Images such as photographs and drawings are typically protected by copyright. If you want to use an image you did not create, you will need to seek the permission of the image creator or copyright holder and agree to their terms of use.
A common agreement is a 'royalty-free' image licence. This does not necessarily mean there is no cost for the licence to use the image, but means that the image can be used without paying additional royalties (basically a payment each time the image is reused) to the copyright holder.
Other images are in the 'public domain' and not protected by copyright, and are therefore free to use (though crediting the image creator where possible is encouraged). Others might be subject to Creative Commons licences and require attribution, or be subject to other restrictions. Make sure you check carefully to ensure you don't infringe copyright.
See also
Copyright and Creative Commons Libguides
Pixabay
Free and royalty-free images.
Picjumbo
High-resolution images free for personal and commercial use.
Unsplash
Images free for personal and commercial use.
Stockvault
Images subject to a variety of licences—check carefully.
Negative space
CC0 images, not subject to copyright.
Kaboompics
Images not subject to copyright.
Stocksnap
CC0 images not subject to copyright.
Life of pix
High-resolution photography in the public domain.
Pexels
Images not subject to copyright.
Jay Mantri
CC0 landscape and abstract images not subject to copyright.
ISORepublic
High-resolution CC0 images.
Free Refe
Free and royalty-free images.
1 Million Free Pictures
Public domain images.
ABSFreePic.com
CC0 images not subject to copyright.
Albumarium
Images licensed under CC BY 2.0; attribution required.
AllTheFreeStock.com
CC0 images
Animal Photos
Images licensed under CC BY 2.0; attribution required.
AVOPIX
CC0 images
CC Search is a repository of over nine million photos.
Cupcake
CC0 images.
Dreamstime
CC0 photographs, clipart, and vector images.
Europeana Collection
Public domain images, artworks, etc.
Everypixel
CC0 images.
Focus Fitness
CC0 images related to fitness.
Foodiesfeed
CC0 images related to food.
Free Images
A photo collection free for use. This site features largely generic material, with many different categories for easy searching.
Free Nature Stock
High-resolution nature photography, licensed under CC0.
Freerange Stock
Images subject to a variety of licences—check carefully.
Freepik
Free stock photos, icons, vectors and Photoshop documents.
PhotoStockEditor
High-resolution images subject to a variety of licences—check carefully.
PicMelon
High-quality images, all under CC0 licence.
Picography
High-quality images, all under CC0 licence.
Pond5
High-resolution royalty-free images
Public Domain Pictures
Over 200,000 CC0-licensed stock photos.
Rawpixel
Both free and royalty-free images.
Realistic Shots
A collection of high-quality CC0-licensed images.
Reshot
Free images from photographers and creatives.
Skitterphoto
High-resolution CC0 images.
Skuawk
High-resolution CC0 photos.
Startup Stock Photos
CC0-licensed images of people at work.
Stock Up
Over 30,000 CC0-licensed images.
StreetWill.co
Vintage photos of landscapes and buildings, all CC0-licensed.
Travel Coffee Book
High-resolution travel photos under CC0 licence.
Visual Hunt
300,000 images subject to CC licences; 100,000 more in the public domain.
Wikimedia Commons
Images are subject to a variety of licences—check carefully.
Magdeleine
Some images under CC0 licence, while others require attribution.
Moveast
Travel-related photography under CC0 licence.
MyStockPhotos compiles over 500 pictures of people, buildings, animals, flowers, and landscapes.
nappy
Hi-resolution images of underrepresented populations, under CC0 licence.
National Gallery of Art
Images of the gallery's artworks, many free to use.
New Old Stock
Vintage photographs free from copyright restrictions.
New York Public Library Digital Gallery
More than 700,000 digitized art and cultural items, many in the public domain.
Openphoto.net
Largely free images subject to a variety of CC licenses.
Good Free Photos
Public domain photo repository
Little Visuals
High-resolution landscape photographs, all CC0 licensed.
Pikwizard
High-resolution free and pay images and videos subject to a variety of licences—check carefully.
Referencing a copy-safe image for a written assignment
When using images in written assignments, you need to provide a figure number and title above the image, as well as an in-text citation for the image caption and a full reference in your reference list.
Example - body of assignment
Figure 5
Students Studying in a Group
(Wayhomestudio, n.d.)
Examples - reference list entry
Image creator with a full name
Surname, S. (Year, Month day). Title of image in italic sentence case [Format]. Name of Website. URL
Suarez, K. (2020). Black and white computer keyboard [Photograph].
Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/4IxPVkFGJGI
Image creator with a user name or a corporate author
Wayhomestudio. (n.d.). Coffee photo [Photograph].
Freepik.https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/teamwork-cooperation-creativity_9661321.htm#page=3&query=study&position=23
