Photo By: Nicholas
Images play an important part in blogs and websites in general. They not only make the page looks good, they are also a great way to capture attention and direct the eyes to where you want them to go.
Honestly speaking, I don’t think this blog would have been what it is without all the images I get from flickr. And yes, those aren’t my images but I do get to use them for free… legally.
One of the popular questions I get is how do I get those images? Well, I used to refer them to an awesome post by Skellie where I learned of this method (I used to pay a dollar odd for stock photos).
But today, I decided to write up my own guide and include how to use those images for maximum impact.
By the way, you can even use these images for anything you want. Be it ebook cover, blog design, banners and so on.
First things first: Why Flickr?
Well… because they host more images than anywhere that you can get for free.
If you don’t mind paying (or hate attributing), then you can of course go for stock photos that you’ll need to pay for. And if you don’t mind getting sued once in a while, then get them from Google Images.
Here’s how to get your images
1. Go to Flickr Creative Commons. Once there, you’ll see a 6 types of licenses that is available. I’d recommend only to use images with the attribution license to avoid all the legal stuff.
If you want to read more about what those licenses mean, you can read Skellie’s post where he dived more into the details. Basically, images with the attribution license allows you modify the images (such as re-sizing, cropping and writting on it) so as long as you have a link back to the profile of the photographer.
2. Ok, on that page, click “see more”.
3. You’ll then reach a search page.
4. Enter you keyword and search
Photo By: Klaus Post
5. By default, flickr arranges search results by decreasing “most relevant”. If you find the images aren’t of the quality you’re looking for, click “most interesting” right below the line where it says “We found XXXX images…”
6. Within seconds, you have yourself an amazing image to work with. Isn’t that easy? Choose the image and don’t forget to link back to the profile of the photographer!
How to use the images in your blog the best way possible
Once you’ve selected the image you want, you need to make sure you present it in its best light.
One way to do it is to just plug it in, like I did at the top and like what Skellie did in his post.
Photo by Paulo Brandao
Another way of doing it is to add a frame, like I normally do in this blog and like the picture of the tree right here.
Which one is better? Well, it all depends on your site’s design. Generally, if the image’s background can blend with the website’s background, you can insert them without adding a frame… Just like the picture of the seashell at the top.
Ok, so how can you add a frame to your images? Check out this post by Chris Pearson on How to Style Images in Blog Posts.
As important as images are, don’t forget to check out my post, “Are Fancy Graphics Hurting Your Sales?“
I really like Flickr for finding images for my blog as well. Like you said, you can usually find something that matches up exactly with what you want.
I slightly misunderstood the CC license and accidentally used an image that was not meant for businesses. I was asked to change the image, which I did immediately. I have learned to make sure I do an advanced search and mark the “Find content to use commercially” check box under the Creative Commons section.
This way I completely avoid any issues.
Another good place for free images is Morgue File. They have completely free images (no worries about what pictures are CC licensed and which ones are not). Obviously, not as many images as Flickr, but they have a lot of good-quality imagery.
Thanks for the post!
Leo Wurschmidts last blog post..Sonic Drive-In Needs To Add TV Ads To Their Web Marketing Strategy
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