Wednesday 13 February 2008

I'm demonstrating using Flickr for photos in blogs


Max
Originally uploaded by Pixel Theif 
Well, I was earlier today, which is why I put up this lovely picture of a dog - to show a group of bloggers how easy it is to find a beautiful and relevant - and legally usable - picture on Flickr that will add visual impact to one's blog.

It's all about using Creative Commons licences of course. These seem to be elegant and simple, but in some ways they are a bit of a nightmare. The more you get into the detail of Creative Commons, the more pitfalls you see - or imagine.

I've been doing a project to look at how people in our organisation can use CC licensed photographs without fear of legal recriminations and with a clear conscience.

One of our directors came up with a fantastic suggestion on hearing me present the project - in return for pictures that we use from CC, we should submit photography from our archives under CC licence so that other people may use them freely.

I thought it was a very wise idea and a good solution to the problem that commercial use of (appropriately licensed) CC photographs may be legally OK, but somehow against the spirit of Creative Commons.

2 comments:

JD (The Engine Room) said...

I'd also recommend always contacting someone to let them know when, where and how you are using their images. As well as being polite, it's a good way to increase interest in your site or blog as there is a fair chance that person will not only visit but tell their friends etc.

My current favourite image library is www.morguefile.com. Images can be used free in any commercial project without needing permission or credit from the photographer – not even CC licences to worry about.

Barbara said...

You can't go wrong with a picture of a cute dog.