Where to get quality illustrations for a blog or website

Illustrations draw users' attention to publications, facilitate the perception of textual content, visualize and visually support ideas. A good picture plays the role of the clothes by which even the most valuable content is greeted.

Most marketers understand the need to illustrate publications with high-quality photos. But few experts know where to find quality visual content that can be used legally. This article will fill that knowledge gap.

What to get and where to get it

When wanting to illustrate a publication, the author faces two main problems. First, he must find a high-quality photo, the meaning of which coincides with the topic of the article. In this case, the image complements the text content and facilitates its perception.

Second, the author must find a photo that can be used without the risk of facing charges of copyright infringement. The following recommendations will help you solve these problems:

1. Think about illustrations when creating text content
   An author can spend a lot of time looking through picture search results and photobanks hoping to find the right photo. This is what happens when a professional doesn't know what illustration he wants to use. He enters a common phrase into the search box and drowns in thousands of useless photos. The situation changes when the author knows which image is appropriate to illustrate his article. In this case he enters a specific query into the search bar. This saves the author time and allows him or her to choose from hundreds of suitable options.

2. Look for attractive colors, shapes, and themes
   Illustrations should grab your audience's attention. To find appealing photos, put yourself in your readers' shoes. Type a specific query into a Google or photobank search box. Skip through the first few pages. Many people don't want to spend a lot of time searching for photos, so they take pictures from the first pages of the output.

   Now view the photos in preview mode and open full-size versions of the images that caught your eye. Chances are you noticed these pictures because of the unusual subject matter, appealing colors or shapes. Use photos that catch your eye right away as illustrations.

3. Provoke your audience
   There's no need to list all the effective attention drivers. Nudes, celebrity photos, kittens curled up in a ball and babies peacefully sleeping are among the universal subjects that leave few people indifferent. But do not rush to insert a photo with strawberries or images of kiddies in every publication. Sure, you'll get your audience's attention, but it's hardly a target audience.

   If you publish commercial content, use provocative illustrations very carefully. A hint of provocation is enough to attract attention. Remember, illustrations need to be used appropriately. You can't just take a picture of a kitten or a famous actor and insert it into an article. It's another matter if the picture shows an actor with a kitten in his hand, and the article is about the virality of the content.

4. Use screenshots
   Screenshots are the best way to illustrate an overview or a guide to using programs or services. Creating screenshots yourself saves you the time of searching for appropriate illustrations. In addition, self-made screenshots confirm that you are an expert on the subject at hand, or at least have studied it in depth.

   Use the standard Windows program Scissors (available in Windows 7 and later in the Advanced Home version), LightShot, SnagIt, and other software to take screenshots.

5. Invest in exclusive photos
   A high-quality photo emphasizes high quality content. So don't pass up the opportunity to buy the right high quality images. For example, hire a professional to create a photo report on the opening of a new office, arrange with photographers who can regularly supply you with suitable images.

   If you use paid photobanks, choose the least replicated photos. Use a picture search to check the popularity of the work you like. Do not chase after the typical cheap images that look unnatural. Even in photobanks you can find images that will emphasize individuality and exclusivity of the publication.

6. Use free stock photos and content available under a Creative Commons license
   Free stock images from photobanks are noteworthy in spite of being repetitive and unnatural. They can be used legally, which is important for commercial sites and reputable blogs.

   Photos available under a Creative Commons license are another source of legal and quality content. Using free licenses, image creators determine the terms of distribution for their photos. Many photographers allow their works to be published without restriction, as long as authorship is indicated. For example, Wikipedia is a source of many quality images distributed under a free license.

7. Illustrate publications with graphs and charts
   This type of images can be used as illustrations for analytical articles, reports, and descriptions of research results. By using graphs and charts, you make the material easier to read and build audience trust.

8. Don't forget drawings, animations, and videos
   Some authors think that only photos, screenshots, and graphics can be used as illustrations. They forget that videos, drawings, and animations are great for illustrating publications, too.

   Remember, you don't need space budgets to create a commercial video. Don't forget about the ability to create short videos using Vine and Instagram. And animations can be created with various programs, such as Microsoft GIF Animator.

How about borrowing

It's no secret that many bloggers and commercial site owners take photos from other bloggers and site owners without asking. They bravely violate the Berne Convention, because they know that such actions do not threaten them with anything. Still, site owners should think about the consequences.

Of course, a photographer from Mexico is unlikely to come to Grodno to make a local blogger pay for using Acapulco photos. But a justice-seeking Mexican may well complain to Google and other search engines. And then the blogger himself will buy a plane ticket to Acapulco and ask the photographer to accept payment for the photo to get his blog back in the index.

Everyone knows that search engines have a negative attitude toward sites that copy other people's content and don't add value. Nowadays, search engines are loyal to borrowing other people's photos. But sooner or later they will tighten their policy, because search engine users need unique content. So think today about where you will look for quality photos to publish.