1.8 billion photos get uploaded online
every day. That volume is increasing as more people gain access to smartphone
cameras and businesses more fully appreciate the value that images can have
when it comes to engaging with customers.
Since you're reading this post, we'll assume that you
understand that images, particularly in the blog space, can make or break
success. What you may not understand is how to pick a photo out of the
virtually infinite number that are available to you.
Our blog images guidance below aims to clear that confusion
up.
Keep reading as we go over a handful of simple steps that'll
help you acquire high-quality and on-brand imagery legally.
Step 1. Ditch Amateur Photos
The first step to leveraging stunning blog images is to get
the idea out of your head that all photos are created equal.
Several rules dictate what a technically sound photo looks
like including the rule of thirds, proper exposure and more. Understanding what
makes a photo professional can eliminate 70%+ of all online images from your
consideration which will make sourcing pictures simpler.
Bottom line, unless you're a gifted photographer, source
your blog/website images from professional providers rather than digging
through your cellphone camera.
Step 2. Don't Over or Under Pay
Just because you're committed to sourcing professional-level
photography doesn't mean that you need to overpay for it. Several online image
websites offer thousands of free, professional photos. There are also websites
that offer fabulous photos for small licensing fees.
Take the time to look over what free and paid options are
out there and try to find a medium that allows you to source excellent
photography that's not overused without breaking the bank.
Step 3. Start With High-Resolution
Most professional photography sites allow you to download
high-resolution photos. This is important because you'll likely need to make
adjustments to your picture before you upload it to your blog and your results
will be much better if you work off of a high-quality image rather than a
compressed, low-quality one.
Some websites may restrict their highest quality versions of
photos to paid subscribers. In these cases, you'll be fine downloading the next
best quality photo so long as its resolution is still relatively robust.
Step 4. Make Sure Your Image Sizes Down Well
If you download a 4k+ resolution picture and use it verbatim
as one of your blog images, you're going to run into serious problems.
Remember, vast amounts of internet users visit blogs on their smartphones via
their data plans. If you make them download a 4K image under those conditions
whenever they access your website, not only is your site going to load
extremely slow but you're going to eat up all of your reader's data.
To avoid this problem, drop your high-resolution image into
photo editing software and compress it to around 100kb. Note that some photos
look better at low-resolutions than others. If the photo that you want to use
seems overly grainy when sized-down, you may want to select a more versatile
picture.
Step 5. Understand Your Motif
Just because an image looks good doesn't mean that it's
right for your website. Before deciding on blog images, consider what your
blog's motif, color-scheme, etc. is and try to select pictures that are in the
same vein.
Building that kind of consistency into your product will
help to make your online brand more identifiable.
Step 6. Pick Photos That Say Something
A picture is worth a thousand words. Knowing what those
words are and ensuring that they align with your brand is imperative to the
image selection process.
Look at a photo that you're considering and understand what
it tells you. Then, show the same images to others to see what it communicates
to them.
Use your findings to discern if a picture is helpful to your
business's goals or if it's a distraction.
Step 7. Think About Your Audience
This step ties in closely to the last two. Despite that,
it's important for us to mention that all decisions regarding imagery should be
made with a healthy understanding of who your audience is.
If you appeal to young people, having models in a photo that
are young and having fun will likely resonate. If your brand is targeted at
seniors, that image won't have the same effect and engagement on your blog will
be adversely affected.
Step 8. Ensure You Have Proper Licensure Before Publishing
By now, you know everything that you need to select quality,
on-brand imagery. The last step of the blog images process is to ensure that
you have proper licensure before publishing photos on your website.
Images online are issued to users under several different
licenses. These licenses may require attribution, restrict commercial use and
more. You can learn more about common online
licenses here.
Never publish an image under the wrong license as it could
lead to legal action being taken against you. To reduce confusion, as
you're improving keyword search viability for
your images, consider adding your picture's licensing information to its
metadata.
Our Tips Will Enable Your Blog Images to Break Away From the Pack
There are billions of
websites and blogs online. Paying close attention to how you craft
your brand via the blog images that you use can have a profound impact on your
ability to break away from the pack and gain digital traction.
We hope that you found our tips to be helpful and recommend
checking out more of the blog building resources available to you on this site!
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