Copyright-Free Photos For Canvas Prints

In last week’s blog we took a look at how people source their images for canvas prints; while many of you will be happy taking your own photos, we also talked about sourcing images from the Internet – after all, you’ve got the world at your fingertips when you’re online.

However, we also looked at the issues of copyright and freedom of use – and promised to share some links to websites where you can access a huge range of photos that you’re legally entitled to use. So if you’re looking for the ideal image for your canvas prints, but want to stay on the right side of copyright laws, bookmark this page and use it as a reference next time you’re hunting!

1. Google images – not all images on Google are ok to use, but you can narrow down your search to make sure that your returned results only include those that are. Once you’ve searched for a specific theme or image, select the ‘labelled for reuse’ option from the search tools tag. Google Image Search.

2. Yahoo images – very similar to Google, you can filter your results so they only show images with the creative commons license attached – and you can use these however you like! Yahoo Image Search.

3. Flickr – it comes as a surprise to a lot of people that Flickr can be a resource for finding photos you’re free to use. Be careful to search for images with a creative commons license and don’t feel you can just steal any picture you fancy!

4. Animalphotos.info – everyone’s got their favourite animal and these are popular choices for canvas prints, but it’s not so easy to snap a quality shot of a lion or elephant! If you’re thinking of an animal theme for your print, this site has plenty of great images to choose from and they’re all free to use. Animal Photos.

5. Stockvault – not the biggest resource available but the bonus of using this site is that quality seems to be the order of the day! Additionally, the website also specifically states that the images are permitted to be used to decorate your home, office or any public place – so you can relax knowing that you’re using them for exactly what they’re intended for! Stockvault.

 

So there you have it – 5 great websites where you can find images you can use legally and spend hours browsing for the perfect photo to fit your canvas requirements! It’s also worth mentioning though that if you ever use these sites to find images for using online, you MUST make sure that you check their attribution rules, as in most circumstances, even if they’re free to use, you’ll still need to credit the source or photographer.