# Places for students to get decent quality pics to use in their work on the internet



## sim667 (Jan 31, 2012)

The amount of students being sent to me by their lecturers who have basically been told to get pictures of google search and use them on their own work is getting right on my tits!

The lecturers dont seem to grasp the fact that stolen pictures are too small to use on A2 and A1 posters which these students are then using to try and get into university..... I cant imagine presenting a really nice postery pattern with some rubbish pixelated pictures on top are doing our students any particular favours.

So Im trying to get a few royalty free sites together where students can get images from, they wont want to pay anything. Any suggestions?


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## gentlegreen (Jan 31, 2012)

You could teach them to set parameters when they use image search ....

Could you show us examples of what it is they're trying to achieve ?


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## gentlegreen (Jan 31, 2012)

Here's a high res photo of Barbara streisand's secret house :-

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/20594966.jpg

1,200px × 749px


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## Crispy (Jan 31, 2012)

flickr is a good start, although if you're going to be strict about licensing/copyright it's not really on to just lift people's photos without asking.


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## sim667 (Jan 31, 2012)

gentlegreen said:


> You could teach them to set parameters when they use image search ....
> 
> Could you show us examples of what it is they're trying to achieve ?



Can't find any direct examples, but they do a lot of photo montage.

Flickr is a good idea..... We're not strict at all really about copyright, I think im probably the only staff member who's got a alright understanding of copyright (particularly in regard to the internet), but im also the youngest and probably the only member of staff who studied after the invention of the internet.


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## Crispy (Jan 31, 2012)

when using google image search, you can select "larger than" from the size options on the left, and then select 4MP, say.

eg: >8MP fish: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fi...a=X&ei=GBMoT9-3KYSs0QXrw9T0BA&ved=0CBIQpwUoBA


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## wemakeyousoundb (Jan 31, 2012)

maybe a bit late, but after royalty free picture from libraries there also is a creative commons search which might help:
http://search.creativecommons.org/

i hate that google obfsucate the url the minute you try and copy the fucker grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


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## Pickman's model (Jan 31, 2012)

sim667 said:


> The amount of students being sent to me by their lecturers who have basically been told to get pictures of google search and use them on their own work is getting right on my tits!
> 
> The lecturers dont seem to grasp the fact that stolen pictures are too small to use on A2 and A1 posters which these students are then using to try and get into university..... I cant imagine presenting a really nice postery pattern with some rubbish pixelated pictures on top are doing our students any particular favours.
> 
> So Im trying to get a few royalty free sites together where students can get images from, they wont want to pay anything. Any suggestions?









get the lazy buggers to take their own


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## sim667 (Jan 31, 2012)

Brill, I didn't know about the google or creative commons search. Thanks

Pickmans, they're fashion students..... They don't really get time


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## wayward bob (Feb 1, 2012)

when i use found (internet) images in my work i do one of several things - if it's a living artist check whether they mind (usually just the less well-known ones, assuming the famous ones don't give a shit). i'm trying to get hold of some higher res versions atm so i've contacted the artist direct explaining my work and why her images appeal. if it's stuff off flickr, i'll lift the odd inconspicuous one or any creative commons ones but if it's all rights reserved, i'm planning on using a lot or using one prominently then i'll contact the artist for permission. never yet been turned down and they often have higher res files they'll mail you  i try to remember to send them pics of the finished piece too.


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## mauvais (Feb 2, 2012)

sim667 said:


> Pickmans, they're fashion students..... They don't really get time


I suppose they are busy trying to win the Nobel Fashion Prize by solving fashion cancer.


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## mauvais (Feb 2, 2012)

wayward bob said:


> when i use found (internet) images in my work i do one of several things - if it's a living artist check whether they mind (usually just the less well-known ones, assuming the famous ones don't give a shit). i'm trying to get hold of some higher res versions atm so i've contacted the artist direct explaining my work and why her images appeal. if it's stuff off flickr, i'll lift the odd inconspicuous one or any creative commons ones but if it's all rights reserved, i'm planning on using a lot or using one prominently then i'll contact the artist for permission. never yet been turned down and they often have higher res files they'll mail you  i try to remember to send them pics of the finished piece too.


This really. If someone politely asked me for non-commercial use of a photo of mine then I'd probably provide it. Trying to make money out of it or even print anything is frankly a tedious chore and I'd rather just ping someone a file for free and let them have their fun. Crediting would be looked upon even more benevolently.

On the other hand, If I found someone _hadn't_ asked, I would develop a... sudden and personal interest in their works.


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## sim667 (Feb 3, 2012)

mauvais said:


> I suppose they are busy trying to win the Nobel Fashion Prize by solving fashion cancer.


 
Something like that.....


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## littlebabyjesus (Feb 3, 2012)

Creative commons, as said. If you're taking images from flickr, ALWAYS ask permission. People almost always say yes, but it's not right just to lift stuff.

It depends what kind of stuff you're after, but there are a lot of free images on the internet. All US government images are public domain, so anything from NASA, for instance, is free to use. I don't know what kind of images they want but manufacturers' sites can be useful. Companies vary in their policies, but some - German, mostly - make all kinds of images available on their press sites. If you want an image of a motorbike, for instance, google 'BMW press' and take it from there.

My usual practice when looking for free images is to do a google search, setting the size to 'larger than [minimum size I need]', and then to follow links to see what kind of copyright there may be.

And ime, some people don't really understand what 'high res' means. The standard internet resolution is 72 dpi, but for print quality, you need 300 dpi, so an image that looks big on screen may not be good enough for printing. On a large poster, you won't need 300 dpi, but you'll need pretty big images to make it work.


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