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Landmarks and monuments in images are any visual likenesses that represent the historical and cultural buildings, statues, or other markers that various nations around the world use to commemorate important people or events. These images may capture the entire monument or only a recognizable portion. They often serve to conjure a specific culture to communicate a sense of history, exploration, travel, or even patriotism. Because they are so recognizable, these images immediately tie visual designs to a specific place, including the audience's general ideas about what it means to be in that space. Landmarks and monuments images are packed with visual meaning, so designers often lean on them to do the hard work of telling a visual story using as few elements as possible.
Landmarks and monuments images are engaging because they come loaded with a sense of history and place. Monument Valley along the Arizona-Utah border, for example, is a familiar landmark that has appeared in countless Western movies. It conjures images of frontier days in the U.S. — and what it means to stake out across unknown territory. It’s the stories these images tell that makes them so engaging. When we see monuments and landmarks we recognize, it's almost as if we're returning to a place we've visited before — even if we've never been there. We can picture ourselves under the Eiffel Tower or standing outside of Notre Dame. We've seen these images before, so seeing them again in a new design is an invitation to explore cultural treasures to which we feel connected.
Finding high-quality images of your favorite landmarks and monuments is easy. To begin, you can simply scroll down and explore our curated collection of landmarks and monuments straight from the Shutterstock library. If you're looking for something more specific, go to the top of this page and enter your search term in "Search for images." When you get your results, you can begin narrowing them down by choosing filters such as orientation, color scheme, or image type. If you already have an image, and you'd like to see something similar, click on "search by images" and upload your file. The Shutterstock A.I. will scour the collection and return similar compositions to your original upload. The rules behind using landmarks and monuments in your creative projects are a little more complicated than standard images, so scroll down to learn more.
Likenesses of landmarks and monuments are similar to likenesses of people — you usually can't use them in commercial projects (especially not without permission). The rules are different for different monuments. Generally speaking, you can't use landmarks or monuments in projects you intend to monetize, like marketing materials. However, many landmarks and monuments are available for editorial use, especially when you credit them correctly. This means you can use the likeness when you're exploring a specific monument in your creative project, but not for commercial use. Since the rules are different for every monument or landmark, it's a good idea to consider the most famous as inspirations, and then rely on the diverse collection of images in the Shutterstock library to find an image you can license for your project.
Generally speaking, it's safest to assume that you cannot use a likeness of a monument or landmark in your commercial projects — the rules vary for non-commercial, editorial projects, which visually explore the monument or landmark without trying to monetize it. It's always a good idea to check the restrictions for monuments and landmarks before you commit to using one in your project. However, some of the most famous landmarks and monuments are available for restricted commercial use. Daytime, exterior shots of the Eiffel Tower are acceptable for commercial use, while shots of the lighting at night are not. The Hagia Sophia is another good example — images taken off the property are acceptable for commercial use. Exterior shots of the Colosseum in Italy are also acceptable for commercial use. Carefully check each monument or landmark you want to use before you include these images in your creative design.