Using Creative Commons Images from Flickr

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How to use great images with the right credit

Creative Commons is a system that photographers can use to license photos for use by others. Flickr helps facilitate this sharing process by making it easy to find and use photos that Flickr users have licensed under Creative Commons. This is great news for Squidoo lensmasters, because it means you now have thousands of opportunities to add some bling to your lens and show off the awesome work of others.

This lens describes the six types of licenses Creative Commons supports, how to tell which type of license a Flickr photo carries, how to find great images to use, and how to properly credit the author.

Image used under Creative Commons from David_Reece.

All images you display

based on a keyword or inserted with a link must have a Creative Commons license.

Definitions 

Creative Commons uses certain words to describe their licenses. You may be familiar with the common definitions, but Creative Commons uses them to mean different things as they apply to copyright law. Here are the terms they use and what they mean for these purposes:
  • Copy, distribute, and transmit: for the purposes of using an image for a Squidoo lens, this means downloading the image to your computer, uploading it to a photo module, or publishing it on your lens using the direct link to the image.
  • Attribution: this means giving the Flickr user credit for owning the image, and doing so in such a way that doesn't suggest they endorse your lens, topic, or content.
  • Non-commercial: this means that you're not selling the image or using it to sell something. For example, you won't use it as the background of an advertisement.
  • No derivative: this means you may not tweak the image (alter it in Photoshop, for example), use it in a remix (such as a slide show of images), or build upon it in any way (such as placing text in front of it to create a new image on a brochure).

How do I tell what license a photo has?

This information is available on every Flickr photo page, near the bottom of the right side-bar. (Screenshots below.)

All Rights Reserved 

The All Rights Reserved copyright is actually a LACK of a Creative Commons copyright, meaning the user is choosing not to allow others to copy, use, distribute, or remix their work.

So if you see this on a Flickr photo page, this means the user is not currently allowing others to copy, distribute, or display their images. You may not edit it in any way. However, you can link to the public photo page if it's a really cool image and want people to check it out on their own.

But if you want to use one of these, you'll need to get direct permission.

Attribution No Derivatives 

This license allows you to copy, publish, and distribute the image, even commercially, as long as it is NOT altered in any way and you credit it entirely to the photographer.

Read the Commons Deed | View the Legal Code

Attribution Share Alike 

This Creative Commons license allows you to copy, distribute, and display the image. You may also remix, tweak, and build upon it as long as you license your new creation under the same Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license.

Read the Commons Deed | View the Legal Code

Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 

This is the most restrictive version of the Creative Commons licenses, but still allows you to copy, publish, and distribute the image. You cannot change it in any way, and must give the author credit.

Read the Commons Deed | View the Legal Code

Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 

This license allows you to copy, publish, and distribute the image for non-commercial purposes. You can also remix, tweak, and build upon the image and license the new version under the same Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share Alike license. You must credit the photographer to use this image.

Read the Commons Deed | View the Legal Code

Attribution Non-Commercial 

This license allows you to copy, publish, and distribute the image for non-commercial purposes. You can also remix, tweak, and build upon the image, use it non-commercially, and license the new version under a different Creative Commons license if you so choose. The new license must be non-commercial. You must credit the photographer to use this image.

Read the Commons Deed | View the Legal Code

Attribution 

This is the most accommodating of the Creative Commons licenses. Basically it states that you can copy, distribute, display, remix, tweak, and build upon this image, even commercially, as long as you credit the owner for the original content.

Read the Commons Deed | View the Legal Code

Creative Commons Licenses At a Glance 

I have a CC but can't use my own images

Sometimes it takes a while for changes to filter through the system. We work on Flickr's API, so we can only show what Flickr gives us to work with. You can also check here for more tips on using images on your lenses.

For ALL Creative Commons licenses...

...you must give credit to the author in such a way that doesn't imply they endorse your lens, topic, or content.

How can you give credit? 

With many materials that are copyrighted under Creative Commons, you should use multiple links in short credit to make sure the author is credited with a name, there is a link to the original material, and the specific Creative Commons license that applies.

