When it comes to PowerPoint presentations, images are always in demand. People use images from a bevy of sources that have free and paid stock images. Some popular image hosting websites also have a variety of images that are available for use under certain licensing restrictions. Some people even hire freelancers to create custom graphics for their PowerPoint presentation. Did you know that governments also hire photographers, and that the images they take can also be acquired under public domain and various free licenses. Here we will be talking about using free images from government websites in PowerPoint.

Government - Cover - FreePowerPointTemplates

The Government Hosts Free Pictures

This depends on the country, but many governments have staff who take pictures as part of their assignments. These pictures can be surprisingly good. Due to the fact that these people are paid by public taxes, many of these pictures are made available to the  public free of charge. You just need to mention the source of the image when you use it from one of their websites. The short description usually contains the name of the image (if any), name of the website, and the type of license that permits you to use the image.

Some Examples of Free Image Websites

The US government has many websites that are hosting images for the public. These websites include the following:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/

U.S. Geological Survey

http://gallery.usgs.gov/

U.S. Department of the Interior

https://www.doi.gov/photos/

Bureau of Land Management

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mypubliclands/sets/

If you open these websites, you’ll notice that most of them are pictures of natural scenery; people working; people performing fun activities, etc. You can use these images if they relate to your original topic. These images can be used when talking about the environment; animals; specific states in the US, people at work, and plenty more.

Making a nice and engaging PowerPoint presentation commonly involves images. Using these free images from the government can help you from having to pay for images that you could have borrowed for free.

Image Courtesy:
Dakotas Host Cub Scouts [CC BY 2.0] via Flickr