How to Find Images to Reuse With Openverse

Finding an image is easy. Finding one you can actually use—and knowing how to credit it—is the part that trips people up.

Quick answer: Search Openverse, open a promising result, check its listed license and creator, then visit the original source to verify those details before using the image. Keep the source and license links with your credit.

For this guide, we opened an Openverse image result and followed its link to the original Flickr listing. Both displayed the same license. We did not download the image or test every search filter; results and source listings can change.

Find a candidate

1. Go to Openverse and search for a subject that fits your project. We opened image results for “red barn.”
2. Select a result to open its detail page. Look for the creator, the source, and the license information under How to use.
3. Check whether the license fits what you plan to do. A picture for a business website, for example, has different needs from an unmodified image for a personal project.

Read the license before you grab the image

Creative Commons licenses aren’t all interchangeable. BY means attribution is required. NC limits use to noncommercial purposes; ND restricts sharing adapted material; and SA requires adaptations to be shared under the same or a compatible license, subject to the specific license’s terms. Read the linked license rather than guessing from the name. Creative Commons explains its license types.

Our example, Old Red Barn, appeared on Openverse with a CC BY-SA 2.0 label and creator credit. Following Get this image opened its Flickr listing, which also identified the license as CC BY-SA 2.0 when checked. That confirms the two displayed labels matched at the time; it isn’t a guarantee about every image or every possible use.

Check the original source and build your credit

1. Select Get this image or the source link on the Openverse detail page. Check the source’s current license and creator information against the Openverse listing.
2. If information conflicts, is missing, or you cannot tell who has rights, pick another image or seek permission. Openverse says it does not verify each work’s licensing information.
3. Use the Credit the creator panel as a starting point. Check its text and links against the original listing and license. Give the title, creator, source, and license where applicable; link to the source and license when practical, and indicate if you changed the work.

For the tested example, an attribution would identify “Old Red Barn,” Art by MarkAC, its Flickr source, and CC BY-SA 2.0. Don’t present an unverified automatic credit as a guarantee. Creative Commons’ attribution guide gives a useful example of the title, author, source, and license approach.

What a license label doesn’t settle

The image license may not cover everything pictured. A photo can include someone else’s artwork or branding; images of people can raise privacy or publicity questions. Openverse itself warns that additional permissions may be needed. Check the source and the details of your intended use before publishing, especially for an advertisement or product.

If the license permits the changes you need, our Mac Preview image guide covers resizing a copy. Check the license and credit requirements before publishing your edited version.

If the source page has disappeared or the file’s credit doesn’t match, don’t assume the search result is enough. Find a better-supported candidate. And if you do use an image, save the source URL, license link, creator credit, and a note of your changes with your project so the credit doesn’t vanish the next time you update the page.