Good sites to get photos from?

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   jfay2011posted 13 years ago

   I've been publishing most of my photos on my hubs but would like to maybe use some other photos too sometimes.  Any thoughts?

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      Claudia Telloposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      National Geographic Website has amazing, beautiful photographs of nature, cities, people, food, etc... I am not sure if you can actually use them for your hubs. Same as you, I've only used my own photos.

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         Greekgeekposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         National Geographic photos are copyrighted, and I imagine you would have a hard time (a) contacting the photographers to get permission to use them and (b) paying for usage rights. Some of those photos may cost hundreds of dollars to license.
         
         If you want legal photos, some options are:
         -- Wikimedia Commons (scroll down below photo to read permissions)
         -- Stock Xchng  (again, check below the photo to see what the terms of use are; some photographers ask you to notify them first)
         -- Clker for public domain clip art
         -- On Flickr, choose "Advanced Search", then scroll down and choose "Creative Commons" and "Commercial Use". That will restrict your search to photos that you may use if you give credit and a link back to where you found the photo.
         -- The photos on many US government websites, including NASA and the USGS, are considered public domain. Again, double-check the photo caption to make sure it's really a .gov photo and not a photo "used with permission" from some photographer for that page.
         
         For all of the above, double-check terms of use, which are often posted below the photo or at the bottom of the page. The key thing to remember is that photos on the web are usually copyrighted, and you may only use them IF the photographer gives you permission to do so.
         
         Those are my go-to sites. For more photos, I've compiled an extensive, annotated list of where to get free, legal photos and graphics.

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            QuestionMasterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            This.
            
            You can't just take a photo and use it unless you have permission - and most photos on business or private sites have strict copyright on them. In most cases a misuse of a photo, if found, will simply result in a request to take it down - but in other circumstances you may have legal action taken.

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            Claudia Telloposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I do not intend to use other photographer's photos. As I said before, I use only photographs taken by myself in my hubs.

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               AEvansposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I have gone directly to photographers on some of my pics. I have two accounts with HP and on the other account, I went directly to the source. I waited recieved written permission and wa la published. I also have a couple of hubs directly on this account and have been given sole permission to use their work. Asking is actually simple, you just have to wait for a response.

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            Sally's Troveposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Excellent post here and extremely useful lens there.
            
            And just to repeat what's already been said, if a work is free only for non-commercial use, then don't use it on any site (or anywhere) that generates income no matter how paltry the pennies may be. It's not worth the risk.

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      OutsideTheLinesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      MorgueFile is pretty good! If I didn't feel like taking the photos myself I usually check there and they seem to have pretty much whatever you need.

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   AEvansposted 13 years ago

   www.freedigitalphotos.net, dreamstime.com, photobucket.com always give a link and who shot the pic kudos on your page.

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      jfay2011posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      thanks, those sound like neat places.  I usually like to mostly use my photos.  Would like to use other photos once in a while.  Sometimes, I like to collect photos and play around with them in my photo programs or I like to practice drawing them.  Or painting and drawing software.

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         AEvansposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         That is nice. I wish I was that talented. I can only write, play piano and sketch a little. Not enough to place it on-line. You are very talented.

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   Greekgeekposted 13 years ago

   Me, too. I love me some NASA backgrounds as photoshop masks. Also, there's a license level for Creative Commons photos: "May be used with modifications." I pick the Commercial Use Allowed option because there's a chance we could earn a few pennies with illustrations on our Hubs/articles/whatevers (although it's such a pittance it almost doesn't count), and then the modifications option when I want to play in the Photoshop sandbox.
   
   I appreciate that there's a lot of photographers and artists out there who let us play with their work. (On DeviantArt too, by the way, although I can't remember how to filter a search there to pull up only images with a Creative Commons license, whereas it's easy to do on Flickr.)  It's a little harder when you want a photo of a specific thing to find what you need, but doable. If you're in the mood to find interesting photos of any kind and make a creative photomanip, Flickr is your oyster.

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      Flynn the Catposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Searching the Resources & Stock images section is the easiest way to find stuff you're allowed to use on DA (I'm not stalking! You just keep mentioning my search terms!)

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         Greekgeekposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         (You can stalk me anytime, my dear, as well you know!) Thanks. I still use DeviantArt only as an occasional place to post my scribbles and haven't learned my way around.
         
         
         Cardisa: Google Images Search notes right there that IMAGES MAY BE SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT. Anything Google finds is likely copyrighted.
         
         It's just like when Google search finds text on YOUR hub, or shows people YOUR photos. It's not Google's copyright... it's yours! In fact, you can tell Google to take it out of search results. But Google is a clever protection racket... if you do that, people won't find it, so few people shield their content from Google's all-seeing, all-scraping eye.

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   mary615posted 13 years ago

   I use Flickr when I don't have an original photo to use.  They have a lot of "freebies".  Go to Creative Commons and look at theirs.

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   ubanichijiokeposted 13 years ago

   Thanks guys for the information above. Well appreciated

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   Cardisaposted 13 years ago

   Google images are fee to use unless otherwise stated. If they are watermarked they are not to be used.

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      jfay2011posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      thanks for the information.  good tips

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         netlexisposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Also check out Dreamstime.com. It's a stock photo supplier, but they have a free images sections. Just make sure to provide and attribute for the photographer.

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      Flynn the Catposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      No they aren't! Google Images is just a search engine! That's like saying any articles on sites you find in Google are free to use!

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      psycheskinnerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      NOT TRUE
      
      As others have stated, photos are covered just the same as text.  Assume they are owned and cannot be used unless stated otherwise.

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   Uninvited Writerposted 13 years ago

   If you go into advanced search in Google you can choose just to see photographs that are copyright free or available for use commercially.

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