The Internet is a bountiful place, full of information, wonder, and an endless supply of heart-melting puppy videos. But what may sometimes seem in short supply are fantastic, free photos to easily–and legally–use for your presentations or blog slideshows.

While Google image search is convenient, it’s up to you to make sure you’re using any images you find lawfully. Flickr is an incredible resource for Creative Commons-licensed images–as long as you apply the correct filters and include proper attribution, which requires a bit of legwork. We believe that Creative Commons images are an incredible cultural treasure trove, and they are central to the Haiku Deck experience. We want to make it as easy as possible to do the right thing AND bring your stories to life with beautiful, free photos that you are free to use, like these:


The Visual Gems Of Haiku Deck – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Finding Images

Every image search you perform within Haiku Deck taps into the millions of ready-to-use Creative Commons licensed images that have been posted to Flickr by photographers all over the world. We match keywords from your slide text to tags supplied by the photographers to streamline the process, but you can always search for any word or phrase you like, whether it’s “giant blueberry pancakes” or “bearded pirates.” We’ll even give you a list of related keywords to get your creative juices flowing. (Power tip: We have all found that allowing ourselves a little time to play with keyword searching often reveals fresh inspiration that leads to stronger slides and decks.)

Using the built-in image keyword search in the iPad App

Automatic Attribution

Once you select the perfect image, Haiku Deck magically embeds the image credit, so proper attribution is always just a click away. When you play a Haiku Deck directly from your iPad, tap the screen and then the CC logo in the lower right corner to view the photographer and the license details.

Free photos for all: Viewing Creative Commons image license info in Haiku Deck

Tap the Creative Commons logo to view the image and license details

You can even Click the “i” button next to the photographer’s name to view their Flickr photostream in a pop-up window.

Free Photos for all: Viewing Creative Commons image license info in Haiku Deck

Tap the photographer’s name or the “info” icon for more details

If you’re viewing a Haiku Deck on the web, look for the CC logo in the top left corner of each slide.

Free Photos for All: Creative Commons photo credit in Haiku Deck

Click the Creative Commons logo in the top left corner to view license and photo details

Click it to reveal a black bar filled with useful links. Click the photographer’s name to view their photostream, and click the CC icon for more details about the specific license. The image attribution is preserved even if you export your deck to Powerpoint or as a PDF.

The upshot: There’s no need to resort to lackluster clip art, or to act like a bearded pirate, if you want to add visual interest your decks. With the superpowered Haiku Deck image search, finding beautiful free photos has never been easier. And with the knowledge that every photo is licensed through Creative Commons and properly attributed, you can create rock-star slides AND sleep soundly.

P.S. Want to use your own images? You can just as easily upload photos and screenshots in a snap.