However Flickr moderates some of that, so you can use a shorter version.

Unless a Flickr user has specifically stated how they want their images credited, you can use this version of a credit:

 

Photo used under Creative Commons from jimmiehomeschoolmom.

How can I find Creative Commons images?

Easy! Use the Flickr search at Creative Commons.

How can I use the Flickr Module? 

There are three ways you can use the Flickr module.

The first is to "Let Flickr Pick." This shows images from Flickr's database that match your keywords and are covered with a Creative Commons license, so All Rights Reserved images won't show in this search. And while each one is not individually credited with words below it, each links directly to the photo page for that image, so credit is given that way.

Here is an example of some Creative Commons licensed images that show up for "panda." Aw, aren't they cute?

Panda by Claus Rebler

Panda

Panda by Claus Rebler

Panda

Caged by bensonkua

Caged

Spiderman Panda, Beijing Zoo by Ivan Walsh

Spiderman Panda, Bei...

Red Panda by Chester Zoo

Red Panda

Red Panda by Chester Zoo

Red Panda

Academy - Halloween House Party by Academy Printwear

Academy - Halloween...

AP - Hanz by Academy Printwear

AP - Hanz

Pandabear by prestodingo

Pandabear

Riding home! - 1102200913725 by roland

Riding home! - 11022...

automatically generated by Flickr

You can show specific images in the Flickr module 

If you want to pick specific images to use in the Flickr module, you can do that too. Keep in mind that the images you choose must be licensed under Creative Commons OR must be your own. This option is great for putting together a custom collection of photos.

As of 11/10/08, all photos that you link to directly, even your own, must have a CC license. This is based on directives from Flickr. If you've changed your license and are unable to display images, you may need to wait a few days to a week for them to show. This is based on Flickr's API, and not something we can directly control. Thanks for your patience!

Below I've selected a few images of breakfast cereal. They're all Creative Commons licensed, or my own. Again, these link directly back to the photo page for each image, so you can see who they belong to and view the Creative Commons license.

Sugar Loops by √oхέƒx™

Explore Oct 4, 2008 #360 #209 in interestingness (on 2008-10-04)

Corn Flake Cereal with Blueberries by TheBusyBrain

Another experiment in Food Photography! You can find me on

Tasty Breakfast by shallowend

Taken with my Nikon D200 and Nikkor AF 105MM lens. Vignetting was done in Picni...

curated content from Flickr

Share a photo set with the Flickr module 

The third option is to pick a photo set that you've created on your Flickr account.

These are my Most Interesting photos:

curated content from Flickr

What if they ask me not to use it?

According to the Creative Commons agreement, if you properly use an image under the license, and the owner changes his or her mind, you can keep using it the way you were and the owner can't stop you. However the owner can enforce all future use under the new license.

Share the love! 

Isn't it great when everyone shares and shares alike?

praise wrote...

Good lens and easily understood. Thanks. 5*
Cheers,
Debra

ReplyPosted October 31, 2009

Aladdins-Cave wrote...

It must be one of those days.
It still as clear as mud to me. Good lens, but I don't think I had a coffee.
I will have to try Flicker myself.
I used another module for photo's which I thought was better.
Love to hear what others think of my BOOK lens. Its not going as well
as I had hoped.
Cheers from DOWNUNDER

ReplyPosted October 31, 2009

bygproductions wrote...

Thanks this was very helpful. Found it on flicker on my own last night, but wasn't sure about the different uses. Still a little confused, but I'm sure once I use it a few times along with this lens it will all be clear and make looking for pictures much quicker.

ReplyPosted October 20, 2009

Brookelorren wrote...

Thank you for this. I knew how to use CC with Wikipedia, but they don't always have all the images you're looking for. :-)

ReplyPosted October 19, 2009

oztoo wrote...

Thanks Kimberley, this is great. I've always been a bit confused about this topic.

ReplyPosted October 19, 2009

view all 58 comments

by SquidooKimberly

I'm Kimberly, your Community & Charity Organizer on Squidoo. Check out these lenses for more helpful tips on using your favorite internet service - Sq... (more)

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