Okay, I don't want to make a blog with cute animal pics but something similar. I read something that said that she started by posting images from Flickr. Do you have to ask if you want to post someone's image (if you give credit to the original source)? Say you want to do a blog about bunnies and you want to update it everyday. Wouldn't that be a lot of work to email and ask people every day if you can use an image? I'm sure that most people don't do it this way but I'm wondering what the proper way to go about this is. Thanks in advance for any thoughts!
To get images from flickr is not a big deal. If you are worried about the copyrights - you have to ask the owner. But mostly if comeone thinks that his picture should not be used by others he would simply not make the image public in flickr. So which ever images you see on an account in flickr may be available for use for you. but it's always safe to check the copyrights license of the owner.
I normally check for copyright stuff on the owners page by clicking 'all sizes' on a particular pic on flickr.com I've have the odd one or two people that wish to have their pics taken off my site but for the most part the photographers won't mind, in fact some would feel glad their work is on display and will most probably send you a thank you email. I've personally received many such email as i own flickrville dot com. **EDIT: Have a disclaimer too!
Don't most images on Flickr have some sort of Copyright notice telling you exactly what you can and cannot do with the images? Me personally I do not mind my pictures being used but I do not want them altered in any way nor do I wish anyone to make money off them.
You should definitely take the time to read Copyright - What you need to know!. It should explain quite a bit with regards to copyright. As to your specific question I think you should definitely get the permission first. Also keep in mind that quite alot of images sumitted to Flickr is copyrighted material that some people got from other sites and uploaded as their own. If the original copyright holder finds that image on your site then they will hold you liable, so you need to be very sure that the person is indeed the copyright holder. Don't think you can hide behind a dislaimer like "If you want your image removed, please contact us.." or something similar. That won't offer you any protection if someone wants to act against you for copyright infringement.