Adding Images to Your PowerPoint: Public Domain, Royalty-Free, and Rights-Managed Photography
The Internet makes it incredibly easy to reinforce a
presentation with pictures on almost any topic. There
there are many stock photography websites that offer images,
illustrations and vector-based art for a price. Other places
show “free” photos for anyone to use, with or without
restrictions. Here are three types of copyright restrictions
every presenter should know.
Public domain:
Works of art placed in the public domain simply mean
person who created that image has decided not to enforce
any copyright protection. It could be an individual who simply
want to share the work with others, or it could be a work of art
created by a government agency with public funding. Year
An example of the latter would be the images of the Earth taken by
NASA astronauts. Because space financing
exploration came from the Federal Government, NASA
releases its images for public use.
An exception to “freedom” in the public domain is that an image
presented by people or products still have limitations. FOR
photo of a bottle of Coca-Cola can be found in a public
Domain collection, but the shape of that bottle is still a
trademark of The Coca-Cola Company. Similarly, unless a
Model release is on file with the photographer, images with
Identifiable people (clear faces or close up) should be used.
carefully. Imagine how you would feel if your own image
appeared in a presentation on foot fungus or bad breath!
There is a big difference between something being public,
and public domain. It is not legal to use a photograph of
any website simply because it is visible to “the public”. Even
a grandmother’s 80th birthday photo has the same copyright
like the works of Ansel Adams or Dorothea Lange. If you find
an image of a person’s home page using a search
motor, it can be as simple as asking permission to use
the file in your program. You’d be surprised how many
people would be flattered to have made a useful shot and
give the go-ahead. Especially for a low profile
presentation in a classroom or a small business meeting.
Free kingdom:
RF images are generally posted for use in any project:
presentations, print and multimedia works, and for
long periods of time. They are often priced by the size of
the image, with larger images costing more than smaller ones
one is. Restrictions may still apply, especially when it comes to
how the images will be distributed to third parties.
Many websites that offer royalty-free images combine
portfolios of numerous artists to create a larger database of
Photographs. These artists agree to the royalty-free terms
in exchange for compensation, making the website a kind of
intermediary for the PowerPoint user. The copyright of a
The image is held by the photographer and “loaned” to
the end user for presentation.
Managed or restricted rights:
The price of managed artworks is based on a variety of factors;
duration of use; the delivery method; how many people are going to
see it (impressions); who will see it (public or private), etc.
A photo displayed in PowerPoint during a small town church
sermon would cost significantly less than a photo used in a
presentation during the press conference of a new
car.
As with royalty-free images, copyright still belongs to
photographer in most cases. A photographer photographing a
specific assignment for a customer, or on the payroll of an action
the company may assign these rights based on
predetermined agreements with the end user or agency
involved.
Big and notable websites like Corbis and Getty Images
he built his business on rights-managed photography.
Both now offer royalty-free options. A lot of
Smaller royalty-free websites, known as “micro-shares”,
thrive on low prices and high volume.
When using any image in a PowerPoint presentation, it is
It is important to understand the restrictions involved. When in
doubt, speak it. Contact the person or agency offering the
photos and know your rights!