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There are basically two type of pictures (images, files, pics, etc.) that are used here on Wikipedia: Free images; Non-free images; A free image is an image that can be freely used anywhere on Wikipedia. A free image may be either public domain, or released under a free license, such as CC-BY-SA. Free images can be used in any article where ...
Also, most images found on the web do not meet our non-free content policy, which states that a non-free image may be used only when it cannot be replaced. For example, there's no way that a logo of a political party or a screenshot of a video game can be replaced by a free image, but a photo of a living person or location can almost always be ...
The following list is not exhaustive but contains the most common cases where non-free images may be used and is subject to the restrictions listed below at unacceptable use of images, notably #8, which forbids the use of press agency or photo agency (e.g., AP or Getty Images) images when the image itself is not the subject of commentary.
An easy way to find such images is to search with the restriction to site:.gov OR site:.mil. Again, be creative and vary your search terms. Not all images on the .gov or .mil sites are public domain, however: works by local state governments are not necessarily in the public domain. In case of doubt, ask.
Correct misinterpretations of free images. One of the main complaints about free images is lack of quality when compared with a promotional images. That is not true: there are very good free images as shown by Wikipedia:Featured pictures. In the case of replaceable images, it is possible that a promotional image will look better than free versions.
In particular, user pages are not personal home pages nor is Wikipedia a free host, webspace provider, communal image-sharing service or social networking site. Finally, all images must not have copyright problems. Note that only completely "free" pictures can be directly displayed, others must be linked to.
Performers (and, perhaps more importantly, their publicity agents) and companies with products are more likely to grant free licenses to use their publicity photos if one reward for doing that that is a chance to get a high-quality image of their own choosing into Wikipedia, which is now one of the most-visited sites on the World Wide Web.
Free images should not be watermarked, distorted, have any credits or titles in the image itself or anything else that would hamper their free use, unless, of course, the image is intended to demonstrate watermarking, distortion, titles, etc. and is used in the related article. Exceptions may be made for historic images when the credit or title ...