How to search for images you can (legally) use for free

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

There are a lot of free images you can use online without having to worry about copyright issues if you want to use them for a project.

We will show you where you can find free images on the internet. The Creative Commons license allows you to use an image for free when you search for free images. Depending on the type of CC license an image has, there may be limits on how you can modify it.

It is always a good idea to read up on the license it has before using it. There are more details on the differences between CC licenses here.

There are many ways to find free images.

Find free-to-use images on Google

There's a misconception that you can't legally reuse pictures you find on the internet. When you conduct a general search, you may be able to narrow down your results based on your image usage rights. This is how to do that.

• Head to Google Images, and type in the image you’re looking for.
• Select Tools > Usage Rights, and then choose Creative Commons licenses.
• Google will then display images that have been licensed under Creative Commons.

Clicking through to the image's source will show you the type of CC license it uses.

Use a stock photo site

One of the easiest ways to get a free image is to search for it on a stock image site. Credit to the artist is optional, but the images on these sites are free and you don't have to pay.

You can modify the images for commercial and non- commercial purposes, but you can't sell them without significant modification. On each site's licensing page, you can read more about what you can and can't do with the images.

We will show you how to find the images. The steps are the same no matter where you go.

• Open Unsplash, and search for an image.
• When you find an image you like, hit the dropdown arrow to the right of the Download freebutton in the top-right corner of the window to choose the resolution you wish to download the image in.
• While the process isn’t exactly the same for all the stock image sites out there, the steps are still quite similar.

Search for free images on Wikimedia Commons

One of the best places to find free images is Wikimedia Commons. All of the images are free to use, but there are different licenses for different uses.

• To get started, open Wikimedia Commons and then enter a search in the top-right corner of the screen.
• From here, hit the License dropdown to filter images by restrictions that come with their license. You can choose Use with attribution and same license, Use with attribution, No restrictions, or Other.
• When you select an image, you can see which CC license it uses, as well as learn more information about any potential restrictions by clicking on the included link.

If you can't find the image you're looking for, it's a good idea to use a photo sharing site. If you want to narrow down your search, make sure to use the license you need in the Any license box.

Find free images through the Library of Congress

You can use the photos from the library of congress. On its website, it states that it houses content that is in the public domain, has no known copyright, or has been cleared by the copyright owner for public use.

If you want historical images of landmarks, notable people, artwork, and more, this is a good place to start. It is possible to use it.

1. Open the Library of Congress’ free image database.
2. When you arrive on the homepage, you’ll see free image collections bundled by category, such as “Birds,” “Natural Disaster,” and “Independence Day.”
3. To search for a specific image, use the search bar at the top of the screen. With the dropdown menu to the left of the bar, you can filter the content you’re searching for by category, such as “Maps,” “Newspapers,” “3D Objects,” and “Photos, Prints, Drawings.” You can also choose “Everything” to search through its entire database.
4. After selecting an image you like, choose the image resolution you prefer from the Download dropdown menu beneath the image, and choose Go.
5. If you scroll further down the page, you can hit the Plus icons beside Rights & Access to learn more about the limitations of using the image.

Other great resources for free images

You can use open-access images from museums, libraries, educational institutions, and more.

• The Smithsonian: Smithsonian open access offers millions of copyright-free images of wildlife, architecture, art, landscapes, and much more. As noted on its FAQ page, all of the images here are in the public domain.
• National Gallery of Art: If you’re specifically looking for free artwork that you can reuse, check out the NGA’s collection. Each image is in the public domain, letting you copy, modify, and distribute any images. You can read more about the NGA’s open access policy here.
• Art Institute of Chicago: You can search for more art in the public domain through the Art Institute of Chicago. When you browse its collection, be sure to tick off the Public Domain filter beneath the Show Only dropdown on the left side of the screen before starting your search.
• New York Public Library: Like the Library of Congress’ collection, the NYPL also offers a ton of historical images that you can browse through and download. When you search for an image, make sure you check off the Search only public domain materials option that appears when you click the search bar.
• Creative Commons’ Openverse: Creative Commons, the same nonprofit that devised the CC license, has its own open-source search engine that you can use to find free images. All the images here are either in the public domain or have a CC license. Make sure to check the specific image’s license before reusing it.