We all have the problem: the need for images to illustrate an article, report, or paper. It's never easy. I've held off writing things simply because I didn't want to face the work involved in getting the right images licensed.
Things are changing very fast in the world of research and publication. As recently as 2004, when I co-authored a book on the first satellites (The First Space Race, Texas A&M) the publisher needed high-quality, black-and-white prints of every photograph used. This led me into the world of differing rules and permissions for different agencies. The Naval Research Laboratory loved the book ideas and gave me anything I wanted, free. The National Air and Space Museum had a process of forms and fees that was kind of a headache. Other agencies fell in between. (In this particular case, I didn't find a single private corporation that was useful. Either they didn't have archives of old images any more, or no one knew where to look or who to talk to, and I had to work around that in selecting the final set of images for the book.)
Now many publishers can use (or, often, require) high-quality digital images. Other still need the prints. Either way, the Internet age makes it easier every year to find what you need.
That can be a little tricky, because there's a pitfall here: the common belief that everything on the web can be reused. We all know it's not that simple, but the temptation is always there. I know people (not in NASW) who invoke "Fair Use" as a mantra for using anything they find on the web, but, without getting into copyright law (which I'm not qualified to discuss anyway), it's safe just to go with the general rule that anything commercial — anything you are getting paid for — isn't covered by this exemption.
So how do we accomplish our goals within the rules? Where can we find images that are genuinely free?
Images on U.S. government sites are normally free for use (unless the source says the image is copyrighted/restricted). The versions found on the web may or may not be good enough for publication, or you may be working with a publisher who still needs prints of photographs. That's when the solution still involves reading the individual agency's policies for requesting what you need, and there are often still fees involved for getting prints.
There are four major web sources for images you can reuse without getting specific permission. There are countless others, but if an image archive is posted by a private user, you don't always know whether it's appropriate for the images to be there in the first place. It's easy for source information and restrictions to become "detached" from images as they float through the web world.
The Big Four
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On Google, the number of images available is uncountable, but many are still restricted when it comes to commercial use. You can use images found by clicking on Advanced Image Search at http://images.google.com and selecting the "Strict Filtering" option for images "labeled for commercial reuse."
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Images on Flickr Commons are likewise automatically okay for commercial use, but those from other areas of Flickr are not.
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iStockphoto images can be used within limits. Those limitations are specified in the Content License Agreement. It's a little complicated. The license agreement states, "You may not use the Content in products for resale, license or other distribution," and you must add the credit line "©iStockphoto.com/Artist's Member Name." It's limiting (and confusing) enough that I never use them.
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Then we have Wikimedia. Images on Wikimedia Commons are available "under various free culture licenses." That means, as the site says, that you need to check the media description page concerning the license of each specific image before using.
(Another site often mentioned is SXC, but when you search it and specify only images that are not restricted, the results it gives you are from iStockphoto.)
Finally, those images you got with or through a software program are not necessarily yours to do with as you like. Microsoft Office steers you to a website written by Bill Gates' attorneys (who tell you, among other things, that use of Mr. Gates' likeness is strictly prohibited). It says that the clip art provided with Microsoft programs can't be used to create a logo, advertise a business, illustrate a book, or do anything else commercial. It adds, "Microsoft licenses artwork from third parties and cannot grant permission for you to redistribute the artwork...our Clip Art partners at Office Online provide a variety of images you can license." See http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/permissions/default.mspx#E4 .
It's easier than ever before to find images, but that doesn't mean the process is problem-free. It is, however, a lot more workable than in the ancient days of the early 21st Century, when we still squinted at rows of thumbnails. To some writers far younger than I, that wasn't much advanced beyond images scratched on cave walls. But you still need to consider the rights of the person who owns the cave.
Thanks to several people who posted insights and experiences on the NASW-Talk thread on this topic.
