Guides: Videos, Images & Music: Finding Images

Finding Images

Here are some helpful sources for finding a wide variety of images for presentations and papers.

Remember to check your rights permissions at all times. Images must be properly cited, like any other source. Learn more about the best practices for copying and using images.

Tineye.com can help you trace the origins of some images.

gfpeck. (2010, March 29). Create [image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/wespeck/4473683746/

Creative Commons Image Collections

Creative Commons Image Search
Allows you to search a variety of Creative Commons collections including Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, and Open Clip Art Library.
Flickr - Creative Commons Search
Flickr holds an amazing, constantly growing collection of images from photographers around the world. Rather than "Any license" (which is the default), choose "All creative commons" when you search. Images with a creative commons license have "some rights reserved." These inform you what the creator will allow; be sure to check the terms for the image you want to use.
Free Food Photos
Offers a wide selection of quality food photography, sorted by 'type' (Breakfast, Dessert, etc.) Images on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License, and may be shared or adapted, even commercially.
Image repositories for e-Learning
An annotated list of online repositories containing images which can be used without cost or restriction for educational purposes.
Noun Project
Excellent source of icons and symbols. Most items are Creative Commons, but check individual permissions as some restrictions may exist.
Open Clip Art
A large and growing collection of high-quality vector clipart (SVG format) made available under the CC licence.
Pexels
From the website: Pexels provides high quality and completely free stock photos
Pixabay
All images and videos on Pixabay are released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications.
Unsplash
From the website: Beautiful, free photos. Gifted by the world’s most generous community of photographers.
Wikimedia Commons
Clicking on an image or media file found on Wikimedia Commons will take you to the copyright & licensing information page for that file.
Science Stock Photos
From the website: A fascinating collection of science stock photos available for education and commercial use, high resolution and simple download. All photos on the website are licensed under CC BY 4.0 and can be shared and adapted.

Specialized Image Collections
[Check usage rights in each case.]

Images from The History of Medicine
The U.S. National Library of Medicine includes a large collection of historical prints and photographs.
Library and Archives Canada Image Search
Search over 400,000 documents with images using a keyword search. Check usage rights in each case.
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs
Over 1 million digital images from the Library of Congress pictorial collections. Remember "rights assessment is your responsibility."
Natural Resources Canada: Earth Sciences Maps
A digital image library of Geological Survey of Canada maps. There have been thousands of maps published by GSC since the mid-1800's. More than 10,000 of these maps have been scanned and are available.
Nova Scotia Archives-Virtual Archives
Online texts pertaining to various Nova Scotians topics: Acadians, Loyalists, African Nova Scotians, the Halifax Explosion, People, Communities, War, etc.
Nova Scotia Museum: Mi'kmaq Portraits Collection
The Nova Scotia Museum's Mi'kmaq Portraits Collection is a database of more than 700 portraits and illustrations that provides a glimpse into the history of the Mi'kmaq of Atlantic Canada.
Digital Museums
"Virtual exhibits and interactive learning resources on numerous subjects, created by Canadian museums and galleries."

Collections for which the Mount has a licence or permissions

Ebsco Image Collection
The Image Collection contains images from Archive Photos, Canadian Press, Motion Picture & Television Archive and MapQuest as well as a variety of images from the public domain.

Videos, Images & Music

Finding Images

Creative Commons Image Collections

Specialized Image Collections [Check usage rights in each case.]

Collections for which the Mount has a licence or permissions

Specialized Image Collections
[Check usage rights in each case.]