Stock photos are so overrated. Why pay for pictures when there’s a whole world of high quality, high resolution photos available through Creative Commons? Sometimes when I’m writing a blog post or making a presentation for work, I want to use striking photos but either don’t have the money to pay for stock photos or don’t want to use photos off Google because I want to attribute credit to the original source of the photo. That’s why Creative Commons is so great. It allows you to obtain photos from a secure and reputable source while also giving you access to a slew of high quality, high resolution photos.
So what is Creative Commons exactly? Well, Creative Commons is “a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools.” People who contribute their works of art to Creative Commons are granted copyright permissions and have the flexibility to change how their work is protected in a simple fashion. Other organizations like Wikipedia and the Public Library of Science offer their materials under a Creative Commons license.
The two main sources I use for Creative Commons photos are:
2. Photo Pin
Here are some examples of stunning imagery I have used from Creative Commons to assist me in painting a picture of whatever I’m writing or trying to convey at work:
Lion’s Roar Marketing
United States Postal Service (USPS)
The great thing about Creative Common’s pieces is that they help spread the word of an artist’s work. Unfortunately living in the day and age where privacy is all too prevalent, protecting yourself with “All Rights Reserved” is crucial. Creative Commons adapts to that issue while adjusting to the likely possibility of privacy but at the same time granting protections to those artists who deserve credit for their work.
Have you used Creative Commons in any projects you’ve worked on? Please feel free to share your comments below and let your ROAR be heard!
