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Where to find public domain footage and pictures for a YouTube documentary

Checked October 27, 2026

SHORT ANSWER

For history, start with Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress, the US National Archives and museum open access collections. For film, Internet Archive has the most, but check each film's own license. For space, use NASA; for recent military and disaster footage, DVIDS. Each source has a catch, listed below. One rule covers all of them: read the license on the file's own page, not the collection's.

What editors actually use

We read 21 Reddit threads where editors and YouTubers asked where footage comes from, in r/editors, r/VideoEditing, r/NewTubers, r/youtubers, r/PartneredYoutube and r/Filmmakers. The free source named most often was archive.org (21 mentions), followed by Pexels and Pixabay (14 each). Paid libraries came up as well: Envato Elements (27 mentions) and Getty Images (14).

Several commenters said they use clips from other YouTube videos without a license. That is a copyright risk, and YouTube can stop monetization for it under its reused content policy whether or not you get a copyright claim (see our guide to YouTube's monetization policies).

The free sources, one by one

Wikimedia Commons

The media library behind Wikipedia, with copies of many archive, library and museum collections. Commons only accepts files that can be used commercially: it takes no fair use files and no non-commercial licenses. A public domain file has to be public domain in the United States and in the country it came from.

Licenses and dates on Commons are entered by volunteers. They are usually right, but open the file page and check the source and the date, and look for a personality rights warning on photos of people. CC BY and CC BY-SA files need a credit.

Library of Congress

Photographs, prints, maps and newspapers. The Library has more than 100 "Free to Use and Reuse" sets of 25 to 50 items each. Everything else has its own rights statement.

The most common statement, "No known restrictions on publication", means the Library is unaware of any restrictions on the image. It is not a guarantee, so look at who made the picture and when.

US National Archives

Federal records, photographs and films. The Archives says the vast majority of the digital images in its catalog are in the public domain and asks you to credit it as the source.

Some donated material is still under copyright. Read the "Use Restriction(s)" field on each record. The Archives does not issue letters confirming that something is public domain; checking is up to you.

Internet Archive

A large free film library, including the Prelinger Archives (10,461 films), FedFlix (13,556 US government films) and Universal Newsreels (611 films).

Anyone can upload to archive.org, and the collection a film sits in says nothing about its rights. The Prelinger Archives' own rights page warns, in capitals, not to assume all its films are in the public domain. When we counted on October 27, 2026, 1,876 of the 10,461 Prelinger films carried a public domain license on their own item page. Use a film when its own page shows a public domain or Creative Commons license, or when it is clearly a work of the US federal government.

NASA

NASA photos and videos are generally not subject to copyright in the United States. NASA asks to be credited as the source.

NASA's logos and insignia are protected, the material cannot be used in a way that suggests NASA endorses you, and some images on NASA sites belong to third parties and are marked with the owner's name.

Museum open access collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art releases images of more than 492,000 public domain works under CC0. The Smithsonian and the Cleveland Museum of Art do the same for their open access collections. CC0 needs no credit.

Only items marked as open access are covered. At the Met, they carry an "OA" icon. Other images on the same sites are not.

DVIDS

Photos and video from the US military, updated daily: deployments, exercises and disaster relief. Work made by US government employees as part of their official duties is not protected by copyright in the United States.

Some files belong to other people even when they are not marked. You cannot use the material to imply endorsement, military insignia are trademarks, and the people shown keep their privacy and publicity rights.

Pexels and Pixabay

Modern stock photos and video, free for commercial use under each site's own license (not Creative Commons). No credit is needed.

You cannot sell unaltered copies or use a picture to suggest that the people or brands in it endorse you. Pixabay also rules out commercial use of content that shows trademarks in relation to goods and services. These sites are for general modern shots, not for history.

Three checks before a picture goes into your video

  1. The license on the file's own page. A collection name, a website's reputation or a search result is not a license.
  2. The date. For a history video, check when the picture was made, not when it was uploaded.
  3. People, logos and artworks. A public domain photo can still show a trademark, or a person whose likeness is protected. Source pages usually say so.

Public domain is not the same everywhere

Copyright terms differ between countries, so a picture can be public domain in the United States and still protected elsewhere. Wikimedia Commons only keeps files that are public domain in both the US and the country they came from, which makes it a safer place to start.

