Find images, videos and audio content

Last changed: 02 September 2024

There are many ways to find images, video and sound. Here are some useful tools.

If you want to use someone else’s illustrations you need permission from the copyright holder, or find an illustration that is free to use. Here are some suggestions of websites and databases with illustrations that are approved for use or have a Creative Commons license.

Remember that you also need to cite all illustrations.

 

Websites for finding images

Artstor

Artstor is a service that you have access to as a student or employee at SLU. The database contains millions of images from museums and archives. You can use them for noncommercial, educational, and scholarly activities, for example in independent projects or theses.

There is a lot of information about each image, and a feature, "Cite", that gives you suggestions on how to reference the image. If you intend to follow a specific reference style, e. g. SLU Harvard style, remember to check that the reference follows the guidelines.

Openverse

Openverse is a search engine for openly licensed and public domain works. Openverse searches across more than 700 million images (it is also possible to search for audio content). Note that Openverse does not verify that the images are properly CC licensed, so be sure to verify the license before using any image.

Flickr

Flickr is a website where you can both upload your own and find other people's photos. You can choose to search for Creative Commons licensed material and there is a great variety to choose from. A big advantage is that the CC licenses are clearly defined.

Google images

In Google images you can use the settings to only search for Creative Commons licensed material. Remember to carefully check where the images come from and that they are OK to use, since Google collects search results from different sites automatically.

The SLU media bank

The SLU media bank contains images and illustrations that students and employees may use in SLU related works, including students’ independent projects.

Unsplash, Pixabay and Pexels

Unsplash, Pixabay and Pexels are websites where users can upload photos without copyright. At Pixabay and Pexels you can also find videos to use. All material on the websites are licensed with Creative Commons 0 (CC0) or a similar license, which means that it is free to use. You don’t have to cite the creator or the source of the photo, but it’s appreciated if you do. When writing in an academic context, you should always include an image reference in accordance with academic honesty.

Websites for finding video and audio content

ccMixter

ccMixter is an archive with remixed music that has CC licenses.

FMA (Free music archive)

Free music archive is another repository where you can find music with (mostly) CC licences.

YouTube

On YouTube you can search for videos with a Creative Commons license. Do a search, then apply the filter "Creative Commons". Remember to carefully check the clip to be sure it does not contain any material (e.g. music, video) that is under copyright restrictions.