Trump Photos to Up Your Digital Advocacy Game
Digital advocacy in Trump’s America means (for many of us) a near unending need for Trump photos. Unfortunately, buying rights managed photos of our fearless Commander in Cheeto means running up an epic tab pretty darn quickly. But fear not (at least with regard to photos… I can’t make any promises regarding the rest of what’s going on at this point) – compelling photos of Trump are still available to those of us who don’t have deep pockets and an unlimited Getty account.
Obviously, Trump photos abound on the interwebs. The key is making sure that you’re using the photos in a way that doesn’t violate a license and end up costing you down the road. First, never ever just pull an image from a Google image search without figuring out where it came from. Simply including an attribution won’t mean you’re in compliance and protected. Second, if you have a lawyer on staff, double check with them regarding their recommendations for sourcing Trump photos while complying with licensing requirements.
My first stop for Trump photos is Creative Commons. It’s a great search tool that will pull options from across a variety of platforms (from Flickr to Wikimedia Commons to YouTube) and has a simple license structure that makes content simple to use, adapt and share as allowed.
One of our favorite Flickr sources is Gage Skidmore’s account (you’ll also find all sorts of other politicians there as well). We’ve also had luck with Michael Vadon’s Flickr account. Again, make sure you’re checking the license associated with any photos you want to use to make sure you’re following the letter of the law.
Alternately, you can look for public domain Trump photos. Photos that are paid for using taxpayer dollars are considered to fall into this category. This means that official White House photography is generally up for grabs (though this gets a bit more complicated if you’re using photos for purposes related to electoral work).
At the end of the day, finding great photos of Trump that won’t break the bank will take some time, but it’s well worth it, in terms of creating quality communications materials and preserving precious resources. So get searching and then have some fun in Canva!