Public Domain pictures are great for blogs - Find more at pdphoto.org
DISCLAIMER: This post applies to citizens of the USA. If you live in another country, other restrictions may apply to you. But feel free to read on and get ideas.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this post is for entertainment purposes only. And you should not base any legal decision on the information in this post. If you learn something that benefits you, that’s great. But do your own research and just use this as a starting point in order to further your endeavors.
If you run a blog, then you may come into the situation of needing photos. Public Domain photos and jpg files are great in case you can’t take a picture yourself that will fulfill your needs. Now, you may be thinking, “Why not just grab a photo from someone else’s site and then post it?” The reason why that isn’t a good idea, is because most images you see on websites on the internet are either copyrighted or else copywritten “by default.” So you can’t use copyrighted photos. And if you think that you will get away with it, think again. There are simple, free services that can tell if you’re using a copyrighted photo, such as, “TinEye.com.” So you really need to be careful with this stuff.
But I’ve found two great resources for Public Domain photos and jpgs. The first is the, Wikimedia Image Commons. It is easy to find public domain photos here. All you do, is search “Public Domain (then the name of the type of picture you are looking for).” For example, if I was looking for a Public Domain picture of a dog, then I would search in the search box: Public Domain dog.
It’s really that simple.
You may be wondering, “What’s up with these CC and GNU licenses? …can I use those?” I personally wouldn’t mess with those. I stick with pics in the public domain or else I take the photo myself.
There are a lot of pictures on the Wikimedia Image Commons that aren’t Public Domain. They are actually CC or GNU. So you need to make sure to put “Public Domain” in your search.
Another great resource for Public Domain photos in PDphoto.org. The creator of this website is Jon Sullivan and he truly has done a wonderful service to the online community by sharing his excellent photographic works.
Similarly to Wikimedia Image Commons, PDphoto.org does have a lot of CC and GNU images. So you need to make sure to double check each image and see if it is Public Domain or not. But if it is Public Domain, then you should be able to use it. Mr. Sullivan says he’d appreciate a donation or else attribution if you use his pictures.
If you look at the picture on the top of this post, it was from the “San Francisco” category at PDphoto.org
-Tyler