The expression "Use a picture. It's worth a thousand words." May first have appeared in 1911. Newspaper editor, Tess Flanders was quoted in an article, discussing publicity and journalism.
If Tess could see "memes" she'd either applaud, or roll over in her grave, just sayin.
There can be no doubt that we are living in the most visually communicative age that has ever existed. While the complexity and originality of our work may suffer in comparison to eras such as the rennaissance, we beat the hell out of them for sheer volume.
Here are some rules of thumb for choosing images for content
- Choose the highest resolution you can get.
- If you know how, resize your images, having them all neatly aligned is visually pleasing, you'll need photoshop or similar software.
- Be sure you know what's what on copyright.
There are lots of great resources on copyright and images. Google it. You don't want to end up taking an image out because someone doesn't like it
Here on Steemit, there are many great ways to use images and I encourage their use in every single post you make.
- Choose a good first image, that will be your preview,for whatever your sharing. It's like a book cover, despite the old adage, people do indeed judge books by their covers, all the time.
- You can post memes and single images through the busy.org "short post" editor, or dmania.
- For lifestyle images and fine photography, steepshot seems to be your best bet at the moment.
Where you put your images depends on what you're using them for.
If you are including images in your regular, written blog posts, use steemit, or busy.org's editors to add them where you want them. Both sites allow upload, steemit also allows drag and drop, or copy paste.
HTML markdown editors, like MarkDownPad2 which I use, can help you use "image adddresses" which will embed the image in your post, linking from its original site.
But, if you're posting an image on its own, steemit is not your best bet!
Both dmania and steepshot provide gallery style viewing of images only. So, visitors to this site can see your images without the competition from blog posts, videos and dsound posts. I think it gives you an edge. People are there to vote on images and they have fewer things to choose from.
It is their stated purpose. I would recommend adding memes and gifs only on this site. Your photos may be beautiful, but laughs and rage are what plays well here. In fact, even inspirational memes, might be best left to steepshot, or busy.org.
Steepshot is for "lifestyle posts"
This is the best place for artistic quality images of your life, travel, nature, etc. It's also a great place to showcase your art. Inspirational memes might do okay here, I haven't had much luck with them in general in the steemit universe. Busy.org is probably the right place to add those.
Busy.org is a simplified steemit blog site
I like busy. It's much less "busy" ironically than the steemit.com site. It also offers some additional features, like a "short post" tool that allows you to basically post a headline, with an image, and no body text.
All three sites post to your steemit account
So, be aware, whatever you post there, will show up in the feeds of your followers, act accordingly. If you have a carefully curated blog, then stick to your topics. If they are used to you going all over the place, go for it. If you're new, experiment.
But where do we find all these images?
I'm so glad you asked. Over my more than 20 years of online publishing, I've spent a good deal of time searching out good image sources. Me, I never pay for an image I can get for free, so ALL 12 of these awesome sites have at least some free images.
A few words about "Free" image sites. There are a couple of different categories of free images.
- Royalty free images, usually have an upfront cost, but then, can be used wherever whenever up to the limits of the copyright agreement from the publisher.
- Free to use images often require "attribution", or credits, listing the creator and source
- Truly free images are free to use for any purpose and can be changed or altered to create new works, or suit your purposes. This can be labeled as "creative commons zero" which always means you can do what you want, including sell them. But, there are almost any many use policies as there are image sites.
Read the terms of service for each image site, and each image's terms of use
Sites often list more than one kind of "Free" image, and be aware, most images sites are a blend of free and premium content. Some of the images are free, to lure you in, while the rest are premium and must be purchased for use.
If you want to buy images, look for subscription sites that allow you to take a certain number of images per month for one price. One of the very best is adobe stock photos. Buying by the image gets expensive very fast.
The 12 Best Free Image Sites Online
Well, in my experience at least. I've only included sites that have at least some free to download and publish, without attribution. Have fun! You might want to bookmark this article, since the resources here will blow you away, and you'll want to come back and explore some more.
#1 Unsplash.com
Small collection of art images, suitable for high end use and presented under the Creative Commons Zero license. The images here can be used for nearly any purpose, including resale, without attribution or permission.
#2 FreeImages.com
A large collection of free images, and a subscription side filled with premium content. The free images are neatly arranged in 26 categories, some featuring as many as 50,000 pictures. Free content here is subject to the same license limitations as the premium content, so read the license before publishing content using their images.
I did not check every link. I curated this list within the last year or two, so I think they're all current. If you find one that is not, or has changed and has no free images, let me know I'll edit this piece to reflect that!
