Find That Perfect Image for Your Christmas Blog

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Find That Perfect Image for Your Christmas Blog

We've touched on different ways to keep your writing formatted and interesting when it's written to be published on the web. There are practices that any writer can adopt to make these posts effective. The web is a creature of habit, and knows what it likes, without question. Like any industry, these habits may position you to succeed, but there will always be tips of the trade that make things a little easier. When it comes to writing for the web, it's often effective to lean on the visual nature of websites. A blog with a great image will beat one without nine times out of 10. The trick then, is figuring out where to find the best images without risking accusations of theft. If you have an in-house designer, great! For those without, there are other ways to step up your blogging game and find that perfect image. Let's dig in.

The everyday blogger typically finds their images in one of two ways: they search for the image through a search engine, or they snap a photo themselves. The latter of the two is right on the money, but the former requires some additional attention. All of the artwork or photography you find online was created by someone, and unless they've labelled it as 'appropriate for reuse', searching for those images and using them in your blog can cause you major headaches down the road. Theft is theft after all, the line is justa little blurrier online.

Luckily for you, there are services and tools out there designed to make your blogging life simpler this holiday season. The easiest one to pick up on is Google's advanced search options (a blessing, once you've started using it). For this specific scenario, consider a blog about Christmas robots. If you were looking for images for this blog, you'd simply search the term 'robots', and under the images category, you'd click search tools > usage rights > labeled for reuse/labeled for reuse with modification. It's as simple as that! Now you're in the clear to make edits (provided you chose the reuse option) and publish these images to your heart's content. The downside? You may not find many images that look professionally produced. For that, there's stock photography!

So broad-scale Google image searches don't tickle your fancy? There are many services that offer stock photography ranging in quality and price. Some require a flat fee, others, a subscription fee or simply ownership credit on the images you use. Business model aside, stock photography sites may be a good option for you. Raumrot offers hi-res photos organized categorically, and Unsplash uploads ten new photos every ten days that you are free to use for anything, but these are just two of the many services out there. A quick search will serve you well, but bear in mind that sites like these organize their photos by broad categories, and may not offer up results for specific or niché topics. Professional content managers swear by many of these services, so take some time, and get to know which one(s) you prefer.

If neither of these solutions sound right, then there's simply no pleasing you! Google image searches and stock photography sites are a good bet when you need an image on the fly, but nothing hits the spot quite like a contracted illustrator or photographer. if you're feeling particularly bold, try your hand at Photoshop or any of its alternatives - you may just find that you have a knack for creating your own visuals. Best of luck, and keep those blogs coming!