Wikimedia Commons: Find Images for Your Videos and Presentations, Check License

Content: Did you know that you can't use every photo you find on the internet in your video?

You may need an old photograph when describing a historical event, a map when preparing a presentation, or an illustration for a blog post. Wikimedia Commons is a large collection of photos, drawings, maps and other media files. However, the critical point is this: You need to check the license of each file on its own page. Some licenses may require you to credit the author, link to the license, or share derivative works on the same terms.

Step by step usage

1. Wikimedia Commons site.

2. Type a subject in the search field. For example, “Ottoman railway”, “Ankara old photographs” or “solar panels”.

3. Click on the file that interests you in the results; Don't just save the thumbnail preview.

4. Check the license, author, source and terms of use on the file's information page.

5. Download full resolution file if available.

6. If license attribution is required, include the author and license as appropriate in the description of the video or next to the image.

7. If commercial use or photographs of recognizable people are involved, also consider non-copyright rights.

Sample usage: While preparing a historical Shorts video, you can find a city photo, check the date and source of the image, and add it to your content with appropriate license conditions.

Requirements and limits

• It is usually not necessary to open an account to search for files.

• Download and reuse conditions may vary depending on the file.

• “Located on the Commons” does not mean that all uses are unrestricted.

Privacy and security

Check the source and license of the files. Images of recognizable people, trademarks, or cultural works may have additional legal restrictions other than copyright.

Advantages, disadvantages and who is it suitable for?

Advantage: A large media archive for history, geography, science and educational content.

Limit: Not every image has the same license; It is up to the user to make the correct attribution.

Who is it suitable for? To YouTube and social media content creators, teachers, students and designers.