"Mamiya Super 23 polaroid tribute" by Diego Sevilla Ruiz
Images are a pretty big deal in the world of blogging. How else would we be able to graphically show something relating to what we’re talking about? Videos do work, but many times, people don’t have the time for it. If a picture is really worth a thousand words, then a picture should simplify the message of that is being said in a blog post.
I like to look for images that open the reader’s mind to what is about to be said in the blog post. After all, it’s the first thing that the reader sees once they open up the full page. It’s like an opening thesis statement: Because of it, you get an idea of what you’re about to learn about, or in this case, read about.
In some cases, you could try to be misleading, just to throw people off. It could make people look over, hoping to find something else, only to find the true content within what is written. It could very well make some sort of a defying statement. But in a professional environment, you’re not as likely to get away with it.
My approach to finding the right images is very situational. Sometimes, I know just the right picture for the right post, but it would just be a matter of finding the right one that suits my “vision” of what I would like to use.
At other times, it can be totally different. I like to just browse around, pick a good concept image, find what I specifically like about this certain image, and make a new search including those things.
For example, if I’m writing a piece on books, I’ll make a Compfight search for “books”. I would then look at my results, see what I like about them, and then search for those pictures. So then I would make a search for “bookshelves + old books”. By then, I would normally find something suitable, if not, I would try to look on other sites, or further change the search words.
But the most important thing of looking for images in blog posts is making sure that I have the right to use them. I wouldn’t want to break the law, and get in legal trouble, would I? When it comes to making sure that I have the rights, I include “creative commons” in the search, and then verifying on the webpage where I could find the image.
relating2thepublic
January 24, 2012
I think that you are right, though videos are impactful, images are quick and shocking. I think it is important to implement pictures within blog posts because it helps break up the writing within your posts. It makes it easier to read and more interesting to look at. I personally enjoy putting pictures within my blog posts because it is fun to pick out pretty ones, but that’s just me!!
blherrman
January 28, 2012
I really like what you said here, images are so vital, and I really like that you have yours at the start of your posts. Usually if I add them, I put them at the end, I never really thought of the importance of having them at the beginning. And having the rights to share it is so important and something I think people never really remember to think about while searching for pictures.
cynflynn91
February 5, 2012
First of all, you are a natural writer and you have great flow. I also like how you gave an example of how you search for pictures on CompFight. I forgot all about using a + sign to narrow down the results. Thanks for the tip.
I also agree that images are an important part of ones writing as well but I think that you could have even used another picture in this post since you are talking about them. Maybe a chart that outlines what you wrote about.
Keep up the good work either way!