Note from PC Pitstop: We recently asked our TechTalk contributors to recommend a favorite FREE application or tool that they currently use. This post is the response from our friends at PowerPoint Tips.
By Ellen Finkelstein
How to Find Free Photos and Images
Photos make great backgrounds for slides, but you need to find the right ones. The secret to finding free images and photos is to know how to use Microsoft’s tools effectively and where to look on the Web.
Find photos in PowerPoint
Many people don’t know how to find photos in PowerPoint. In PowerPoint 2002 and 2003, do the following:
1. Choose Insert> Insert Picture > Clip Art go Insert tab>Clip Art. The Clip Art task pane opens.
2. In the Search For text box, enter a keyword to search for. For example, enter sky.
3.In PowerPoint 2003 and 2007, click the down arrow of the Search In drop-down list to specify where you want to look. You can leave Everywhere check box checked to look on your computer, in MS Office collections, and on Microsoft’s Web site. (By including Web Collections, you’ll also be searching Microsoft’s Clip Art and Media site.
4.In 2003, 2007 and 2010, click the down arrow of the Results Should Be drop-down list. Here’s the secret. Uncheck everything except photographs.
5.Click Go and you’ll get only sky photos.
Find public domain photos on the Web
You often see sites selling royalty-free photos, but you have to pay for them. That may be the way to go if you want the largest selection to choose from. But you can find lots of photos, especially beautiful nature photos, that are in the public domain. This means that you can use them for any purpose, private or commercial. You just can’t copyright them, since they in the public domain.
One site with a great collection — and an excellent explanation of what public domain means and what to watch out for — is PD Photo.org. This site has gorgeous photos that you can use. Here’s a beach picture:
Three US Government sites with extensive collections of great photos – Article Continued Here
This post is excerpted with the permission of PowerPoint Tips.
