Find and Cite

Images and Audio

Free Image Sites

  1. Flickr Commons
    Public photos from museums, libraries, and archives around the world are easily searchable on the collaborative site. The results are "No known copyright restriction" which means they are free to use. The images are primarily historical.
  2. MorgueFile
    Thousands of photos searchable by keywords, size, category. Many are free to use without restriction but others require attribution. Make sure to check each image individually.
  3. Pixabay
    Tens of thousands of public domain photos free to use without attribution. Sign up and contribute your own photos to the collection.
  4. Public Domain Pictures
    Images are free to use without attribution. Each page also features similar images that are not free (on the right) and links to those that are (underneath).
  5. The Getty Open Content Program
    The Getty shares almost 100,000 images that are in the public domain or for which they hold the copyright to be used freely. They ask for attribution as "Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program".
  6. The Noun Project
    The Noun Project is a collection of simple images that are free to use. Some require attribution to the artist and others are in the public domain. Do not need to download the app to use the images.
  7. Wellcome Images
    Mix of historical and scientific and artistic images searchable by category, keyword, time frame, technique and more. Lo resolution images are free to download. Most high resolution images are available for a cost.

Image Editing

  1. Aviary
    • "Make photos magic"
  2. BeFunky
    • "Photo editing and graphic design made for everyone"
  3. PicMonkey
    • "Your all-in-one editor for photos, designs, and collages"

Citing Images

Copyright exists to give artists the freedom to share their work and to build upon what has been created. There are many images available on the web but not all of them are free to use or to build upon.

One way to locate "free" images is to filter a Google Image search with the Usage right of "Labeled for Reuse". Another is to use sites that make it easy to find images. Several are listed here.

If an image is in the Public Domain, it is free to use without giving credit to the creator or to the site where located. Many images are Creative Commons licensed minimally with "Attribution" requirements which means you need to name the creator.

Here are a few ways to credit an image. The attribution should be as a caption beneath the image. 

Airplane loading meals.

creative commons licensed (BY) flickr photo shared by jensenphotos1

Or format with links to the license agreement, the Flickr collection, and the photographer's blog if available. 

cc licensed (BY) flickr photo shared by jensenphotos1

Audio Resources

  1. Free Music Archive
    • "It's not just free music, it's good music"
  2. Free Sound
    • "A collaborative database of Creative Commons licensed sounds."
  3. SoundBible
    • "Free sound clips, sound bites, and sound effects."