I was reading my blog feeds this morning and caught an article over at “Mama Says. . .” where she used photos and credited them as being from Morguefile.
This intrigued me. I want to use photos but really don’t have the time or talent to take many myself. I had posted a while ago about my concern with the legality of my previous method of copying pictures and giving credit, and Amy from TheMother Load had recommended using Flickr. I have done that a couple of times, but you do have to wade through a lot of dross to find a good photo sometimes.
So the possibility of another good royalty free site was too good to resist-of course I had to go on over and check it out! It seems almost too good to be true. Royalty free professional photographs for corporate or public use. Here is a quote from the site’s about section:
The morguefile contains photographs freely contributed by many artists to be used in creative projects by visitors to the site. To acknowledge the artist’s accomplishments, we ask that you credit the photographer when possible. Any questions regarding liabilities should be directed to the specific photographer.
And according to their faq:
I don’t believe it, are they really free?Yes, all images are really free and they can be used in your commercial projects without permission or credit from the photographer. Although selling prints, selling the images directly or claiming the photo is yours is prohibited.
Note: You are responsible for the content of the photos you use. It is very much the same as if you had taken the photograph yourself, you must still obtain proper permission for property or people depicted in the photos if any.
Why?This web site follows in the tradition of the world wide web. It is dedicated in the proposition of free thought and exchange.
Are the images in the public domain?No, all images are still property of their respective owner and have granted you a usage license under the morguefile TOS.
So all in all, this appears to be a wonderful, free service. This not only has applications for us blogging types. Since the images are available for commercial use, they can be used in fliers, on advertising materials, in newspapers and magazines. . . . lots of possibilities!
And again, an extra special thanks to Milehimama for pointing me in this direction. Kudos and extra good Karma in your direction.
