How to Use Creative Commons Images From Flickr on WordPress Blog

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Most bloggers agree that having an appropriate image enhances a blog post. That is, excellent images increase reader’s enjoyment. Finding images is a bit of an art. If you have the skill, you may be able to draw from a collection of your own photographs. Or you can purchase an image from a stock photograph provider. And sometimes, you can find just what you need freely available on Flickr.com.

Let’s dig in a little deeper…

Personally, I’m terrible at taking pictures. The lighting is always wrong. Pictures come out muddy, or blurry. I thought having a digital camera made these problems go away. That’s what I get for thinking.

Obtaining a licensed version of the image you want to use is the best tactic. My current preference for finding images for blog posts is iStockphoto. They usually have what I need, in the size I need it, at the right price. And I never have to worry about copyright issues. When iStockphoto and other sites just don’t deliver, there’s other ways to proceed. Here’s what’s cool:

There’s more than one kind of copyright!

The next safest option is using an image with an appropriate Creative Commons license. Creative Commons licenses come in several different flavors, and you have to make sure you use the correct license for your purpose. A good place to find such images is on Flickr.com.

The key with using images on Flickr is adhering to the copyright imposed by the photographer. This is a big deal. Some people take copyright very seriously, especially professional photographers. Using their images without compensation is more or less taking food from their mouth. Occasionally, a photographer will come after infringers. Trust me, you do not want Lane after you. If you like it, buy it.

Use Flickr search, but filter on the appropriate Creative Commons license applicable for your blog. I limit myself to Attribution and Public Domain because Website In A Weekend is a commercial venture. Here’s what that looks like on the “Advanced Search” page at Flickr.com:

Creative Commons searching at Flickr.com

Make sure the checkboxes outlined in red squares are checked before searching for images.

Using Creative Commons license

If you’re operating a totally not-for-profit blog or website, you can use several of the Creative Commons licenses, including the “non-commercial” license.

I don’t recommend that. I recommend using images which allow commercial re-use, possibly with attribution. Here’s why:

It’s funny how you can start with no intention of making money at something you love, then all of sudden, people are waving money at you. Now you have worry about which images you can move forward, and which will have to be replaced with appropriately licensed images.

The licenses I use are either “public domain” or “attribution.”

Complying with Creative Commons Attribution license

DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

This is how I’m complying with the Creative Commons attribution license for images I use on WordPress blog posts. When I load the image into the Media Library, I replace the link in the URL box – to the image. The default link is the file in your uploaded image directory on your server (or wherever if you are content distribution network). Here’s a screenshot showing the details:

Attribution link back to Flickr

Easy peasy.

Help me help you

Long time readers know I’m much better at words than I am at images. Help get me up to speed here, so I can spend more time helping you:

1. Are there any affiliate sales websites for photographs or images? I would love to find a site with images I could both purchase and promote. (Smells like opportunity.)
2. Are there any other sources for Creative Commons licensed image besides Flickr?
3. Are there better sites than iStockphoto?

What am I missing?

[Update November 13 2009] As usual, once an article gets “put to bed” all sorts of relevant search results magically apepar. For example, check out Karen Blakeman’s article “Free-to-use images might not be” discussing how to filter for appropriate images on Google.