It’s easy to find images online with Creative Commons licenses. You can use advanced search options on many media websites to find items with a Creative Commons license. You can also use the Creative Commons search to find images on sites like Flickr and Google with a specific Creative Commons license.

• Before You Start: You have a basic understanding of image copyrights and the Creative Commons licenses.
• Learning Level: 3 | Building Skills
• Article Last Updated: Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Creative Commons Licensed Media

Many types of media get the Creative Commons licensing including ebooks, articles, photographs, illustrations, music, and video clips. There are several places where you can find media online that have the appropriate Creative Commons license for your project. Each of these advanced search forms include options for Creative Commons licenses to help narrow your search.

• Google (web) – usage rights option
• Google (image) – usage rights option
• Yahoo! (image) – Creative Commons license option
• Flickr (image) – Creative Commons option
• Blip.tv (video) – License drop-down option
• Jamendo (music)
• SpinXpress (various)
• WikiMedia (various)

Finding Images For Your Blog

Most bloggers want to find free images to use in their blog posts. This is one way you can use images with the Creative Commons licenses in your online presence. If you want an image that you will use as-is (with no modifications), you are looking for the Creative Commons licenses:

• Attribution
• Attribution Share Alike
• Attribution No Derivatives

Each image creator defines how they want you to handle the attribution. You can’t decide how you want to attribute, you must follow the instructions given by the person who created the image and assigned the license.

Creative Commons Image Search

It’s easy to find content with the specific Creative Commons license you need for your project using the Creative Commons search.

1. Display the Creative Commons search page.
2. Type selected keywords that describe the image you want to find in the search query box.
3. Choose the appropriate license options (commercial and modify/adapt/build upon) checkboxes.
4. Click GO.
5. The images that match your requirements in Google Images search display. You can navigate through the pages of search results, and click to display a specific image details.
6. To change the search to another online source, click the appropriate tab. The search results from that source appear. You can navigate through the search results and click on an item to display specific media details.

Your turn: Do you use Creative Commons images in your blog? Share your experience. Are you a photographer who assigns Creative Commons licenses? We’d love any insights you can share here.

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