Add Free Photos To Your Lenses

In my opinion, the very first place you should look for photos to use with your Lenses is the photo archive at morgueFile.com. Don't let the name scare you off! It has nothing to do with dead bodies! "Morgue file" is a term used by newspapers and such to refer to a place to store material they aren't going to use right away but might have a use for later. The morgueFile.com archive builds on that idea, by collecting a vast array of photos (from the mundane to the highly unusual) for reference purposes.

The two key reasons to go there first for Lens photos are that all of the photos can be downloaded and used for free, and the license for the photos is extremely generous. You can modify the photos, you can use them for commercial purposes, you don't have to give credit to the photographer (although it's nice!), and you don't have to notify the photographer that you're using their work (although that's nice too -- and gives you one more person to read the Lens where you use the photo).

Here's what I do: When I'm starting a new Lens, I do all the writing first. Once I have a good idea of what my content looks like in text, I think about the photos that would help illustrate it. Then, it's off to the morgueFile.com photo archive to see what I can find.

Once I have a photo I want to use, I usually just copy the low-res preview version to my computer. It will still be larger than it needs to be for a Lens, so I use my image editing software to scale it down to a usable size. (You are prohibited from posting the photo at full size without changes, but you wouldn't be doing that anyway to illustrate a Lens, so that's not going to make a difference.)

If there are other changes to make, I edit the photo, then save the sized-down and modified photo. Then, I just upload it to the Lens!

Photo credit: taliesin (Mary R. Vogt) / morgueFile.com

Now, because I'm a photographer (with hundreds of photos in the morgueFile archive -- see my most popular ones in this Lens), I take two steps that are optional but that photographers appreciate. First, I make sure that the photographer receives credit in the Lens, including a link to their profile on morgueFile.com. I find it's best to do this in the module where the photo is used, for clarity.

Finally, I send the photographer a note to let them know how I used the photo. Since this can be done as a comment on the morgueFile.com site, and because those comments are visible to the public, I can link that comment back to my Lens -- it's a win-win situation!

(For this Lens I will have to remember to go back and do the comment-on-photo thing, because the morgueFile.com site is moving to new servers and comments posted today could be lost in the move...)

(Oh, and by the way, that's me with the camera -- see the morgueFile shirt?! -- in a photo I took myself, so I skipped the credit and link for this one!)

In addition to the extensive resources and generous permissions of the morgueFile archive, you can also use millions of photos that are posted to Flickr and licensed under a Creative Commons license. To avoid license problems, you are strongly encouraged to only use photos with the "Attribution" license, as it provides the most flexibility. You must always give credit to the photographer, but if you stick to "Creative Commons - Attribution" licensed images, you can make changes to the photos and use them for commercial purposes (such as making money on Squidoo!) without violating the license.

Also, remember that Flickr requires that "pages on other web sites that display content hosted on flickr.com must provide a link from each photo or video back to its page on Flickr." So be sure to provide a link back, as I've done below.

Photo credit: Hamed Saber (see original on Flickr)

You can find more freely-usable photos on stock.xchng, but you need to be careful because not all photos there come with the same pre-licensed rights. Sometimes you have to give credit to the photographer, and sometimes you have to notify the photographer when you use an image. As long as you pay attention to, and abide by, the restrictions posted on each image, stock.xchng can be a very useful source for photos and illustrations.

Don't forget that copyright is only one part of using images in your Squidoo Lenses. Beyond the owner of the photograph and the permission they've given you to use the photograph, you must also consider the rights of people in the photo, or owners of property in the photos. This includes rights of privacy, trademark issues, and other things. Yes, it can be a bit of a legal minefield, no matter where you get the photos (including if you take the photos yourself).

If a person in the photo is recognizable -- which, for example, could just mean they have a tattoo visible even if their face is not shown -- then you should have a model (or subject) release from that person before you use their photo in your Lenses.

If there are trademarks in the photo, or copyright-protected works shown in a photo (which can include works of art, architecture, etc.), then you would need permission from the owners of the visible property, or you would need to edit that content out of the photo (or not use the photo).

Although it's a hassle to figure out what is legal to use and what is not, it's certainly less hassle than being dragged in to court -- especially if you lose!

Photo credit: holder (Susie Holderfield) / morgueFile.com