Copyright Guide

A Fair Use Checklist compiled by Columbia University Libraries.

Must create an account. Includes free and for-pay images. Use filter to limit to free images.

Use the advanced search function to limit results to reusable images with Creative Commons licenses.

Launched in February 2001. Search results are a mix of free and for-pay stock images. Lacks filter to limit results to free images.

A not‑for‑profit initiative created to provide access to historical and cultural images of the African/Black Diaspora in the US and UK, gathered from content owned by Getty Images.
"View Only" access immediately available. Must "Request Access" for use in specific non‑commercial/educational projects.

Be sure to filter by "usage rights: Creative Commons Licenses" to find images that are free to use, share, or modify.

"Oops! Can't find what you need?" Very limited options and quick to refer you to for-pay stock photos.

"A free photo archive 'for creatives, by creatives. It is a community-based free photo site, and all photos found in the Morguefile archive are free for you to download and re-use in your work, be it commercial or not.

An extensive library of free stock photos, images, and audio, available for free use. All Openverse content is under a Creative Commons license or is in the public domain.

Legal Simplicity -
All photos and videos on Pexels can be downloaded and used for free.

Pixabay provides images that are licensed under CC0 - Public Domain so they are free to be copied, modified, and used in any situation. Includes illustrations.

All photos can be downloaded and used for free
Commercial and non-commercial purposes
No permission needed (though attribution is appreciated!)

Find government photos and images by topic. Limited usefulness. No way to sort or even see your search result total.

Wikimedia Commons is a media file repository making available public domain and freely-licensed educational media content to everyone. A collection of freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute.

"Approximately 4,600 high-resolution, public domain images that represent the most frequently requested works from the Getty Museum's permanent collection."

The collections of the Prints & Photographs Division include photographs, fine and popular prints and drawings, posters, and architectural and engineering drawings. While international in scope, the collections are particularly rich in materials produced in, or documenting the history of, the United States and the lives, interests and achievements of the American people. Whenever possible, the Library provides information about copyright owners and other restrictions. The Library provides such information as a service to aid patrons in determining the appropriate use of an item, but that determination ultimately rests with the patron.

A repository of digital images of the collections of the National Gallery of Art. On this website you can search, browse, share, and download images. More than 32,000 open access digital images up to 3000 pixels each are available free of charge for download and use.

"Provides free and open access to over 800,000 images digitized from the The New York Public Library's vast collections."

Searching the collection will yield items that are in the public domain as well as items that are under copyright. Artworks in the public domain are the only objects that have a "Download Image" link underneath the image. Currently, there is no way to limit searches specifically to items in the public domain (2/2014).

Thousands of images of works in the Gallery’s collection believed to be in the public domain are available for free download through the Gallery’s website. Under Yale University’s Open Access Policy, anyone may use the Gallery’s open-access material without further application, authorization, or fees due to the Gallery or to Yale.

Millions of images in the Public Domain from books digitized in the Internet Archive.

Digital collections that represent South Carolina's historical and cultural resources.

Millions of materials from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions across the country.

Icons8 has free-to-use icons, editing tools, and clipart in certain designs and sizes available for use. Their mission is to " allow designers to express their ideas, providing the right design elements at the right time."

Free to use and recolor icons from a diverse set of creators. Make sure to reference the attribution statements for each icon and cite it when necessary.