WEBSITES
Need royalty-free photos to use in a video? Try these websites:
1.) pixabay.com
Note: the top row of results are non-free images
+ all photos are Public Domain (see „Licenses“ section)
+ decent number of results
+ high image quality
+ most photos are „aesthetically pleasing“
- login required for large versions (but it's free)
2.) flickr.com / CC
Note: use the Advanced Search (flickr.com/search/advanced) and tick the appropriate „Creative Commons“ boxes at the bottom. (I suppose „modify“ is required for video, and if you want to monetize it, tick „use commercially“ as well.)
+ massive collection
+ most photos are high quality
- with popular search terms there are a lot of nonsense hits (try both „full text“ and „tags only“ search options)
- infinite scrolling (open images in new tab!)
- it doesn't show the number of results or how many you've already looked through
License info: find out the specific license by clicking on „Additional Info“ – „Some rights reserved“
3.) freeimages.com (previously stock.xchng/sxc.hu)
Note: the top row of results are non-free images
+ decent number of results
- a lot of photos are poor quality
- login required (but it's free)
License info: find out whether to credit/notify the owner under „Availability“ at the bottom
4.) commons.wikimedia.org
+ good if you're looking for something very specific
- a lot of photos are poor quality
- if there are many search results they can be difficult to navigate
LICENSES
What do you need to do in order to use the image? It depends on the license:
> Public Domain (creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
* no requirements
> Creative Commons CC BY - Attribution
* give credit to the creator of the image + provide a link to the license
> Creative Commons CC BY-SA - Attribution-ShareAlike
* give credit to the creator of the image + provide a link to the license
* modified images must be distributed under the same license
> Creative Commons CC BY-NC - Attribution-NonCommercial
* give credit to the creator of the image + provide a link to the license
* no commercial use
> Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA - Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
* give credit to the creator of the image + provide a link to the license
* no commercial use
* modified images must be distributed under the same license
> freeimages.com license (freeimages.com/help/7_2)
* comment on and rate the image
* if specified, the creator of the image must be credited and notified
How to give credit (Creative Commons):
See wiki.creativecommons.org/Best_practices_for_attribution
Example: "Image title" [linked] by username [linked] is licensed under CC BY 2.0 [linked]
WARNING
* use of the photos is at your own risk - anyone can upload images to these websites they don't have the rights to
* read the fine print, especially in cases when the photo depicts people or logos
Need royalty-free photos to use in a video? Try these websites:
1.) pixabay.com
Note: the top row of results are non-free images
+ all photos are Public Domain (see „Licenses“ section)
+ decent number of results
+ high image quality
+ most photos are „aesthetically pleasing“
- login required for large versions (but it's free)
2.) flickr.com / CC
Note: use the Advanced Search (flickr.com/search/advanced) and tick the appropriate „Creative Commons“ boxes at the bottom. (I suppose „modify“ is required for video, and if you want to monetize it, tick „use commercially“ as well.)
+ massive collection
+ most photos are high quality
- with popular search terms there are a lot of nonsense hits (try both „full text“ and „tags only“ search options)
- infinite scrolling (open images in new tab!)
- it doesn't show the number of results or how many you've already looked through
License info: find out the specific license by clicking on „Additional Info“ – „Some rights reserved“
3.) freeimages.com (previously stock.xchng/sxc.hu)
Note: the top row of results are non-free images
+ decent number of results
- a lot of photos are poor quality
- login required (but it's free)
License info: find out whether to credit/notify the owner under „Availability“ at the bottom
4.) commons.wikimedia.org
+ good if you're looking for something very specific
- a lot of photos are poor quality
- if there are many search results they can be difficult to navigate
LICENSES
What do you need to do in order to use the image? It depends on the license:
> Public Domain (creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
* no requirements
> Creative Commons CC BY - Attribution
* give credit to the creator of the image + provide a link to the license
> Creative Commons CC BY-SA - Attribution-ShareAlike
* give credit to the creator of the image + provide a link to the license
* modified images must be distributed under the same license
> Creative Commons CC BY-NC - Attribution-NonCommercial
* give credit to the creator of the image + provide a link to the license
* no commercial use
> Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA - Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
* give credit to the creator of the image + provide a link to the license
* no commercial use
* modified images must be distributed under the same license
> freeimages.com license (freeimages.com/help/7_2)
* comment on and rate the image
* if specified, the creator of the image must be credited and notified
How to give credit (Creative Commons):
See wiki.creativecommons.org/Best_practices_for_attribution
Example: "Image title" [linked] by username [linked] is licensed under CC BY 2.0 [linked]
WARNING
* use of the photos is at your own risk - anyone can upload images to these websites they don't have the rights to
* read the fine print, especially in cases when the photo depicts people or logos
Last edited:
