Jun 30, 2009
Finding original free photos for your blog
Update 21/Dec/2009: I’m now using an easier method than this, Sprixi – see blog post or go to Sprixi
A week-long feature of New York Missed Connections has begun over on the Missed Connections blog.
For each post I’ll be using a photo with a Creative Commons license found on Flickr, although not all Flickr photos have the Creative Commons license. To find the ones that do:
- Go to Flickr Advanced Search
- Enter the search terms and any other criteria you want
- To find Creative Commons licensed content: scroll down the page and be sure to check the box labelled “ “. There are some sub-checkboxes here you may also want to check depending on the intended use of the photo.
- Click the search button
Once you’ve got the results back, consider sorting by “Most interesting” so you see some of the best photos matching your search first.
Then, when you’ve clicked through to the photo you want, look towards the bottom of the right-hand column of the photo’s page for the “Additional Information” heading. Underneath the heading there’ll be a “Some rights reserved” link, which you should click on to find the specific terms of the Creative Commons license the photographer has chosen for the photo. If the photo’s license doesn’t jar with your intended use then you can use the photo, and bear in mind you’ll normally need to attribute the photographer in the article you publish the photo – I suggest a link to the photo’s page on Flickr and a link to the photographer’s Flickr profile.
Finally, you might like to drop the photographer an e-mail or Flickr-mail as they’ll probably be interested in hearing how their photo is being used.
More about Creative Commons licensed photos on Flickr.
Photo: Thanks to Valerie for making this amazing photo of a Polar Bear available to the World
