Find Exciting Free Images~from Trustworthy Sources
Honor image rights when selecting impactful images
Great images help audiences grasp concepts faster and retain information longer. When communicated orally, we only remember 10% of a message, while adding a picture increases retention to a whopping 65%. Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Get free images from sources you trust
When searching for photos or illustrations, I prefer to use Pixabay, Pexels and Upsplash, one of Denise Wakeman’s choices (The Blog Squad) which will email free images regularly as will Snappa, Stocksnap and Stokpic.
Two things to be careful about: 1) avoid suspicious sites offering free images and 2) don’t make the mistake of using images without permission that require it (See “Control Content Rights When Sharing”).
Make good choices about the sources for your free images. I prefer using trustworthy sites primarily. Although when I do need to search on Google, as many do, I make sure to select images with licenses allowing me to use images freely, share or modify commercially. At Google Images, choose Settings/Advanced search/Usage rights/Free to use, share or modify, even commercially.
Create and resize images
You don’t have to be a graphic designer to make great visual communications for blogs, sites, presentations and more. Go to Canva.com to find, modify and create images easily. (Denise likes this one too as well as PicMonkey and Stencil). Use Picresize to resize images and Tiny PNG to compress files and maximize loading speed.
Paid images
When you just can’t find what you are looking for, check Canva, Shutterstock or Getty Images for the inspiring graphic you need. If you buy images with that require ongoing royalties, keep track of those payment deadlines with the Image Inventory Template (“Track Images With Inventory Template”).
Get permission
Sometimes you find a chart or image you really want to share in your content; don’t hesitate to reach out and as for permission. When I do it, I offer to give attribution. I recommend you save an email giving you permission with any caveats.
Carefully choose images and look for licenses and restrictions, such as Creative Commons rights. Here’s an example of a license to use images freely at Stokpic.
Exercise
Create an image in less than a minute here at Snappa.
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