How to use Pictures and Images Properly on Blogs

If you're a blogger suffering from a boring website design, one foolproof way to pretty things up quickly and make your blog more inviting is to incorporate some pictures and appealing images. The only problem is you can't just get pictures from anywhere on the Internet and then use them however you want. There are copyright concerns with visual content that are meant to protect artists, similar to how copyrights protect the written content of bloggers. Use images properly to ensure you never violate an artist's rights.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Blog or website
• Browser
• Internet access

1. Determine what kind of visual content your blog needs. If you only want photographs, consider using some from your own personal stockpile. That way, there will be no issues with violating anyone's rights for the most part.

2. Visit a public photo-sharing website such as flickr and perform a search for the name of what you would like to have a picture or image of on your blog or website. For instance, if you want a picture of people enjoying a movie, search for "movie theater" or "watching movies."

3. Browse through the results that your search returns until you locate something that matches what you have in mind. Remember that searches often lead to content that might inspire you to change your original ideas. Try not to be rigid. If something else suddenly catches your fancy, go with it and explore.

4. Navigate to the page that has the image you're interested in and carefully review it to find any and all information about the copyright licenses that are granted to people who want to use the image. Make sure that you follow the wishes of the creator. If the image is accompanied by text that says "All rights reserved," you may not copy the image to use elsewhere.

5. Contact the creator directly to ask for permission to use an image at a photo sharing website that has no indication of a copyright license at all. Then follow the instructions you receive back.

6. Visit the FAQ or Help section of the photo sharing site if you locate a suitable image that seems to allow people to use it elsewhere. Find the explanation that matches the copyright license indicated and confirm that your intended use matches the rights granted. For example, if the license is for non-commercial usage only, you should not use the image on a website where commerce is conducted.

7. If the license grants people the right to reproduce the image, follow the photo sharing site's instructions for copying images (look in the FAQ or Help section again), post the image where you want it on your blog or website, and watch traffic improve as people notice how much more inviting your personal spot on the Internet is.

Tips & Warnings

• If you use your personal photos on your blog or website, make sure that you have permission from any adults or the parents of any children who appear in them. Some people do not like having their picture posted in a public space like the Internet, and common courtesy suggests that it's best to respect such preferences.
• If you use someone else's visual work by permission, it's also common courtesy to include the name of the artist near the image or photo you use, even if the license they grant doesn't require such attribution.

Resources

• Flickr