Free Stock Footage and Stock Images.

We've all been there, we write an excellent blog post or article and are Oh So Proud of it until we realize it is utterly devoid of imagery. We then spend a frustrating hour or two trawling the internet looking for public domain images, and trying to figure out the difference between various Creative Commons licences. Never fear! After an entire year of media-gathering for various projects, I am here to ease your path and share with you some of the better media websites I have come across for stock images, and video too. I will also help to clarify the terms of various licenses, so you can be sure that anything you use is being used legally and you won't be getting any angry 'Cease and desist' letters in the mail.

Creative commons images are great and what are most often found on Wikipedia, and Wikimedia Commons. These are images that have been uploaded by users who have released the rights to them, with certain conditions.

There are a number of different Creative Commons licences available and it can be difficult to determine the difference between them. I have laid them all out here in an easily understandable format.

• Attribution- CC BY

This licence means you are free to use the work in any way you want (Commercial or non-commercial), as long as you credit the image's original creator.

Attribution: The best way to do this is usually to credit them by name, and include a link to the original content. If you want to be extra safe you should also refer to the terms of the licence and include a link to this page, which explains your right to use the imagery.

• Attribution-NonCommercial CC BY-NC

This licence is identical to the one above, with the only difference being that you can use it for non-commercial projects only.

Attribution: When attributing, you can link to this page which explains your right to use the imagery.

• Attribution-NoDerivs CC BY-ND

This licence means you are free to use the work as long as you don't change it in any way and you credit the image's original creator.

Attribution: When attributing, you can link to this page which explains your right to use the imagery.

• Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND

This licence is identical to the one above, with the only difference being that you can use it for non-commercial projects only.

Attribution: When attributing, you can link to this page which explains your right to use the imagery.

• Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA

This licence means you are free to use the work in any way you want but that you must:

1. Attribute the work to its original creator

2. Licence your resulting work under the same terms

3. Use it for non-commercial projects only.

Attribution: When attributing, you can link to this page which explains your right to use the imagery.

• Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA

This licence is identical to the one above, with the only difference being that you can use it for non-commercial projects only.

Attribution: When attributing, you can link to this page which explains your right to use the imagery.

EXCEPTIONS: There are some exception to Creative Commons licenses. If the image or video you want to use contains recognizable persons (E.g. footage of a Madonna concert) then you may be infringing upon their publicity or privacy rights. You would need to get the individual's permission before using the image or video commercially, but you're good to go for private projects.

Images and footage that are in the public domain are free to use, alter, and incorporate into commercial or non-commercial projects. Usually images enter the public domain when their intellectual property right expire. It is important to note that works do not enter the public domain in every country at the same time. For example, if you live in Europe copyright usually extends for the life of the creator or creators, plus 70 years. Copyright laws in the USA, however, are an awful lot stricter with no new works being released into the public domain until 2019. Having said that, there are still plenty of good resources for public domain footage and images in the USA.

• Images taken by a U.S. military or government employees during official business are automatically in the public domain.
• Works published in the USA prior to 1923 are in the public domain.
• Works published in the USA between 1923 and 1977without proper copyright notice are in the public domain.
• Works published before 1964 whose copyright notice was not renewed are in the public domain.
• For a full listing of conditions under which works are in the public domain in the USA click HERE.

Apart from public domain and creative commons licenses, there are plenty of websites that offer free images or footage with open licences. See below for a list of such resources. This is by no means an exhaustive list, simply type 'Free Stock Footage' or 'Free Stock Images' into a search engine and you will find hundreds of results. Be careful of sites that advertise royalty-free media as there is will be a release charge that can cost anything from $5 to $1000.