Sometimes you can’t find the image you’re looking for in your stock photo subscription and need to use an image from Flickr or another free source. To avoid any confusion and build your own credibility, it is imperative to cite images correctly. Here’s a quick guide for your reference.
Using Creative Commons Images
You can find useful images from Flickr or Wikimedia Commons. You can find Creative Commons images on Flickr using the advanced settings and selecting “
For an example search, we can use ‘kittens.’ Here’s a Creative Commons-licensed photo of a kitten in a shoe:
When right-clicking on the photo, you can see that some rights are reserved. This will lead you to the Creative Commons license. Because we checked “find content to modify, adapt, or build upon,” the license states that we are able to adapt the image and share it. However, an attribution is required to give proper credit. Here’s how you can cite the image on your blog:
“Kitten in a Shoe” by Eran Finkle is licensed by CC BY 2.0
If you modify the image, be sure to indicate that in the credit:
“Kitten in a Shoe” by Eran Finkle is licensed by CC BY 2.0 / [Insert modification: desaturation, resize, etc.]
In any case, remember that you should always try to link back to the author and source of the original image, use a title if given, and link the license. This will keep you in the clear!
Need more images for your content? Check out our list of resources here.
