Finding Open Source Images
When selecting images, it is important to pay attention to the rules and restrictions of each image. Some photos may require you to give credit to the creator, or may not permit re-use. Contact the Copyright Officer if you have any questions. We can confidently use open-source images in our educational materials by respecting the rules and giving proper credit.
Open Image Sites
- Unsplash: Offers a vast collection of high-quality, royalty-free images.
- Pixabay: Provides free images, illustrations, vector graphics, and videos.
- Pexels: Offers a wide range of free stock photos and videos.
- Freepik: Provides free and premium graphics, including images, vectors, and PSD files.
- Wikimedia Commons: A database of freely usable media files, including images.
- Flickr: Search for images using the “Creative Commons” licence to ensure you find content that can be reused and modified under an open-source licence.
- Creative Commons
Fanshawe College Marketing Hub: Fanshawe College marketing materials, images and graphics (login required).
Limitations of Using Existing Graphics versus Creating New Ones
Using existing graphics can be convenient, but we must abide by copyright.
- Search for images on platforms that allow us to reuse them under specific licenses. We need to understand and follow the license terms and give credit to the source.
- Seek permission from the copyright holder to use copyrighted images. Contact the Copyright Officer for support.
If we can’t use existing graphics, we can create our own. When re-creating a copyrighted image, we need to remember that while the main idea may not be copyrighted, the specific way it looks usually is. So, we must significantly change the design, layout, and overall appearance. By adding our creative elements and making the image look completely different, we can avoid infringing on the original copyright and create a new graphic that follows fair use and copyright laws. Contact the Copyright Officer for further clarification and guidance.
Fanshawe College Copyright Services: Supports Fanshawe faculty and staff with copyright, clearance, permissions and licensing, and copyright information relating to coursepacks, FanshaweOnline, and the classroom.
