LibGuides: Research 101 (older version): Images

Finding images

There are many resources for finding images for your project.

NOTE: If this project is going anywhere but in a professor's desk drawer, you need to use public domain or open access images (most open access images these days are under a Creative Commons license), to avoid violating copyright law. You could also contact the copyright holder of the image and ask permission to use it.

Public Domain, Open Access and/or Creative Commons Image Databases

Flickr Creative Commons Images
Flickr's Creative Commons portal.
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
Pixabay
A site that provides free, public domain images that don't even require attribution. Unfortunately, it also offers Shutterstock images, which aren't free, but they are clearly set off.
NASA
NASA's website offers access to many of their images, audio files, videos and other media, which are generally not copyrighted and freely available for use.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
As government images, almost all of the images in this collection are in the public domain, though the website states that you must credit NOAA if you use one of their images. They especially encourage educational use.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Image Gallery
The United States Department of Agriculture maintains a database of images pertaining to their work and areas of purview. Because the images were mostly taken for the government, virtually all are in the public domain. Any images that are not in the public domain are marked as such.
Wikimedia Commons
This site offers fully searchable access to media, including images, sounds and videos, that has been uploaded by users, mostly for use on Wikipedia. Most of the content is available under some sort of Creative Commons license and licensing information is clearly provided at the bottom of each piece of media's individual page.

The New York Public Library collection of public domain images

The New York Public Library has over 180,000 digital images that you can use for free!

Google Images

Not all images on Google Images are Creative Commons licensed, but you can limit your search results to only images available under a Creative Commons license, as follows:

google image search box

Click on "Tools":

google image tools

Then click on "Usage Rights". If an image has been licensed for reuse, it means you can use it - giving permission for modification means you can also make changes to it. Giving permission for noncommercial use means that it can't be used in anything that is trying to make money.

google images usage rights