Want to share your screen? See the person you're talking to? Contact us via digital library desk! We will be with you shortly.
Monday-Friday
Usage is free but please double-check the corresponding licence terms particulary regarding modification, attribution and commercial use of an image. For more information, see further links to free images.
Free Images
All media provided by the DDPS Media Library can be freely used under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 CH licence. Please refer to the conditions. High resolution downloads require registration.
Images and texts published on this platform may be used free of charge for non-commercial purposes (teaching, learning, research) with appropriate citation. For commercial purposes, approval must be obtained from the project management. All aerial photographs are to be provided with: «Copyright VBS» or «© VBS» oder «Copyright © Swiss Department of Defence, Public Defence and Sport DDPS».
Federal, cantonal and communal administrative offices in the environmental field are entitled to use the images in publications free-of-charge. All other users are required to pay a fee for their reuse. Note that all images need to be attributed properly and registration is required prior to image download.
Britannica Image Quest is an online image library with more than 2.5 million high resolution images from the world’s best image providers, including National Geographic Society, Getty Images and Press Association Images. All images are rights-cleared for non-commercial, educational use. The images can also be used on websites if the watermark is not removed and the copyright notice as provided on IQ is given.
The portal is an add-on to the popular Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Learn more about this new resource in the guided tour.
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. The search offers a convenient access to search services provided by other independent organizations.
There are hundreds of millions of works — from songs and videos to scientific and academic material — available to the public for free and legal use under the terms of their copyright licenses, with more being contributed every day.
E-pics are offering you the picture archive of the ETH-Library. The catalog is open to the general public. As a guest you can search for, select, and order free pictures in the public e-Pics databases.
For Eawag affiliates: Eawag has a specific catalogue within the image information system of ETH Zürich. This catalogue includes images from research, teaching and Eawag history. Eawag staff can search for, select and download images in good quality. Information on access and legal policy can be found on the Eawag intranet.
ETH-Bibliothek’s platform ETHorama allows to browse through historical and contemporary articles, images, rare books and maps related to Switzerland. Its digitised content is continuously growing from ETH-Bibliothek’s holdings. Conditions of use and information on copyright can be found in ETHorama's impressum.
Freeimages offers more than 350,000 pictures from various categories. You can browse and freely use the photos after registration.
MorgueFile is a website database for free high resolution digital stock photography for either corporate or public use.
For personal or commercial use, all CC0 licensed images are completely free to use.
All photos on Pexels are free to use. Attribution is not required. Giving credit to the photographer or Pexels is not necessary but appreciated. You can modify the photos.
Freely download, copy, modify or adapt images and videos for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Attribution of the photographer or Pixabay is not required but is always appreciated. Please see here for the full terms of service.
The charge-free use of images is permitted only to media users. Rights for commercial and non-commercial use may be acquired from Swiss-Image GmbH in return for a fee. All images must be attributed. See their General Terms and Conditions for more legal details.
All photos published on Unsplash can be used for free. You can use them for commercial and noncommercial purposes. You do not need to ask permission from or provide credit to the photographer or Unsplash, although it is appreciated when possible. Also refer to the full licence details.
Wikimedia Commons is a collection of freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute.
Despite payment, you still need to obey the license terms stated by the individual providers.
Paid image repositories
Depending on your needs you can choose from different plans and pricing and obtain a standard licence. Extended licences are also available.
Keystone-SDA is a b2b (business to business) company and usually only sells to other businesses. You may click on “Inquiry” in the detail screen of an image you are interested in and indicate what you would like to use the image for.
Due to their small customer base, purchased photos have most likely not been used before. Photos can be downloaded immediately after placing an order and the image license is paid by invoice.