Sources

纪录片和 YouTube 视频的公有领域素材去哪找

核对日期：2026 年 10 月 27 日

SHORT ANSWER

历史题材先找维基共享资源、美国国会图书馆、美国国家档案馆和各博物馆的开放馆藏。影片最多的是 Internet Archive，但每部片都要看它自己的授权。航天题材用 NASA，近年的军事和救灾画面用 DVIDS。每个来源都有要注意的地方，下面逐个说。所有来源通用的一条：看文件自己页面上的授权，不要看合集的名字。

剪辑师实际在用哪些

我们读了 r/editors、r/VideoEditing、r/NewTubers、r/youtubers、r/PartneredYoutube 和 r/Filmmakers 里 21 个讨论「素材从哪来」的帖子。被提到最多的免费来源是 archive.org（21 次），其次是 Pexels 和 Pixabay（各 14 次）。也有人用付费库：Envato Elements（27 次）和 Getty Images（14 次）。

有好几位评论者说，他们直接用别人 YouTube 视频里的片段，不买授权。这有版权风险；而且即使没收到版权声明，YouTube 也可以按「重复使用内容」政策停掉收益（见我们关于 YouTube 收益政策的指南）。

免费来源，逐个说

维基共享资源（Wikimedia Commons）

维基百科背后的媒体库，收了很多档案馆、图书馆和博物馆藏品的副本。它只收能商用的文件：不收「合理使用」的文件，也不收禁止商用的授权。标为公有领域的文件，必须在美国和来源国都属于公有领域。

授权和日期是志愿者填的，大多数是对的，但还是要打开文件页面核对来源和日期；人物照片要看有没有「肖像权」提示。CC BY 和 CC BY-SA 的文件需要署名。

美国国会图书馆

照片、版画、地图和报纸。图书馆有 100 多组「免费使用和再利用」专题，每组 25 到 50 件。其他藏品各有自己的权利说明。

最常见的说明「No known restrictions on publication」，意思是图书馆不知道这张图有任何使用限制。这不是保证，所以还要看是谁、在什么时候拍的。

美国国家档案馆

联邦政府档案、照片和影片。档案馆说，目录里的数字图片绝大多数属于公有领域，希望使用时注明来源是国家档案馆。

部分捐赠的材料仍有版权，要看每条记录的「Use Restriction(s)」一栏。档案馆不出具「某件东西属于公有领域」的证明，核实是使用者自己的责任。

Internet Archive

一个很大的免费影片库，包括 Prelinger 影片库（10,461 部）、FedFlix（13,556 部美国政府影片）和 Universal 新闻片（611 部）。

任何人都能往 archive.org 上传，一部片放在哪个合集里，说明不了它的授权。Prelinger 自己的权利说明用大写字母提醒：不要以为它的影片都是公有领域。我们在 2026 年 10 月 27 日数过，10,461 部 Prelinger 影片里，只有 1,876 部在自己的页面上标了公有领域授权。只用页面上标明公有领域或 Creative Commons 授权的片子，或者明确是美国联邦政府作品的片子。

NASA

NASA 的照片和视频在美国一般不受版权保护，NASA 要求注明来源。

NASA 的标志和徽章受保护；不能让人以为 NASA 为你背书；NASA 网站上也有一些第三方的图片，会标明版权方。

博物馆开放馆藏

大都会艺术博物馆以 CC0 发布了 49.2 万多件公有领域作品的图片。史密森学会和克利夫兰艺术博物馆的开放馆藏也是 CC0。CC0 不需要署名。

只有标为开放的藏品才适用，大都会的会带「OA」图标；同一个网站上的其他图片不在其中。

DVIDS

美国军方的照片和视频，每天更新：部署、演习、救灾。美国政府雇员在职务内制作的作品，在美国不受版权保护。

有些文件属于第三方，即使没有标注。不能用来暗示军方背书；军种徽章是商标；画面里的人仍然保有隐私权和肖像权。

Pexels 和 Pixabay

现代图库照片和视频，按各自网站的许可可以免费商用（不是 Creative Commons），不需要署名。

不能原样转卖，也不能让人以为图里的人或品牌为你背书。Pixabay 还规定，带商标的内容不能用于和商品、服务相关的商业用途。这两个网站适合现代的通用画面，不适合历史题材。

一张图放进视频之前，核对三件事

  1. 文件自己页面上的授权。合集的名字、网站的名气、搜索结果，都不等于授权。
  2. 日期。做历史视频，要看图是什么时候拍的、画的，不是什么时候上传的。
  3. 人物、商标和艺术作品。公有领域的照片里也可能有商标，或者肖像受保护的人。来源页面一般会写明。

公有领域在各国并不一样

各国版权期限不同，一张图在美国是公有领域，在别的国家可能仍受保护。维基共享资源只保留在美国和来源国都属于公有领域的文件，所以从它开始找更稳妥。

Sources

Find pictures for one line of your script

Paste a line of narration. The free picture finder returns public-domain and Creative Commons pictures from the right period, each with its license and a credit you can copy.

Try the free picture finderTry Cutaway free

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