Howdy,

I've recently started posting examples of my own work on my blog in order to attempt to get some feedback and exposure. I was also planning on posting images from other photographers that I find particularly inspiring, and providing full credits and source links wherever possible, and clearly noting that these images are not my own work.

I had already made a couple of posts in this manner when I realised that I'm probably breaching someone else's copyright by republishing their work without their permission. My site is clearly non-commercial and for informative/entertainment/inspirational purposes only but I know that people have gotten in trouble in the past for doing this very thing.

My plan is to attempt to contact the photographer wherever possible and obtain permission to republish before going ahead with it. Many of the images I have discovered are already on other sites, which often don't provide much detail as to the owner.

What are the legalities of republishing images when they don't come with explicit copyright/licensing statements ?

Is crediting the photographer and linking to the source enough to avoid potential legal trouble ?

Is there some kind of 'best practices' guideline for this kind of thing ? Am I worrying about nothing ?

Cheers.