Want to know where I find all the images I use on my blog? Here’s the scoop:
Let’s say I want to write an article about loneliness.
Before I search for images to include in the article, I determine the tone of my writing. Is it happy, sad, reflective, hopeful? Once I know where the article is going, I can take breaks from writing to look for images that reflect my tone.
Note: You can browse images for inspiration, but chances are good that if you start with one image you’ll need to choose a different image for the final version of your article. Why? Because we rarely end within sight of where we started.
Where do I look? Flickr.
Unfortunately, Flickr’s search function is ungainly.
The solution? Compfight is a free site that allows me to quickly search Flickr images based on tags, license, and adult content. Instead of scrambling through Flickr, Compfight gives me the search function I need with lots of images displayed on each page so I don’t have to scramble for them!
Suppose I’ve already written a thoughtful reflection on what it is to be alone without being lonely. The tone is warm like a comfortable sweater, not a hug. I decide to search for “Alone” and see what comes up for images.
I typically search based on tags for original images. (Just photos, no crazy Photoshop creations…usually) There’s a lot of skin on Flickr (no more than anywhere else) but Safe Search does a good job of filtering that out. If you’re unfamiliar with Creative Commons licensing, here’s a quick summary of the licenses you’re likely to see on Flickr.
Now, let’s enter my keyword “Alone” into the search and see what comes up!
Compfight immediately returns pages of thumbnails tagged “alone” that I can quickly scan for something that matches the tone of my article. I often use images with people in them but the article is about being alone so I want to avoid people for this one. My eyes are drawn to a group of thumbnails with plants and water. 
The leaf looks nice. It’s alone and is a bright color. That brings up thoughts of cool fall days and times of transition. I click on it and Compfight directs me to the image page on Flickr.
I like the image even more in a large size. Perfect! But before I can move ahead, I have to make sure I’m allowed to use the image in my article. (Compfight does a good job filtering for licenses but it’s still best to check for yourself.)
I’m allowed to use the image as I wish so long as I give credit to the artist. That works for me!
I scroll back to the top of the page and click on “All Sizes” for more options:
Now I have the task of figuring out which size I’d like to download. Download? Yes. Embedding Flickr-hosted images is a bad idea for two reasons:
- Most of the images on Flickr are taken by amateur photographers and benefit from cropping. You can’t crop images if you embed them directly from Flickr. If you’re serious about effectively using images in your articles, you’ll shy away from letting Flickr dictate your options.
- If a Flickr user deletes an image, it will show up in your article as a broken link. Uploading images instead of linking to them means you can be sure that your article looks as good in a year as it did the moment you published it.
I know the article area of my blog is 540 pixels wide. I want the image to take up the full width of the article so I choose “Original,” (800 x 696 pixels) double check the image license (yes, I’m good to go) and download the image to my computer. I download the image in a size larger than I need so that when I crop it I won’t lose the clarity of the original.
I use Photoshop to crop my images and to sometimes add text. (Only if the image is licensed for derivative works. Many are not.)
Here’s what I came up with: (I’m no Photoshop genius but I’ve found that very basic photo editing skills go a very long way when it comes to formatting photos for an article.)
Pretty nice, eh? Once the image is uploaded, embedded in the article, and floated correctly so my friends in RSS land don’t see weird things, all that’s left to do is give credit to the photographer.
I typically end my articles with “Photo credit: artist name links to Flickr page” like so:
Photo credit: Arwen Abendstern
Nothing forces me to link back to the Flickr image page. I like to link back to the source to let the artist know I used the photo. The link also saves me the effort of searching for the image if somebody asks where I found it or wants to use it.
That’s about it. If you’d like clarification of any points or have a question/remark, feel free to let me know in a comment.
Thanks!
Photo credit: garryknight
Reading: How I Discover & Use Images On My Blog
I generally just go straight to Flickr, and search for Creative Commons only, photos. And lately I’ve been using that with CoolIris.
Then to credit, I place the name of the photographer as graphic text on the edge of the photo, and in the reference links at the foot of the article, I credit again with a link back to the original.
My blog is GigantiCo (hence my illustrious title in my name… that links).
I have bookmarked this “CompFight” sight you use. I will experiment with it. Thanks.
[...] August 31, 2009 in Uncategorized via sethsimonds.com [...]
Seth,
This is incredibly helpful.
Thanks for the step-by-step instructions, explanation of licensing, as well as sharing your thought process for finding the perfect pic.
Bookmarking for future reference.
SJA
PS: Any special tips for finding photos of slimming belts? ::ducks::
Wow – great advice, Seth!
I checked out Compfight after reading the post. I’ll definitely incorporate into my photo search practices.
Brandon
@bchesnutt
This was very helpful, indeed! Thank you for sharing your process.
I haven’t started taking advantage of Flickr, but your recommendations should make future blogs a bit easier to publish.
Sarah: Do you need photos of slimming belts, or just the number of a good Photoshop user?
Todd
or, as I do, you can use your own pictures and not worry about copyright. But, I must admit that you have a knack for some very pretty images. Completely tasteful and appropriate!
Thanks so much for your article/tutorial – this is something I’m working on at the present time and your article is very helpful. I intend to use this for future images on my blogs.
Thanks again!
Marlene
thanks for sharing this, sure beats morguefile and trawling flickr!
Seth – Great tip! I’m always looking for new image sources. This is a wonderful way to make searching Flickr pain-free and WAY more efficient. (What blogger has extra time to spend sifting through scads of inappropriate images?). Thanks much for sharing!
Very helpful post, especially since we’re preparing to launch our blog this month. I was checking out Flickr’s Creative Commons just this morning (wanted to learn a bit more about the various licenses–your primer on that topic was great, too). I’ve never heard of Compfight before, but I’ll definitely be checking it out now thanks to this post.
best,
Mary
That’s a lot of work for the image, Seth – kudos for having the patience
Looks a pretty interesting set-up, but think I’ll stick with the Photo Dropper plugin for now (I’m lazy, and it offers the search by keyword and license functionality!).
[...] friend Seth Simonds was one step ahead (as usual) and posted this excellent guide called “How I Discover & Use Images On My Blog” which definitively covers the process of carefully selecting photos or images for your blog and the [...]
This is awesome. When you told me the first time that you use Flickr to give credit, I started using it for the pictures on my blog. It was tedious, but atleast I am able give credit where it is due. My problem is, I write a lot about movies, and I am unsure what pictures I can or cannot use. If it says Some Rights reserved, I should be safe as long as I give credit right? What bothers me are the movie posters because I am afraid I will give the wrong credit.
[...] Almost as if the Twitter gods were smiling down on me, within 5 minutes of finishing our telephone call Michel Fortin sent a tweet that directed me to Seth Simonds’ article, “How I Discover & Use Images On My Blog”. [...]
Thanks for telling us about a very useful tool. But I’m curious to know what made you decide to use the carrot picture.
[...] images in his The Importance of Pictures in Your Blogs post and Seth Simonds who shares this great How I discover and Use Images on My Blog article that explains how he finds Creative Commons photos on Flickr. addthis_url = [...]
[...] and information on the types of Creative Commons licences check out articles at Skellieweg and Sethsimonds. Sonia Simone (always good) has her own take on things with her – Lazy Bloggers Guide to [...]
Pretty smart! A definite use for a great find… Thanks!