How easy is it to use these free photos commercially?
Quick Overview of Unsplash Free Photos
License:
CC0 license
Collection Size:
Medium (80 K+ )
Resolution:
High resolution
Attribution:
No. Attribution is not required but "A simple credit like ‘Photo by x’ with a link back to their Unsplash profile is always appreciated."
Sign in:
No. Sign in is not required.
Searchable:
Yes, search box and clicking the grid layout makes it easier to scroll through the pictures. On the menu, is new and collections. The Unsplash community added 3 million tags to the collection making the search highly effective. Click on the three dots, top center of the page, then "Explore" to access the categories.
Do you have the info you need to use Unsplash photos commercially?
To use a photo commercially, you need information about licensing and releases. Do you have all the licensing information, does the license allow you to do what you want to with the photo, is there contact information and are there releases? Releases are necessary because a photographer cannot release rights in a photo that they do not own. Examples include a release from a private property owner or from a person shown in the photo. Below we identified the information provided by Unsplash (CC0).
Website Owner is Identified:
Yes. This started as a side project of Crew Labs, a company supplying designers and developers for projects. Unsplash became its own company January 5, 2017.
Contact Information on Website:
Yes on the FAQ page footer is "Get in touch" with us or "Contact Us" in the footer.
License Information in One Place:
No. On the home page, "Free (do whatever you want) high-resolution photos." links to the license page which sets out that this is a CC0 license. More information about attribution and selling is under FAQs and under Terms you will find what the photographers represent and warrant by uploading photos, including that they have all rights and releases.
Photographer Identified:
Yes, photographers have a profile that includes their name, number of photos and their likes and collections. Each photo shows the number of likes. A link to their website, social, etc. may be provided.
Releases:
Yes but here is how it is set up. In the Unsplash terms to photographers state that: "You are solely responsible for all Pictures that you make available through the website. Accordingly, you represent and warrant that: (i) you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all Pictures that you make available through the Website or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases that are necessary to grant to Company the rights in such Pictures..."
This makes it clear that it is the photographer's responsibility to get the releases. Thousands of photographers contribute to Unsplash including people who do not take photos for a living and may not have the same level of knowledge as professionals do about the requirement for releases. You are relying on the photographer to know that a release is needed and when to get it, for example, with photos of people including relatives, girlfriend, boyfriend, etc. If you need to confirm a release or have any questions about releases, contact the photographer using the link to their website on their portfolio page or, if none is provided, contact them through Unsplash.
Trademark & Copyright!
Free photos may include material that is trademarked or copyrighted. The license granted by the photographer does not give you permission to use trademarked or copyrighted material. A few examples: logos (e.g. Apple, Nike, IBM), identifiable photos or art work in the background, places requiring permission to photograph such as zoos, events, attractions, or sports events, and famous copyrighted architecture including some buildings and bridges. For more information, see User Roadmap's article on "How to Avoid being Sued when using Free Online Photos."
