Photos and featured images add flare and context to your blog posts. They help boost SEO and make your posts easier to understand. Creative copyright licensing can sometimes make it hard to find photos that you can legally use in your blog posts. Fortunately, there are plenty of places on the Internet where you can find royalty-free images to use.
You can, of course, subscribe to any of the paid photo repositories out there, such as Adobe Stock Photos. Or you can license directly from a photographer, illustrator or artist whose work fits your blog topics. But this article will focus on free photos that you can use any time you want.
Using stock photos
Below are just a few of the leading websites for acquiring royalty-free photos. These sites allow you to run a keyword search and instantly download pictures to your computer.
While this can be a convenient way to find photos, it relies on photographers who upload their pictures for free, so the database could be limited when searching based on niche topics. However, using a combination of these sites should yield something suitable for you.
Creating your own photos
Sometimes stock photo sites like those mentioned above don’t do the trick. For example, you might have trouble finding a free photo that fits your niche, or it may not be in a suitable style for your blog. In that case, it might be best to create your photos.
If you’re a photographer or in possession of a modern smartphone or digital camera, you already have what you need to populate your blog posts with images. Likewise, if you have any graphic design or photo editing skills, you can doctor up your photos in a style that best suits you. Platforms like Canva allow you to create images in various formats.
Of course, make sure the photos you create match the topic of your blog. When taking pictures yourself, get creative with the settings and props around the house. Creating your own images can also be an excellent excuse to be adventurous and search the outside world for inspiration.
Using Google’s advanced search
Another trick for finding blog photos is to use Google’s advanced search feature to find images under a creative commons license. Creative commons allows you to use pictures for free, but you may need to credit the original creator.
After conducting an image search on Google, click on the Tools button under the search bar. A new menu will appear underneath. Click on the Usage Rights option and select “Creative Commons license.” The search results page will filter out all photos except for those under creative commons licenses, which you can then use on your blog posts.
Using any combination of the techniques listed above will get you started on finding great photos for your blog. Adding pictures to your blog helps catch the attention of visitors and aids them in understanding your blog content better. Short blog posts may not need a photo in the body section, but any blog post could use a featured image.
It seems daunting at first, but finding photos for your blog can be easy and fun if you get creative with it.