The old adage "a picture is worth 1000 words" rings more true in today's digital age than it ever has before. With more and more platforms becoming image and video-driven, having quality digital content is just as important as having quality written content. You can be the most interesting man (or woman) in the world and write like a poet laureate but without captivating visuals, you may be missing out on reads, shares, and traffic.
Creative Commons Licensed Images
A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work. A CC license is used when an author wants to give people the right to share, use, and build upon a work that they have created (About the Licenses, 2017).
Unsplash is a great resource for free images licensed under CC. For all you history buffs, New Old Stock offers vintage photos free of any known copyright.
BUT WAIT!
Did you know you have a plethora of photography resources within BoardingArea? Yep, over 100 other bloggers- some of which are talented photographers (here's to looking at you Andy).
Ed with Pizza in Motion has also volunteered his time to work on creating a stock image library of sorts for BA/P2B. He could use your help though (from Ed via Facebook)-
I need your help! If you have ideas on images you need for blog posts, please reply here or send me a message on Facebook or at ed@pizzainmotion.com
Using Images That Aren't Yours
Giving credit where credit is due is critical to not only boosting your online credibility but increasing your SEO. A general best practice is to ask permission to repost a photo, regardless of the platform you intend to use it on. Most people will be flattered that you want to use their image but asking for permission is polite and manners are #trending.
In the age of Pinterest, Tumblr and WeHeartIt, it can sometimes prove difficult to find the original source for an image. Rather than risk infringing upon the copyright, Google Image Search enables you to specifically look for images that are free to use and/or modify.
But I know the source and have permission-
Great! Here are some tips on how to cite and use images across different platforms:
Your Blog: There is a multitude of ways to cite your photos depending on the source. The following basic citation style can be used within the caption field:
image via [source link]
You should also link to the original source through the "Custom URL" option when adding a photo to a blog post.
Instagram: Do not change the image (adding a filter, cropping, etc.)
Tag the image AND provide credit in the caption.
While it is not a must, tagging and crediting vendors in the caption and photo increases your network and should generally be considered a best practice.
Here's an interesting take on why you should tag vendors and affiliates.
Facebook: You can credit photographers in the caption portion of a FB photo by typing @[name]. If the source/photographer does not have Facebook, you can provide a link to the source/site in the caption.
Featured Images- The Real Heroes
A featured image can make all the difference when it comes to enticing your readers to click on your post. Sure, an enticing headline can help open the door but...
(image via The Next Web)
Make sure your featured images are all they can be by following a few simple tips-
Avoid text in featured images
Use images that are relevant to your content
Landscape over portrait-orientated photos translate better into thumbnails and social media previews (more on this below)
Enhance for SEOUse captions, alt text and titles textName the file something relevant Scale the image for quicker loading times
Best Ways to Edit Photos and Create Graphics
WordPress has a built-in editor that you can use to flip, rotate, crop, and scale images easily but it's recommended to use an offline editor before uploading your images.
Canva is a great free tool that you can use to create captivating graphics for social media, add text overlays, and even create logos.
Size DOES Matter
As a general rule, landscape pictures lend themselves better to more platforms and run less of a risk of getting cut off in critical areas. We recommend you make your images 2000 pixels on the longest side before uploading them to your blog.
Cellphonography
One of the easiest ways to avoid Copyright Infringement is to use your personal photography. This eliminates the tracking down of sources, purchasing of stock photography, and the like. Not everyone is a regular ol' Ansel Adams but that doesn't mean you can't capture high-quality, relevant images on your iPhone or Android. Some general tips when it comes to taking photos on your cell phone-
Do not zoom in when taking the photo. Zoom after.
Follow the Rule of Thirds
Remain consistent with the way you crop and edit images VSCO is a quality app for editing and cropping photos on your cellphoneChoose 2-4 (1 BW, 2-3 colored) filters and sticking to them
Remember your cell phone images are huge and to resize to 2000 pixels on the longest side before uploading.
Final Thoughts on the Big Picture
It's safe to say images are important (they are, we promise). When selecting images, remember that your featured image is the image shown on the Boarding Area homepage during the featured week for some and all the time for others.