sorry if that was a really ignorant question but I'm pretty new to web site building and don't know if it's illegal or not.
Are you going to make it yourself or take it from the book? The image has copyrights by default, but I would say if you are just scanning it in to show for some reason, no biggie...if you plan on selling something that contains that image then you need to get written permission from the book/image copyright owner.
There's a lot of pictures in this particular book that I would like to add to my website. I'm not going to make it myself, I want to scan the photos in the book and use it on my website but ofcourse I do not want to take any credit for the pictures and will quote the Author of the book for reference under the photos if I'm allowed to do that? I want to use these pictures because I think they are very useful and will enhance the reader's experience. I think if my site had just words it would look very boring and they wouldn't stick around for long. I do not intend to use the pictures in promotional material that I intend to sell, just the website.
In my experience, people won't complain if you give them credit, if you are worried, contact them, people have never said no to me. If you are extra worried add a link to where there book can be purchased, then they will probably be glad you added the pictures.
It is illegal and a violation of copyright to use anyone's work without their permission. Any reputable organization will go after you with a lawyer. They usually start with a warning letter and escalate it from there. You can either use their work without permission and risk getting caught, or you can send a note asking for permission. It the work is being used in an appropriate way, most often they will say yes, but not always.
Most appropriate way is to contact them, and tell them what you want to do. Do not hide any thing, tell them all details. Try to convince them about the benefits they will get if their image is used and credit is mentioned. It depends on the company if they will allow you or not. If they do not allow simply don't use the image. It will help you avoid any future bitter experience. It will be more relax solution to get an alternate or reproduce your own work. Violating Copyright is illegal and un-ethical. We should take care of it, so that we can make this world more better place.