St Ives (Cambs)

Using Images on the Website

Background

Images are very useful on a website, and in all publications. However making sure that doing things correctly is complicated, and fraught with issues (legal, ethical, technical, aesthetic etc). This page aims to make it as easy as possible for Website Editors to use images legally and well. I have only just started it, and it will be developed over time as we find out more and develop our approach.

Photographs taken by someone who has given permission for the images to be used on the website and in publications are ideal for our use, as long as any people identifiable in the photograph were aware that it may be used for these purposes, and have no objection.

Similarly, photographs of art work produced by a member are very suitable for inclusion as long as both the photographer and artist have given their permission.

Sources of images on the web

If you want to use an image from the web, please let us have the "url" of the image so that we can see what the licence terms are. Here is an example url:
https://u3asites.org.uk/files/h/huntingdon/2024.jpg

If you would like any help finding images, or have any questions or suggestions, please contact Peter via the Blue envelope.

Google Images

Google does enable you to find many things on the web, and to limit your search just to images. It even helps you to choose to see just images with Creative Commons licences (which are free, but subject to certain limitations). As they describe in their page "Find images you can use & share", to do this you need to click Tools, and then click Usage rights and then choose Creative Commons.

Until you get used to this, perhaps the easiest way to use Google Images is via their Google Advanced Image Search. As well as other fields, make sure that for "usage rights" (at the bottom of the form) you click on the "Creative Commons Licence" option.

Google has many powerful features - to find lists of them just put "Google search powerful features" into a search engine!

Openverse.org

Openverse.org - "more than 700 million creative works" - stock photos, images, and audio (from sources such as museums) available for free use

Openverse is an excellent source of images, as they partner with many other sites to facilitate access to free images from across the web. However you have to know how to access it. On our new website (using SiteWorks and the Gutenberg block editor), if you insert an image block in the usual way you will not be able to select Openverse as a source.

Technical note
To insert an Openverse image into an image block you have selected:

  • Open the 'block inserter' (the white on blue cross)
  • The tabs are then: Blocks/ Patterns/ Media; open the Media tab
  • Then choose 'Openverse’ and enter your keywords to search for suitable pictures
  • When you have found the image you want, just click on it and it will get downloaded to your Media library and added to the page
  • (It automatically includes the attribution, which must not be altered)

If you want a new Openverse image as a Featured image (but not into an image block) then:

  • Create a new image block, and make sure it is selected
  • Do the above (thereby loading the Openverse image into the Media library)
  • Delete the new image block (the image is still in the Media library)
  • Set the featured image to the Openverse image newly added to the Media library

Vecteezy

Vecteezy has free "vector" images (ie mostly drawings) - but be aware as they do include some "premium" vector images

Unsplash

Unsplash claims to be "The internet’s source for visuals" - but be careful as they try to push you towards "premium" images on iStock that are definitely not free

References

Other guides to useful image sites