Photo rights

Forgive me if this has been covered...I did perform a light search for this subject, in my defense...

Anyway, does anyone have a handle on photograph usage within a website? Specifically, let's say I google "black lab" for images and find one I'd like to use on my website. It may pop up multiple times for various websites in the search reslts and I have no idea as to the originator of the image...is it alright to use, or am I supposed to go shoot a pic myself?

I'm guessing if it doesn't represent a "brand" or specific company, it would be alright, but I'm not sure.

Thanks,
John

that is what stock photography is for. you are not going to get much quality through google, checkout istockphoto.com and various other sites like it, much better quality and you are paying for the usage rights.

great suggestion...thanks.

I've had to find some pictures for my website recently, so I think I can help. Just go to Flickr advanced search and at the bottom of the page check the 'creative commons' and the 'find content to use commercially' boxes. This means that you shouldn't run into any trouble with the rights, as they're already OK to use commercially.

edit: it's also free.

No, you cannot use it unless it is in the public domain, fair use (i.e. news commentary) or as mentioned, some kind of creative commons or similar issue. Unless you know the source and have permission, its not advisable to use it. A large number of people just take the risk though....just rename the photo if you do it this way so it doesn't show up on a google image search for the same name.



You can also buy stock photo CDs where you can use the images, but generally they are not good.

Thanks everyone...I'll stick to the "guaranteed" legal paths.

-John