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Q. Can you tell me the best way to search for pictures on Google? I don’t want to seem stupid but someone told me that you can search Google for pictures. I’m trying to help my second grader find pictures for a school project I have no idea how to do that.
A. No such thing as a stupid question here at The Wonder of Tech! I can assure you that others are wondering the same thing.
To search for images on Google, go to google.com and type in your search term. When you get the results, click on “Images” on the left side bar or at the top toolbar that appears if you are logged in to a Google account such as Gmail or Google+.
After you have clicked on Images, you will see a grid of images and the left sidebar gives you choices to refine your search, such as time, type of photo, color, etc.
But if you want to refine your search even more, check out Google Advanced Image Search. This site allows you to search in many more ways, including by region, website, digital rights restrictions, size and type of image. Further refine your search by excluding terms you don’t want.
You can also specify how safe you want your search to be. When you’re helping your child search for images for a school project, be sure to check “Use strict filtering”.
For example, I found this image by searching “Beautiful Wallpapers” in Google Advanced Image Search:
Do you search for images on Google? Do you use Google Advanced Image Search? Let us know in the Comments section below!
Beautiful Wallpaper image by Kodlt.
Nice write up Carolyn!
I remember the first time I was looking for Google Images and was surprised to find such a method to look for them. It was indeed something new and wonderful. However, I never really went into such details and usually try out other sites for the images. Guess all of the free images on Google are not always free to use on the blog etc.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Harleena, yes, if you’re going to use an image on your blog, it should be labelled for re-use. Google Advanced Image Search allows you to search for images that you can use on a blog, saving you plenty of time scouring sites for images you can use. Just be sure you’re using Google Advanced Image Search so you can find images labeled for re-use.
Happy hunting, Harleena! 🙂
I do know about the Google Advanced Search option also, but how does one make out if the images can be re-used for blogs as nearly all of images are subject to copyright?
Hi Harleena, When you use Google Advanced Image Search, check the box for “Only images labelled for reuse.” Google should then only show you images whose copyright owners have give permission for others to use them.
It’s still a good idea to go to the site where the image appears and confirm that it’s okay to use the image. If the image says “all rights reserved” then you can ask the copyright owner for permission to use the image in your blog.
As Mark points out below, it’s a good idea to give credit to the owner of the image with a link back.
I hope this helps!
Thanks a lot Carolyn! that sure does help- going to check it out right away 🙂
If you don’t own the photos, it’s really better to always give credit to the owner of the photo that you’re going to use whether it’s copyrighted or not. 🙂
Hi Elliot, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You’re right, if you don’t own the photos you should give credit where credit is due. 🙂
Hi Carol
As a blogger, i’m always searching for good images to reflect my content. I didn’t even know about Google images! They’re also a treasure for adding additional visuals to keynotes.
Thanks and have a great weekend!
Hi LaRae, You’re right, finding images is very important for a blogger. Searching Google is a very handy way to find images to use on a blog. You used to be able to access Google Advanced Image Search directly from the Images section of Google. For some unknown reason, this changed last year so you have to either search for Google Advanced Image Search or use the link provided above. Because of this, people may not know that you can refine images searches at a more advanced level than offered through Google Images.
I hope you enjoy your weekend too, LaRae! 🙂
Told you that you would like what you learned from Carolyn.
Janet is a truly wise woman. (*)
Hi Carolyn, there is a “usage” field in your image as well – if you want to use pictures on your blog posts, be sure to select the proper filtering field; for example there’s a “free to use and share, even commercially” filter, which are images you can freely use to display on your blog legally. It’s always nice to give a credit back to the original website too : )
Have a nice weekend miss!
Hi Mark, Yes, it’s important for bloggers to make sure they use Google Advanced Image Search and check the box for “Only images labeled for reuse.” I suggest giving the image owner credit and a link back.
Thanks, Mark, for your insightful comment. I hope your weekend is going well too!
I just got the answer for the question I asked below! 🙂
Hi Carolyn,
I used an image yesterday on my Facebook header and knew the image was originally copyright of the British government. Now lots of people use it and so i search for a copy right free version and it came up on a Blogspot blog which is possibly fair use because like my usage is not commercial. Copyright law is a minefield now though; it does need some clarification.
Good post though… 🙂
I’m going to win the lottery tonight; I’ve made a start, I’ve bought a ticket! 🙂
Hi Mike, You’re right, copyright law is a nightmare now. For everyone who is frustrated that tech such as Netflix hasn’t arrived in their countries, fragmented copyright laws are to blame. If someone launched a business that arranged worldwide licensing rights for content, he could earn much more than your lottery ticket!
