license from an online service like iStockPhoto. In the spirit of looking for free stuff, you can actually get free, high-quality samples from iStockPhoto if you sign up for their weekly newsletter via e-mail. Each issue has a couple of photographs free for the taking. This is a nice way to build up a collection of stock imagery for your next project.
It’s also worth noting: When you purchase the right to use a photograph from a site like iStockPhoto, you purchase the right to use it without crediting the source–just as long as you don’t try to resell an unaltered version.
Where else?
Where are your favorite places to find media for your presentations and lessons? Share them in the comments below, or leave a request for a future Friday Five. Have a great weekend!
Photo: wallyir on morgueFile.com
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Tags: creative commons, design, images
