Copyright-free photos
Photos from these copyright-free sources may be useful for a variety of projects.
They are generally free for non-commercial uses, such as educational purposes. However, be sure to check each web site for information about how to give proper credit for the images you use.
Always read and follow the use restrictions for each specific image source. Always give proper credit for images created by someone else.
- Creative Commons Images on FlickrCreative Commons licenses provide simple, standardized alternatives to the “all rights reserved” paradigm of traditional copyright.
- Free Stock PhotosOver 16,000 images available. No payment or registration is required, although you must abide by the Image License and Usage Terms listed on the photo download page.
- Google Images and Creative CommonsThe usage rights option on the Advanced Search page shows you pages that are either labeled with a Creative Commons license or labeled as being in the public domain.
- LUNA CommonsLUNA Commons provides free access to hundreds of thousands of images from reputable sources for educational and public use.
- morgueFileFree images for your inspiration, reference and use in your creative work.
- PixabayYou can freely use any image from this website in digital and printed format, for personal and commercial use, without attribution requirement to the original author.
- ShutterographyShutterography images are free to use for any legal purpose. All images are released under Creative Commons CC0, with the caveat that you do not use our images to create a similar or competing service. Attribution is appreciated, but not required.
- Unsplash"Over 550,000 free (do-whatever-you-want) high-resolution photos brought to you by the world’s most generous community of photographers."
- Wikimedia CommonsA database of over 16 million freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute.
- World ImagesThe internationally recognized database provides access to the California State University IMAGE Project. It contains approximately 80,000 images, is global in coverage and includes all areas of visual imagery.
Licensed photo sources
- Corbis ImagesCorbis is a for-profit image vendor, catering to advertising, marketing and media professionals. Corbis offers high quality photography, footage and rights services.
If you need a photo for commercial use or publication, you might require a licensed image (sometimes called "stock photography"). These photos are not available unless you pay to license them. You can find licensed images from:
- Getty ImagesGetty Images is a for-profit image databank. It creates and distributes imagery collections. Subjects include contemporary creative imagery to news, sports, entertainment and archival imagery.
- iStockphotoiStockphoto is the world's preeminent collection of member-generated royalty-free images, which means you only have to pay once to use the file multiple times.
Photo search engines
These sites search the web and/or multiple image databases.
- Multicolor search labSearch creative commons images by color.
Creative Commons
Many image sites in the copyright-free photos box to the left provide Creative Commons photos.
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that "enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools" (quoted from http://creativecommons.org/about).
Creative Commons (CC) licenses allow people to grant permissions for others to use their creative work.