I used Google image search for creating an extensive gallery of ‘First Words’ for my daughter, when she was about 1yr3mo old. She learnt flipping thru pics on iPhone first. I went to Google to search for images such as ‘Tiger’ ‘Eagle’ ‘Swing’… anything and everything (even ‘Obama’). And put it in a gallery. All she’d do is flip thru the gallery and say the word. This proved very helpful as she developed a solid vocabulary from very young.
Hi iRewardChart, What a brilliant use of Google images! Your daughter was truly enriched by your ingenuity, expanding her vocabulary while having fun. As she grows older and continues to learn, she will be able to use your method to learn for the rest of her life. That will come in handy when it’s time to study for the SAT’s (it will be here sooner than you think!).
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your brilliant teaching method with us! 🙂
Carolyn, aloha. Thanks for the additional info on searching for images on Google. Appreciated your exchange with Harleena.
For me the screenshots make a difference so I appreciate you including them.
Enjoy a wonderful weekend. Until next week, aloha. Janet
Hi Janet, I’m glad you found this helpful. I always enjoy the images on your blog so I imagine you spend quite a bit of time searching for images to get just the right one!
Hey Carolyn,
I love the images which Google ends us with but somehow I have trouble with the attributions. Some blogs / websites have photos without attribution and they show up in search results. So, to trace back the origin it gets very tough for me. I prefer Flickr for images always. Earlier I used to rely on Google but like I said, the copyrights were a worry.
Is there a way we can trace the original right of the pictures?
Hi Hajra, You’re right, it’s important to click through to the website that displays the image to see whether the image can be used by others, no matter what the Google search says. Unfortunately, there is no way to be 100% sure that even that website owns the rights to the image.
I like Flickr too, but the same issue arises there. I have seen people post images labeled for re-use when the person who posted the image doesn’t own the rights.
There is no clearing house online that is the definitive source of images, ownership and rights, but that would be a very useful site if it were ever developed.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with us, Hajra!
I often use search (dot) creativecommons (dot) com, but I suspect the method you’re suggesting here might be more effective.
And, yes, be sure to at least visit the site to see whether the image is actually labeled as “free for re-use”.
I have solved this problem for myself to some extent by using older paintings which are public domain. But then, it’s my subject/niche that helps me here — history and mythology, why, there are hundreds of really free images to use for that.
Hi Eleni, That’s a great idea for those who want to make sure that they aren’t infringing copyrights, using older images that are in the public domain. Unfortunately, it’s challenging to find images for tech articles that are quite that old! 🙂
Thanks for your suggestion as I know it will be helpful to other readers.
hey hi have you tried to use the camera icon in google images which helps you to find duplicate images or similar images 🙂 i use that feature a lot .
Hi Rohan, Excellent point. I was about to include that information in this article but then thought it might be too confusing to have both topics in one article. I plan to do a separate article on that topic soon as I agree with you, that is a useful resource as well.
Thanks for stopping by and letting us know about that aspect of Google search! 🙂
Hey,
yea perhaps a whole new topic on the new image search in google would be helpful 🙂
keep blogging !:)
Oh, yes, please do write an article on this feature. First time I heard of it.
Okay, Eleni and Rohan. I am happy to do an article on Google Goggles. Stay tuned! 🙂
I have been using Google image searches for ages, but actually never used the advanced mode. I didn’t even know the option existed! Duh!
From now on I’ll be using it for getting free-to -use image for my blog posts.
Thank for this excellent tip, Carolyn!
Hi Kris, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! If you weren’t aware of Google Advanced Image Search before they took it away from the regular Google Image Search, you’d have a very difficult time finding it now.
If you’re searching for images for a blog, it’s a real struggle to search on Google without Advanced Image Search because you’ll waste so much time tracking down which images allow reuse.
I’m so glad you were helped by this post, Kris! Thanks for your wonderful comment. 🙂
Dang it, you should have let me answer this one…..I think I could have aced this test.
Hey Bill, no worries, there are plenty of other tech questions I can let you answer. But I should have remembered that you are an expert on images. (*)
The amount of rubbish which comes up when you search on Google Images, an advanced search is a must, just to get rid of those irrelevant images which clutter the screen.
