Library Guides: Visual Resources: Images

Using Images

GENERAL GUIDELINES

If you choose to use images in your project, you need to properly attribute them.

Images in the public domain have fallen out of copyright and are available for reuse.
Images licensed using Creative Commons are available to remix and reuse, but you need to follow the terms described in the license.
Read Creative Commons licenses carefully in order to make sure that you are in compliance. If you have questions about using a particular image or work, contact the original content creator.

Some resources:

See this video on youtube about copyright, fair use, and public domain [from commonsense.org/education]

Regarding Creative Commons, see:

About The Licenses (Creative Commons) Describes the terms and conditions for each type of Creative Commons license.

Best practices for attribution (Creative Commons Wiki) Gives examples of how to cite and attribute images licensed under Creative Commons.

EDUCATIONAL USES

You can use media for educational purposes if:

You don't share/publish it publicly on the internet
You only use a small piece of the work (ex. a clip of a song)
You got it legally (ex. didn't pirate it or get around a paywall)
You don't provide a copy that allows others to avoid paying for their own copy You should cite anything that you use for a class, research project, or other academic work - because of academic integrity, not because of copyright.

[Thanks to the scholarly communications librarian Carrie Baldwin-SoRelle for above.]

Creating Images

Adobe Creative Cloud - suite of Adobe software including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.
Available in the Mac computer lab in the Digital Media Studio (EWFM 8a Room 421).

GIMP - Free raster graphics editing software (alternative to Adobe Photoshop).

Inkscape - Free vector graphics editing software (alternative to Adobe Illustrator).

Canva - Web-based image editor.

Finding Images

In addition to being mindful of usage rights for images, it is strongly suggested to search for high-resolution (large) or vector (scalable) graphics to ensure the quality of your final product.

ARTStor
Database of digital images that may be used for academic purposes only. These collections are interdisciplinary, supporting research and teaching in both the humanities and social sciences.
Creative Commons Search a.k.a. "Openverse"
Search for images licensed under Creative Commons or in the public domain.

Wikimedia Commons
Search for images licensed under Creative Commons or in the public domain.
500px
Use the menus at the top to choose a Creative Commons license and view their free-to-use stock photography
Flickr Advanced Search
Use the advanced search in Flickr to find Creative Commons licensed images
Google Image Advanced Search
Lets you limit by size, file type, image usage rights, etc.
Pexels
Free stock photos using a Creative Commons Zero license (meaning you can use them for personal or commercial purposes, modify, copy, and distribute them, and attribution is not required).
Pixabay
Free stock photos, vectors, and illustrations. From their website: "All images and videos on Pixabay are released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required."
Unsplash
From their website: "All photos published on Unsplash are licensed under Creative Commons Zero which means you can copy, modify, distribute and use the photos for free, including commercial purposes, without asking permission from or providing attribution to the photographer or Unsplash."

Lehigh University Libraries - Library Guides

Visual Resources: Images

Using Images

Creating Images

Finding Images