To what extent can we use pictures from photo hosting wesites, like Flickr?

[newblogger]

A picture can provide enough spark to change the dynamics of a whole paragraph, and it can be a catalyst in a blog that makes people want to read more. Most people aren't photographers and if they are, they aren't able to access many sources for a picture related to their article. There are many photo hosting websites on the internet, like Flickr, with a bounty of pictures that could be used for almost any occasion. But, to what extent can we use the pictures? Do we have to give them credit? Link back to their Flickr page? Or do the pictures become free to all since they are published on the internet?

[felgall]

They, like 99.9999% of everything on the internet, are covered by copyright. You would need to check the terms of use on their site and possibly on individual photos to see what use the copyright holder permits.

[Mittineague]

Just because something is on the web does not mean you can use it as you wish. This applies to text, images, or otherwise.
The correct thing to do is to read the "terms of use", for example, they may be like
"may use content for non-commercial use" ... "The user agrees to remove and not use content upon request" etc.
And if in doubt, contact the owner and ask permission.

[purplefdu]

If you use the advance search on Flickr you can actually sort the images to find the ones that are usable without asking permission. You can however always ask people, but don't count on getting permission. many photographers on Flickr have already sold the rights to images, or don't allow them to be used by others.

[Hartmann]

http://flickr.com/guidelines.gne

The copyright information is somewhat contained there.

Also, the paragraph about linking back to the Flickr page where the photo originated seems to fit this topic. With the new stats package on Flickr, it would be nice for people to see where their views are coming from.

[2pencil]

Use companies that offer royalty-free photos for your site. You can usually get great photos with professional quality at $1 per use...and those sites will ask you to save a copy on your hard drive so you can use them again later. The only problem is that you need to - once again - read any photo site's copyright regulations. If you plan to sell something with that photo on it, expect to spend more than $1.

[purplefdu]

Try www.sxc.hu its a free stock site. Not everything you might want, but a pretty good selection.

[alanj878]

why are talking about stock prices now I have blog about investing which you see on my signature but back to conversation why is everything copyrighted

[Shyflower]

why are talking about stock prices now I have blog about investing which you see on my signature but back to conversation why is everything copyrighted

Nobody here is talking about stock prices or investing. The conversation is about images and stock photography.

[theawristocrat]

you can always credit them and just add nofollow.

[Shyflower]

you can always credit them and just add nofollow.

Giving credit and adding no follow doesn't keep you from violating somebody's copyright.

[Aken]

Most users on Flickr are happy to share the photos they've taken in one way or another. I would personally do the following things:

- Do not alter the photo in any way, except to maybe crop/resize it to fit in the desired space.
- Link back to the photo's Flickr page wherever the photo is used.
- Send a quick message or comment to the photographer letting them know you've used their photo, and let them know if they do not want it being used in that manner, you will take it down.

Naturally you should not use any photos for commercial purposes (including a blog on a commercial website) without prior permission. However there is a specific section on Flickr that allows for someone to use a photo with no prior engagements as long as there is a link back to the original place.

[cedricvc]

this a very hard issue for me since as bloggers we use images to drive traffic in our blogs and sometimes we don't know at what extent do we need to use images from an opensource site

[ryanhellyer]

I've used a lot of FlickR photos on my Venus Flytrap website (see signature). Most of them were available under a license which allowed me to use them, but I always ask permission anyway as courtesy and offer a free link in return.

EVERY person I have asked permission has granted it and many thanked me for asking them first.

You can message users on FlickR directly. I usually get a reply from people within a day.

If I want to post a photo quickly, I'll sometimes post it on my site then message them asking them if this was okay and if not I'll remove it ASAP (not on photos which have licenses which expressly forbid this though).

[purplefdu]

I would personally be peeved if someone put up my image and then asked me. Its like borrowing someone's car then calling them while you're driving it and asking if its ok to borrow the car. Would you like to be asked after your rights are violated?

[LauraDC]

I wouldn't feel bad at all. At least I was asked. Most people will take your work and will never tell you.

[photodesign]

You can use the thousands of images at Freerange Stock for free for commerical use: Free Stock Photos - freerangestock.com

[ryanhellyer]

I would personally be peeved if someone put up my image and then asked me. Its like borrowing someone's car then calling them while you're driving it and asking if its ok to borrow the car. Would you like to be asked after your rights are violated?

I'm not sure if this was pointed at me, but if it is, that's a really bad analogy ... a better analogy would be someone putting a sign on their car saying "feel free to use at your leisure" and me using it, then letting them know afterwards that I had and that I plan to use it quite a lot and was just checking if that was okay with them. Remember I was only referring to images which were licensed for me to use anyway.

[Shyflower]

I'm not sure if this was pointed at me, but if it is, that's a really bad analogy ... a better analogy would be someone putting a sign on their car saying "feel free to use at your leisure" and me using it, then letting them know afterwards that I had and that I plan to use it quite a lot and was just checking if that was okay with them. Remember I was only referring to images which were licensed for me to use anyway.

Sorry Ryan, but I have to disagree. I just read the FlickR FAQs and they say that first of all you need to link back to FlickR when you use one of their photos on a web site and second of all, before you use someone else's photo, you should contact them, tell them how you want to use the photo and ask their permission.

So it isn't like saying "feel free to use at your leisure".

[LauraDC]

What if you take a picture and then modify it significantly. I usually do that. I never find pictures that will suite my need.

The problem with most of these photosharing sites is that I'd rather pay $50 for the picture then read their legal staff. For once, it's almost always hard to find. Secondly, there are so many clauses that only a lawyer can disect it all.

[asp_funda]

There are a lot of photos on Flickr which are under Creative Commons license & so you can use them where-ever you want provided that your usage comply with the terms of the license. Like some images have the CC license which allows you to freely use the image for commercial purposes if you give attribution while some have the restriction on usage & they can be used only for non-commercial purposes. Flickr allows you to search for CC licensed images, so use that search & use only those photos which you can.

Also, if you come across some photo which isn't CC licensed, you can ask the photographer for permission to use it; they might let you use the photo.