I would say yes, you can, provided that you have conclusive proof that the images are public domain.

I would also say that this would not be advisable since there are people on the net posting illegal images and claiming that they are public domain. This could get you into big trouble with copyright issues if it goes wrong.

I would forget public domain and go with stock photos, i.e., pay (though some are free). There are many stock photo sources, and the prices and quality of the images varies. However, for a very modest investment (generally), you will have access to a large selection of quality, legitimate images.

Stock photos can get very high-end, depending upon the source and the rights that you are buying. However, there are some pretty awesome deals and great quality a couple of tiers down from high-end. I can't recommend the free or cheap sources. The good stuff is a bargain. Think beyond today.

Hi,

Thanks, I appreciate the advice. Can you tell me if you have to pay for individual photos or do people have to purchase every photo that I want to use or is there a fee to access as many photos as I want?

I would like to access several to place on my website.

Thanks.

Depending upon the stock photo source, you are buying differing numbers of images, resolution quality, and rights.

It's been awhile since I've needed to go image shopping, having built up a nice 'library'. With istock, I believe that you buy individual images, but have a choice of three or four quality/sizes. Smaller sizes likely for web use are less; larger images likely for print use are more. Costs here are minimal and quality pretty good.

A good way to build a library is to use an outlet like photos.com - There, you are buying access to the site for a period of time (month, quarter, year) and are allowed a number (generous) of downloads per day for that period. The cost is higher, but so is the quality; and if you diligently take full advantage of your time term, an outlet like this can be quite a bargain and you can build a nice collection of images.

These types of outlets are allowing you MOST rights, but it is important to pay attention to the restrictions. Some rights are 'sold separately'. For example, use of an image as part of a logo may not be allowed. Use of an image in a print run of over X copies may not be allowed. Rights for certain uses/quantities are not allowed. Use on a book cover may be 'sold separately'. Understanding what you cannot do with images from each source is important. If you use more than one outlet, be sure to save those images in separate directories. Chances are that the restrictions will not affect you one bit. However, if you cross the line and get caught, you will be guilty and will settle, and it will be expensive.

Getty tends toward high-end and high quality, and is not a place to build a library. One needs to really want that image. They also highly restrict the rights that you are buying. The few images that I have bought there have been very expensive, but not many people have use of those images; the price building in 'exclusivity'. Of course, 'all rights' are available, but the client needs to really want the image and have deep pockets. I am not a Getty fan, though they do have a huge library and a lot of quality work.

Following on from D_Blackwell, the typical means of buying stock images are:

* individually - pay one at a time for Royalty Free or Rights Managed
* subscription - x images per month/year for fixed fees
* disc - x amount of themed images on a disc or via a digital download.

There are gazillions of image 'libraries' out there. Most are just resellers of the top half a dozen big libraries. In the main, libraries fall into two categories - expensive or cheap.

The big players obviously fall into the first category. At the other end of the scale, places like iStock (owned by Getty) offer inexpensive images that are uploaded by the owner. They are invariably made specifically for online use thus file sizes are smaller. Most libraries offer 'web only' purchase options. Basically it's a means for them to sell you a low resolution version of an image for a few shekels. What represents value for money is down to you.

There are 'free' options out there. Photobucket is one. Unless the terms and conditions of joining have changed recently, you can use any image you like from Photobucket. Don't take my word for that though - go read the T&Cs

Public photo sites like Flickr offer a rich vein of images that are available on a Creative Commons basis. Don't know about Creative Commons? Based on your first post you should - go find out. I'll be asking questions later...

At the very least, if you see an image you like on somewhere like Flickr, it does no harm to contact the owner and ask politely if you can use it. I've had several photos published that way. Just don't lie to me and say it's not for commercial use and then surround my image with ads!

Above all, do ask the image owners. Make them your friends - they'll usually love you in return as every amateur snapper (of which I'm one) gets really excited by the prospect of an image being used or published somewhere.

Syzygy

No, Syzygy is not my Flickr user name :-)

Thanks again, I appreciate the replies.

The reason I want different images is to start a website or photoblog to publish them in different subject categories with google adsense ads on the pages to earn some income. So, I hope I would be able to do that if I access free photos and cheap photos from places that provide stock photos.

So, I hope that is possible to do. Perhaps, I could place affiliate links to posters and other type of images as well.