Creative Commons offers a one stop search for locating digital media according to their respective permission license. Start your search here to be sure you are getting open source photos, videos, and music.
Can I Use It? Yes You Can!
In your courses, you are free to use . . .
Your own stuff: If you have photos that you've taken, your own song that you've recorded, a video that you've made, you can use these, of course. If you have photos of people (friends, family, strangers), you may need their permission to use the image.
Material in the public domain: Works in the public domain are not subject to copyright laws and may be freely used. Most government documents and other materials are in the public domain, as are items for which the copyright has expired. For helping determining if an item is in the public domain, visit Cornell's Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States.
Material you have permission to use: The creator/copyright holder has given permission through a license, such as Creative Commons, or you have written to and received permission from the creator/copyright holder to use the material. You may also use material licensed by the Library (e.g., providing links to articles and other documents in the Library databases).
Material whose use you believe falls under fair use: If after doing a fair use analysis, you believe your use of the material falls under fair use, you may choose to use the material. For more on copyright and fair use, including guiding questions for a fair use analysis, visit the Library's Copyright & Fair Use webpages.
After entering search terms and getting a list of results, click on "Search tools" in the menu above the results. Then click on "Usage rights" and choose "Labeled for reuse" from the drop-down menu.
At the bottom of the search options, put a check in the box next to "Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content." When a photographer chooses a Creative Commons license for their work, they are giving permission in advance for others to use their work. Along with granting to permission to use the material, the Creative Commons license may have some restrictions, such as the material may not be used commercially or may not be modified in any way. For more information on Creative Commons licenses, visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
Enter keywords in the "Search the Collection" box. On the results page, put a checkmark in the box for "Show only results with unrestricted images" to see images that are freely available to use (under public domain). For more information on using this site, see the LACMA blog Unframed.
Includes photos and more that are no-cost, under public domain, Creative Commons and other licenses. Search box is in upper right. On results page scroll down for media (photos, etc.).