Using Images in your Course
Created by Aidan Hoyal
Article Description:
When choosing images to illustrate the concepts presented in your course, please remember that course images must be your own (made by you) or be used with permission from the copyright holder. The copyright holder might be the person or organization that created the image, or it could be a publisher, as in the case of figures in a scholarly journal article, for example. Look for the "licensing information" or "terms of use" for the image, or a link to "how to use this image." Open Access journals are a great resource as their content is typically licensed for re-use by the author's choice of Creative Commons user licenses. This license will detail the exact conditions that must be met to use the image. See more about Creative Commons licensing below!Tips, Tricks, and Resources for Using Images
Responsible Use of Images
What if I don't know the image source?
If you don't know the source of an image, don't use it. If you want to find the source of an image, try conducting an image search on Google. Upload the image file to Google along with keywords and then search. This could also lead to an alternative image that might work better.
Where can I find images to use?
When searching the web, use targeted keywords and also words like "free" or "royalty free" or "creative commons." You can also use Google's advanced search feature.
In the Google search bar:
- Conduct a search using your search terms (keywords)
- Click "Images" to limit the results to images
- Near the search bar, click "Tools"
- Select the "Usage Rights" dropdown to limit your search results to images licensed for reuse
TIPS
- Be sure to adhere to the terms of use.
- If using an image requires attribution, put the attribution right next to the image in your course.
- Find out what image repository resources are available at your organization. If your organization has a library or access to a library, that would be a great place to start. You could also find out if the organization has a subscription to an image repository like Getty Images, for example. This is a great source for all kinds of illustrations and photos that work well for any context.
- Remember - only use images if you know their source.
GOVERNMENT SOURCES
Government funded/created images are often licensed as "Public Domain." Even though images in the public domain can be used without attribution, it's still recommended to provide attribution if possible. For example, "Image credit: National Institutes of Health" works great! Many, but not all images available from a government agency are in the public domain, so always review the terms of use.
Below are links to some government image collections you might find helpful. This is not a comprehensive list, but a great place to start.
CDC
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Image Library (PHIL)
https://phil.cdc.gov/default.aspx
HHS
U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services Flickr Account
https://www.flickr.com/people/hhsgov/
NIH
NIH Image Gallery on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nihgov/
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) Image Library
https://www.nibib.nih.gov/news-events/multimedia/image-gallery
National Cancer Institute: Visuals Online
https://visualsonline.cancer.gov/
NEI Photograph and Image Catalog (National Eye Institute)
https://medialibrary.nei.nih.gov/
NHGRI Image Gallery (National Human Genome Research Institute)
https://www.genome.gov/image-gallery
NIA Alzheimer's Disease: Unraveling the Mystery (National Institute on Aging)
https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/aging-alzheimers-resources-multimedia
NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease) Flickr Account
https://www.flickr.com/photos/niaid/
NIDCR Photo Gallery (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) Flickr Account
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nidcr/albums
NIDDK Image Library (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/news/media-library
NIGMS Image Gallery (National Institute of General Medical Sciences)
https://images.nigms.nih.gov/
NLM Digital Collections (National Library of Medicine) - Images from the History of Medicine
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/ihm/index.html
Open-i, Open Access Biomedical Images Search Engine (National Library of Medicine)
https://openi.nlm.nih.gov/
ONLINE REPOSITORIES WITH ROYALTY FREE LICENSING OPTIONS
Additionally, there are many great online image repositories that you can use to search for royalty free images. These sometimes require you to create an account, and may have limits on how many images can be downloaded for free. When you find the image you want to use, be sure to review the license information for terms of use.
Freepik
https://www.freepik.com/
Pexels
https://www.pexels.com/
Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/
Nappy
https://nappy.co/
Unsplash
https://unsplash.com/
Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Flickr Commons
https://www.flickr.com/commons
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Below are a few links that might help.
What is Creative Commons?
https://creativecommons.org/
Quick Guide to CC licenses
https://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
Copyright Clearance Center
https://www.copyright.com/
Page Last Updated: 14 September 2023