Regards,
Simon Duck
Hi Simon, I agree, Google Advanced Image Search is essential to cut through the clutter, but unfortunately you still may find some images that aren’t a good fit with your search. Hopefully, if you use this tool, your results will be much closer to what you want, though! 🙂
Great share and explanation in this post Carolyn. I get that a lot as well but you did a fabulous job of explaining how to grab images but mainly those you can use legally. That’s so very important.
I’ve been using the advanced search feature for awhile now when I do search on Google for images. I try to use some of the free sites as well but some times I just strike out.
Love the images that you included to explain this to your readers. Just a great job overall Carolyn.
Have a great week and thanks again.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, Thank you very much for your words. I figured you knew about this, being such a tech whiz, but it’s helpful to know for others.
May you find all the images you need in the first few minutes of your searches, Adrienne!
Wish I knew all this last week when searching for images for my son’s school report, and my blog post. But now I do, so going forward finding images should be a bit easier. Thanks for explaining how to search for images with Google.
Hi Carol, Google Advanced Image Search is very handy. It used to be accessible from the regular search page but now you need either a link or to search for it. If you didn’t know it existed, it could be awfully difficult to find!
Happy hunting, Carol! 🙂
The advanced search options explanation to Harleena above was really an eye-opener. I was always just picking up images in random and posting on my site until I read about the copyright policies on them.
Thanks for sharing this with us Carolyn.
Hi Praveen, I’m glad this was helpful. You can no longer get to Advanced Image Search from the regular Google Search page, so you wouldn’t find this feature unless you knew to look for it. The ability to search for images labeled for reuse is a huge time-saver!
Hi Carolyn,
Great tutorial. I’m almost always using Flickr, but that’s mostly because I didn’t know that it was possible to search for creative commons on google images 🙂
Hi Jens, I use Flickr a lot too, but the more resources we have to find images the better! :-bd
Hi Carolyn,
I often look at some of the photo sites to get a free image. If it suits my theme, I use them. I have also purchased a few pics from fotolia.com . Free pictures often do not match the message in the post . The paid ones are really costly. What you have shown above is a nice tip. Let me try this out 🙂
Hi Ashvini, I’ve never used fotolia, but I haven’t paid for a picture yet. Through Google Advanced Image Search, Flickr and a few other sites I have been able to find the images I need.
I hope you enjoy Google Advanced Image Search, Ashvini! 🙂
hi Carolyn,
Using the same technique we can find loads of copyright free images 🙂 and we can use for commercial purposes as well 🙂 kewl post between
thanks
suresh
Hi Suresh, You’re right, with Advanced Image Search, there is a box to check for images whose owners allow commercial use. I’m so glad this helped you, Suresh! 🙂
Hi Carolyn
I use Google Image search very often. It is the best, most effective way of searching for pictures that I know of.
Sometimes writing a guide for something most people know, but all people should know is a good idea 🙂
Hi Thomas, Many people are unaware of Advanced Image Search because it is no longer available from the Google search page. I’m not sure why they removed this feature, it’s so helpful to have.
You’re right, Thomas, searching for images on Google is an essential tool that everyone should know about.
I’m at work browsing your blog from my Comp! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the fantastic work!
Hi Sandipan, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Thank you very much for your kind words. I am glad you are enjoying the blog. 🙂
Thank you. This is very helpful.
Hi Jerry, I’m glad you enjoyed this post!
That was a great post, weather old or young, there always a time when we’re learning something new.
Hi Terrell, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I’m glad you found this article interesting and could learn from it. You’re exactly correct, you are never too old to learn.
I often write about birthday parties and baby showers so I always need to use images to make the posts look good. I find that using the commercial use filter will help me find images that I can put on my monetizable blog with no problem. Thanks so much for these tips.
All the best,
Eren
Hi Eren, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I’m glad that Google Advanced Search is so helpful for you. I agree, it’s a great way to discover commercially available images. 🙂
I am really glad Google modified and improved the image search. Now you can get into advanced things. As far as I can see, lots of options can be edited in order to get the best results. Thanks a lot for the post! It will prove really useful.
Hi Stuart, Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of Google’s changes. I like what they did before much better. I don’t like having to go to an separate site to conduct an advanced search. But at least they didn’t get rid of Advanced Search!
Hi Carolyn!!
Nice Post the Google give more advanced and modified image search algorithm now it’s easy too search with more flexible parameters.
Hi Rizwan, You’re right, using Google to search for your images with multiple parameters makes the job much easier. 🙂
thank you for sharing this post, i have always battled with images on Google, but i will try what you have mentioned.
It is one of the best way to find the images on google. Thanks for sharing it.