#3 DeathtotheStockPhoto.com
Images with a funky, artistic flair, deathtostockphotos (bonus points for the name) has no searchable database, or catalog. Instead, a free subscription lands hand-picked free images in your email weekly.
#4 PicJumbo.com
PicJumbo is a hybrid “freemium” site with a collection of original work, over a thousand free images. Their premium subscription nets you an “all in one” pack that features all of the free images, plus for $10-$40 a month, receive new image packs with at least 30 new images per month. Images are free to use, as long as they are not redistributed as a primary product.
#5 StockSnap.io
StockSnap, is a totally free image site, free from restrictions on use under the Creative Commons Zero license. Images are very high quality and searchable by keyword. Images can also be sorted by what is trending or by popular searches. There is no premium content, but the site does feature a free email subscription for new images.
#6 StartupStockPhotos.com
Small, photo blog collection of images created for marketing by a single startup. Most images feature technology in modern, somewhat edgy office settings. Worth a look if you want casual business images of people at work. The collection is offered from restriction, but isn’t searchable, featuring a blog layout that requires you to scroll through to view images.
#7 LifeofPix.com
The curated image collection of Leeroy advertising agency out of Montreal Canada. Hundreds of large format, high resolution images, offered free for your use. The Creative Commons license has designated these works as public domain, available for any purpose whatsoever.
#8 Pexels.com
A high quality freemium site featuring images under the Creative Commons Zero license, for use up to and including resale. 100 images added daily, no premium content.
#9 GratisOgraphy.com
Gratisography is my favorite. It features the work of photographer Ryan Mcguire. The colorful, fun and whimsical images are offered under Creative Commons Zero license, but Ryan asks they not be used for anything that might embarrass him or his models.
#10 JayMantri.com
The art photography blog of photographer, Jay Mantri.Strong graphic images of still life, nature, landscape and architecture. Images here are ideal for backgrounds, headers and covers.
#11 Pixabay.com
Possibly the largest freemium collection online, Pixabay is one of the best organized as well. Pixabay also offers illustrations and Vector images, along with stock video. Pixabay offers the Creative Commons Zero license.
#12 Dreamstime.com
Dreamstime is one of the largest premium stock image suppliers online. They offer a free trial with some completely free images to get you started and their prices are some of the best online when you need to buy images.
3 And that's a wrap
Homework Day 5
First the questions
- What is the most powerful visual to you? A favorite painting, a view of the mountains, etc.
- Share the best comment you've gotten so far from Dolphinschool.
- Stat totals since we started: How many new followers? Total number of upvotes on assignments. Total amount of potential payout on assignments.Total number of NEW followers.
- Rethink your followers goal. Is it right, or does it need to rise? Add it here, along with how far you have to go.
Part Two Actions
Find your favorite photography or funny image account. Share one image.
Part Three Posting
One picture
That's it, but there are some requirements. Sign up on steemconnect and use either Steepshot, Dmania, or Busy.org short post, to put your image up. Take a look at each one.
Take your time and choose good images! Each platform allows a certain amount of headline and description. Make them good. I'll be looking for engagement today. Get some comments! Also, looking for images that match best with: description, headline, and your general style of posting, themes, etc, as share with us here so far.
When you post your blog
- Use the tags #dolphinschool and #markrmorrisjr as two of the five for your post. Writing is a good primary category option. This is the other part of your price of admission.
- Come back HERE and leave a link to your blog in the comments, on the HOMEWORK POST.
- If you have the bandwidth, comment on at least three or four of the other posts here, resteem and upvote if you feel it's warranted.
But, don't expect others to support you, if you DON'T support them!
I'll visit your blog and leave a comment so you'll know I was there.
If you don't see me by 5 pm CST, please let me know. I've missed you somehow.
I'll leave the critique of your post in a reply on your post. Okay? Any questions?
DOLPHIN SCHOOL BOOTCAMP DISMISSED!
Curious about #dolphinschool? Follow this link!
If you'd like to read more of my work, follow 
Help support Minnows and Plankton in #Dolphinschool with your upvotes, resteems and encouraging comments!
There will be a special homework post on the blog. No need to resteem or upvote it. Leave all of your homework in the comments there, bring conversation about it, here, deal? Also, you can leave everything in one comment to conserve bandwidth and make it easy for me. I'll make a new one for each day. Tomorrow's will say, DolphinSChool Bootcamp Homework Post Day Two
If you have not, turn in day one assignments by 1 pm CST. The first revenue split post will be going up this evening.
Curious about #dolphinschool? Follow this link!
If you'd like to read more of my work, follow
Help support Minnows and Plankton in #Dolphinschool with your upvotes, resteems and encouraging comments!
Follow these authors to see the results of #dolphinschool
