So, you need a photo for a project or an online post. Check out photos in the Creative Commons. What is that anyway? It's basically a type of license that allows creators to give others permission to use their works. There are over 200 million Creative Commons photos available! Photo Pin is my go to site for searching.
The license of each photos may differ, but the biggest thing to remember about using a CC photo is attribution. In other words, give credit! And, check the license to see if there are any other conditions. Some allow you to change their work, others require you to use it as is.
How do you give credit? It's easy. You need three things. With Creative Commons photos, you look for the creator, the title of the work, and what type of license is given. If any other copyright information is included, add that in, too.
But, at the very least, include title, creator and license. For example, here's the attribution info for the background photo of this page. I've also linked to the license information and directly to the photograph on Flickr.
Where do you put this information? If possible, put it below the photo. Or, if it doesn't work well there, put it at the end of your post or presentation.
Check out the video below to see this in action and how to find all the information you need in Flickr.
Creating a CC Flickr Attribution
All of the photos in Photo Pin and Creative Common's Search link to Flickr so you can easily find all the info you need to correctly give credit. You can even search for CC photos in Flickr's Advanced search option. (See below.)
Want more information?
You are always welcome to stop by the library with questions. Or visit the Copyright and Fair Use page or the Citing Sources on the library website.
And, there are bookmarks out there to help create those CC Flickr credits. It's so easy. Check out another Tech Tip below for more info on that.
Haiku Deck is a great presentation tool that automatically incorporates Creative Commons photos. And, attribution is automatically given. It's super easy! Want to know more? Want to see an example? Check out the presentation below. The attributions stay there even if you download the Haiku Deck to PowerPoint (to add video or narration).
