[RedStar]

I'm looking for a copyright free image of an old woman for my graphic design class. I'm trying to contrast her age with some african masks, so she has to look really old. I'd really appreciate som helps, thanks.

[Adam Betts]

Have you tried Google Image Search?

[splode]

Hey.

There are also some free or near free "royalty free" image collections online. They are often just submissions from people with digital cameras who post anything from low-res crap to hi-res PhotoDisc-esque stuff, though they will often fill requests from the page's bulletin board. Here are some links:

http://stock.d2.hu/
http://www.istockphoto.com/

As long as you're only using it in a class, you should be okay as far as copyright, model release, etc. If it's for pro work, then ya hafta really watch yer legal Ps and Qs. Granny (or the owner of the copyright) may sue your ass when her picture ends up on the side of the bus as part of a "You don't hafta look THIS old" kinda ad.

If you can get by with lo-res, you might check out the comp options on some of the big name stock pages. PhotoDisc (now a part of the "Getty Uber Alles" behemoth) used to let you download unwatermarked comps if you registered. They may have changed it to "if you register and provide a credit card number to show you're serious" kinda deal. I dunno.

Good luck!

splode

[RedStar]

Thanks for the help, I found exactly what i was looking for.
The only reason it needed to be copyright free was becuase it was a requirement for the project. I found a really old looking woman with a cigarette hanging out her mouth, funny stuff.

[danbrew]

Originally posted by splode:
As long as you're only using it in a class, you should be okay as far as copyright, model release, etc. If it's for pro work, then ya hafta really watch yer legal Ps and Qs. Granny (or the owner of the copyright) may sue your ass when her picture ends up on the side of the bus as part of a "You don't hafta look THIS old" kinda ad.

There is no provision in the copyright law - or in the fair use doctrine - that says images used for academic purposes can be used without the consent of the copyright holder.

All images are copyrighted - unless specifically placed in the public domain. I haven't looked at those site - if they clearly state "royalty-free", you're fine.

[DeathMan]

remember that royalty free does not mean free. Some people use comps and never get around to paying for them. I'm not naming names, though.

that stock.d2.hu is awesome if you get involved with photography and stuff. the community is strong. But the previews (when you click on a thumbnail, and see the preview) download the whole image, so I suggest if you go to the trouble of previewing the image, you might as well download it since you already have.

[zigzag]

Originally posted by danbrew:
There is no provision in the copyright law - or in the fair use doctrine - that says images used for academic purposes can be used without the consent of the copyright holder.

I would restate that. The copyright statute specifically lists teaching and scholarship (which are academic purposes) as categories of fair use. Whether a student would be allowed to use a copyrighted image for an in-class project of this nature is debatable - I can see arguments both ways, depending on the specifics of the situation. Certainly, if the image ended up in a portfolio or exploited commercially, it would not be a fair use (unless it fit within the comment or parody categories).