Free stock photos cost nothing to download, but the licence attached to each image decides what can be done with it. CC0 dedicates a work to the public domain, while site licences written by the providers differ from site to site.
This guide sits within the wider topic of free graphic design resources and covers the licence types designers meet most often. It is independent information with no affiliation to any photo provider or to Creative Commons.
What CC0 means for a photo
CC0 is a legal tool from Creative Commons that lets a rights holder give up their copyright interest in a work. The CC0 deed describes the result: the person who associated a work with the deed “has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.”
For a web designer, the practical sentence is the next one: “You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.” No credit line is required by the licence, and no fee applies. Crediting the photographer remains a courtesy, and it is often welcomed.
The deed also marks the edges of the grant. It says that “In no way are the patent or trademark rights of any person affected by CC0, nor are the rights that other persons may have in the work or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights.” A CC0 photo of a person or a brand logo can still raise issues that the copyright waiver does not solve. The deed adds a courtesy rule as well: “When using or citing the work, you should not imply endorsement by the author or the affirmer.”
Creative Commons also publishes a Public Domain Mark for works already free of copyright. The mark says a work “has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law”, and the same deed cautions that the work “may not be free of known copyright restrictions in all jurisdictions.”
Site licences from stock photo providers
Many photo sites write their own licence instead of using CC0, and the wording of those licences varies from one site to the next. Some ask for no credit, some restrict particular uses, and some add rules for developers who build on the site’s data. The licence page of the provider is the only place where the actual terms are written.
Creative Commons licences are the standard reference point because their terms are fixed and published. Each of the six licences in the family builds on attribution, and the FAQ describes how: “The other five licenses combine BY with one or more of three additional license elements: NonCommercial (NC), which prohibits commercial use of the material; NoDerivatives (ND), which prohibits the sharing of adaptations of the material; and ShareAlike (SA), which requires adaptations of the material be released under the same license.” A photo marked with one of those elements has restrictions that CC0 and plain attribution do not carry.
Each provider writes these terms differently, and providers change them over time. The licence page of the provider, read at the time the photo is downloaded, is the authoritative source. Screenshotting or saving the licence text next to the project records is a simple way to keep proof of the terms that applied.
Services that offer an API add their own rules for developers on top of the photo licence. The Unsplash API guidelines, for instance, state that “When displaying a photo from Unsplash, your application must attribute Unsplash, the Unsplash photographer, and contain a link back to their Unsplash profile.” That requirement is written for applications that use the API, and it shows why the terms for a download and the terms for an integration should be read separately.
When attribution is required
CC0 does not demand credit, and some provider licences do not either, but many photos on the web carry Creative Commons licences that do. Creative Commons explains the rule in its FAQ: “All CC licenses require users to attribute the creator of licensed material, unless the creator has waived that requirement, not supplied a name, or asked that her name be removed.” The attribution licence, CC BY, makes credit the single condition for reuse.
The deed for CC BY spells out what proper credit involves: “You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.” It also adds that this may be done “in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.” On a website, a caption or a credits line under the image usually covers it, with the creator’s name, the title if one is given, the licence name and a link to the licence.
| Licence | Credit required? | Commercial use |
|---|---|---|
| CC0 | No | Allowed |
| Attribution-only licence | Yes | Allowed |
| Attribution plus NonCommercial licence | Yes | Prohibited |
The table summarises the CC BY deed and the Creative Commons FAQ, which describes the NonCommercial element as one that “prohibits commercial use of the material.”
Rights a licence does not cover
A photo licence deals with the photographer’s copyright. It does not settle every other right attached to what the picture shows. Creative Commons warns about this in its FAQ: a licensor may not be “guaranteeing anything about the work, including whether she owns the copyright, has received permission to include third-party content within her work, or secured other rights such as through the use of model releases if a person’s image is used in the work.”
The CC BY deed makes a similar point: “No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.”
In practice, this means a recognisable face, a visible logo or a distinctive building deserves extra thought before the photo goes on a commercial landing page or an advert. A generic landscape or a close-up of an object carries little of this risk. People in the frame, brand marks and artwork are the cases that need a closer look.
A simple routine for using free photos safely
A short routine keeps projects tidy. Record the photo URL, the photographer’s name, the licence name and the date downloaded. Open the provider’s licence page and check the prohibited uses against the planned use. Look at the image for people, logos and artwork. Add a credit wherever the licence requires one. Keep the original file name or ID so that the source can be found again.
Fonts follow comparable rules, as the guide to free fonts for websites explains, and icon sets bring their own terms, covered under free icon sets and their licences. Treating every asset type with the same record-keeping habit makes a later audit quick.
No licence page can replace legal advice for a high-stakes project. For ordinary blog and portfolio work, careful reading of the licence and a clear record of the source cover most situations.
Frequently asked questions
Can CC0 photos be used on commercial sites?
Yes. The CC0 deed says the work can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Publicity and privacy rights of people shown in the photo are not affected by CC0.
What do NoDerivatives and ShareAlike mean?
Creative Commons describes NoDerivatives as prohibiting the sharing of adaptations of the material, and ShareAlike as requiring adaptations to be released under the same licence.
What does an attribution licence require?
Appropriate credit, a link to the licence and an indication of whether changes were made. The credit may be given in any reasonable manner, but not in a way that suggests the licensor endorses the user.
Can a licence guarantee that a photo is safe to use?
No. Creative Commons states that licensors may not be guaranteeing ownership of the copyright or permissions for third-party content, so people, logos and artwork in a photo still need attention.
