Image retrieval

Searching for images is one of the most common searches on the Internet. It is worth using more advanced search engines for images in order to find pictures of a certain size or colour, or when trying to find an image that can be used for a specific purpose. With some image search engines, it is possible to specify which Creative Commons licence is being used for the image being sought. One can also check where a particular image can be found on the Internet using an inverse image search engine.

However, it should be remembered that the best image content on the Internet, particularly in the fields of art and culture, is not found in image search engines, as these are often the content of different image databases and web services that the image search engine cannot find. Therefore, it is a good idea to try the different services that are referred to in this course material or the visual resources guide.

Search engines

• Google Advanced Image Search

  Advanced search that allows limiting searches by use license, file size, file type, colour or other attributes.
  

• Creative Commons Search Aggregated search engine for finding Public Domain and CC licensed materials from  Flickr ja Wikimedia Commons (more information).
  

• TinEye Reverse Image Search Reversed search engine for using an image instead of keywords for finding pages where that image file appears.