This is an article “Choosing the Right Photos For Your Blog” by Marc Primo Warren
Any veteran blogger knows that it’s important to include photos in your content. Those who take the time to surf the web are most receptive to visuals and images that complement your copywriting and make an entire piece compelling. If you are new to blogging, learning the basic rules of placing images in your articles and designs is fundamentally the most important first step you’ll have to take before expecting any traction in your online presence.
So, before you grab a royalty-free image from the web, get familiar with these two main rules of using images on your blogs first before you post that article.
Not all images on the web can be used for free
First things first—you can’t just grab any photo that Google turns up on your search. Most of these will be subject to copyright laws or at least require attribution. Going free with your images isn’t always the best thing to do either, especially if you aim to capture your target audience’s interest or prove an important point or insight. Free images that are available online works generally but may not have any available images to your every article subject.
Another important thing to remember when using images online is that you can be financially liable for posting copyrighted images on your website. Regardless if you do attribute it back to a link or credit the owner, you don’t have the proper permission to post the images unless you’ve purchased its rights. That’s it, plain and simple.
Wantonly grabbing photos online without the proper consent of the owner can get you back in a big way and it’s just not worth jeopardizing your brand or online cred for a single photo. If you seem to have a difficult time finding the images you want for your blog posts, why not try out photography yourself or do a little Photoshop experimentation? Not only does it cut your costs for image assets but also helps you polish your visual skills at the same time.
Know your copyright laws
Now that we know how the use of owned images requires permission, credit, or purchase, we now go over the copyright laws that are implemented for online usage via licences. If you took communication in college, you might have stumbled upon these laws in the classroom and have heard terms like infringement or royalties.
When you go online to hunt for photos you can use on your blog posts, most websites are clear enough about their rights. Images that are labeled for public domain means it has either an expired copyright or none at all, so feel free to use them as you please, whether for your ads or your articles. However, if the image is that of a certain personality, then you will have to seek permission from that person to post his or her image online for your commercial, professional, or personal reasons.
If you chance upon images that are categorized as royalty-free, then that means you can use the image without paying for anything. Such good examples of these are Pixabay or Unsplash, both of which hold thousands of free images you can use for your blog.
Lastly, creative commons are image categories that are licensed by photographers which have the sole rights to their photos. These types of images are typically labelled CC0 which means that the owner has surrendered the rights to his image property, or a CC BY 2.0 which requires credit respectively. Should you find an image with the CC label, then you might have to review the copyright rules from that website to know if you can use the material with or without any credit from the photographer. If you want to find out more about Marc Primo Warren our services or just say hi, please reach out here.