I've had several questions about how I find my blog post images since my post last week, 5 Ways the Right Photo Can Get You More Blog Readers.
Okay, here it is.
My Cliff Notes version of sources for intriguing, low-cost photos. Most I have tried at least once and some I go back to over and over again.
Keep in mind that there are tons of other ones out there. If you want to explore some more, just do a google search.
Two more things. When an image is offered royalty-free, that means you pay for the image once and can use it as many times as you like.
Also, some of these companies offer several different versions of the same image, based on lowest to highest resolution. For blog posts, you just need the lowest res one, which, happily, is always the lowest cost.
Visit these sites for lots of great blog photo choices
This is my favorite. Most of the images in my blog posts come from IStockphoto.
The upside: Wide selection (more than 5 million images); outstanding quality. Royalty-free. iStockphotos is especially good if you are looking for animal images, which I use a lot. All you need to provide at signup is name and email address.
The downside: You do need to pay a nominal fee for usage, usually no more than one or two dollars
How to get started: I usually buy a number of credits, which become my "bank." I buy my imaged with my credits and restock my credit bank when it runs low. Sign up here.
Also have used this one. Quality comparable to iStockphoto. Some free. Most for a fee.
The upside: More than 6 million images by 73,000 photographers. Royalty-free. A limited number of free images.
The downside: Can browse through free images, but it's time-consuming. Most of the better quality photos have a usage charge and, still, ae not quite the quality of iStock. They also requitre more personal information during account set-up.
How to get started: Register for an account here.
Don't use this one quite as frequently, but occasionally find a photo that is perfect for a specific need.
The upside: Most images are free. Has a good selection of landscape/vegetation photos. Attribution licensing category gives you the royalty-free right to copy, distribute and display the copyrighted photos—as long as you give the photographer credit.
The downside: Consumes gobs of time because you have to wade through tons of images, some of dubious quality, to find what you need. Sometimes the credit and link back to the photographer can spoil the aesthetic beauty of a photo.
How to get started: Sign up here.
Haven't used this one, but a colleague, Christa Dunk, recommended it and said she loves it.
The upside: Large variety of no-cost, royalty-free images. 350,000 photos by more than 30,000 photographers.
The downside: Like FlickrCreativeCommons, it takes time to browse, sort and find. Need to provide lots of personal information to sign up. Be sure to read the fine print under Terms of Use.
How to get started: Register for an account.
Hope this helps. Do you have sources for good blog post images? If you do, would love if you add to the collective wisdom here.
Oh, yes. And I got the photo for this post from iStockphoto.
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Posted by: pletcherqrd | 10/16/2011 at 12:11 AM