If you are using a Creative Commons photo, there is a good chance that part of the required attribution is linking back to the original source, linking to the photographer’s page, and linking to the license. Failure to do this can void the license and open you up to potential fees for a photo that you thought was free to use. For more information on how to avoid copyright infringement check out this support article.
Adding a link, or links, to your caption requires a bit of html, explained later in this article. Below is a sample photo that uses a style that Creative Commons calls ideal attribution on their website.
Notice that the first link is the title of the photo, if you cannot find a title then just call it “photo” or “graphic” in the byline. The second link is on the name of the photographer or artist, and will typically link to their homepage or Flickr/Smugmug page. The third link is to the Creative Commons license.
All of this information should be included after the caption of the photo. Because this photo was taken by someone who is not on staff, do not use the photographer field to create a photo caption. The photographer field is designed to create a hyperlink to a staff photographer’s profile. If the photo or graphic was made by a non-staff member, all entering their name in the photographer field does is create an extraneous page on your website with a link to the one story where their image is used. Instead, for non-staff members, just include the attribution at the end of the caption.
Here is the text used to create the caption in the example above: The Phillie Fanatic rides a UTV before a game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. <a href="https://kyle.snodemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Phillie-Fanatic.jpg">Phillie Fanatic</a> by <a href="https://snosites.com/our-story/">Kyle Phillips</a> is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">CC BY-ND 2.0</a>
The breakdown:
The caption: The Phillie Fanatic rides a UTV before a games at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
The photo title: <a href=”[url of the original image file]”>[The photo title]</a>
by
The photo byline: <a href=”[url of the photographer’s page where the photo is hosted]”>[Photographer’s Name]</a>
is licensed under
The license: <a href=”[url of the Creative Commons license]”>[Words to be used to describe the license being used]</a>.
The template, for easy copy/paste* use - replace the bracketed text with the specific information about your image:
[Caption]. <a href=”[url of the original image file]”>[The photo title]</a> by <a href=”[url of the photographer’s page where the photo is hosted]”>[Photographer’s Name]</a> is licensed under <a href=”[url of the Creative Commons license]”>[Words to be used to describe the license being used]</a>.
*If you copy and paste this make sure to delete and retype the " characters above, using the quotation mark symbol on the keyboard, to ensure use of the proper character. If you just copy and paste it will replace the " character with an incorrect one, resulting in the link not functioning properly.