Image Sources
There are literally thousands of sites offering images. Here are some no-cost or low cost options to get you started.
8 Unique Places to Find Quality Free Photos
Liam McKay lists 8 sites that provide free photos that don't look like am average stock photo.
Free to Use and Reuse - Library of Congress
The Library of Congress has a wide ranging set of digital collections that are free to use and reuse. Their digital collections comprise thousands (millions?) of items including books, newspapers, manuscripts, prints and photos, maps, musical scores, films, sound recordings and more.
This link features sets of items from the Library's digital collection organized by theme. It covers everything from Genealogy and Cars to Bridges and Football.
National Gallery of Art
Check out a repository of digital images of the collections of the National Gallery of Art. More than 45,000 open access digital images spanning over 700 years of art are available free of charge for download and use. Any usage rights restrictions (usually there are none) are identified for each image.
Pixabay
Pixabay allows you to find and share images free of copyrights. All contents are released under the Pixabay License, which makes them safe to use without asking for permission or giving credit to the artist - even for commercial purposes.
You can copy, modify, distribute, and use these images for pretty much any school use without asking permission and without displaying attribution.
The images are high quality. Highly recommended by our webmaster.
The Graphics Fairy
The Graphics Fairy has over 4,500 free vintage stock images, illustrations, old pictures, antique graphics, and vintage printables. DIY and craft tutorials are offered as well. All images on the site are assumed to be royalty free images that are in the public domain.
NASA Image Galleries
NASA images cover everything from space and spacecraft, to stunning pictures of the Earth and it's climate and people.
Most of the images on the NASA sites are public domain (see the Usage and Copyright link) and can be freely used in student projects.
FreeImages
There are a number of hybrid sites like FreeImages.com that provide both free and for-purchase photos. With over 300,000 free photos, sites like this can provide interesting images for your student's projects.
Keep A Record!
It is highly recommended that you and your students keep a record of the source every image and media item used in a project.
If there is ever a question, you can show where the item was obtained and that a good faith effort was made to not violate copyright.
Google Images
Google image search can be used in a couple of ways.
If you are unsure if an image is in the public domain, drag and drop the image file onto the Google Image search page. The image will be analyzed and matches are displayed. Go thru the list for matches to stock photography web sites.
You can also use Google to find "free to use" images. Do an image search, then click on the gear icon options button (upper right), select Advanced Search, and scroll down to select the appropriate Usage Rights.
Shutterstock
Stock photos can be a step up from the varying quality of free photos. For around $10 per image (varies by company), you can get a non-exclusive license to use quality images in you and your student's projects.
Shutterstock is an example of this type of site. We've used a number of their images in this web site.
Related Topics ...
Other Areas To Check Out...
• Image Software
• 3D Printing And The Arts
• Around The World With Webcams
• Assessment of Hands-On Elementary Science Projects
• Mountains, Glaciers, and Canyons
• Photography Resources
