I have discussions with fellow bloggers about blogging issues now and then. After a story about a blogger being sued over using copyrighted pictures made the news, the subject of photos came up – fair use, creative commons, public images, stock images. Turns out just doing a Google search for images and slapping up any ole picture on your blog isn’t good. Bloggers can get in trouble for things even though most bloggers I know generate little income from their blogging.
So how do you stay out of trouble yet find something that meets a tight budget? Several photo sites were recommended along with Depositphotos. The trouble with public images is they don’t often fit your needs. The trouble with Zemanta is the fine print about creative commons and fair use. They’re probably just fine for smaller blogs and their use won’t get you in trouble.
Not to brag but we’re a bit bigger now then when we first started out. Just to be on the safe side (and try to amend my pirate ways) I decided to try out some of the popular photo sites. Searching Depositphotos for images and illustrations turned out to be painless, quick and easy on the wallet. Dare I say it was even fun to browse pictures to try and find the perfect image for my brilliant post?
Truth is this is a book blogging site along with event blogging (BlogFlash and A to Z Blogging Challenge) that allows us to talk about pretty much anything. If you look at content one of the number one ways to draw people in is through bigger, better pictures and graphics.
Depositphotos has that. Looking to spruce up your blog with a new background or banner? They’ve got that. Looking to play around in gimp (because even if you alter a picture the original is still copyrighted)? They have textures, backgrounds, background images and illustrations.
They’ve got it all. But… what about the cost?
They operate several different plans to fit blogger’s needs. There is a subscription plan where you can download a certain number of images daily. Then there is the credit plan where you purchase credits and use them to buy only the images you need. You can organize your pictures into Image Packs and see that woman in the bottom right corner? They have live customer chat available if you have a problem or question.
But you’re still not sure if Depositphotos will fit your needs. Okay, so they have a free subscription offer for bloggers and a contest for websites. Which proves that old saying right – It never hurts to ask! You can download great graphic content for your blog, change up your header and background, make a banner and button and try it basically for free and when you decide to make all your great blogging content into an eBook, you can search their site for the perfect cover image.
If you’ve used Depositphotos what do you think? If you haven’t are you going to try? What other resources have you found?