Photo Credit maven’s photos
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In my post titled: “Blogging Block – Can’t Find Anything To Blog About, I listed 15 ideas from which to draw inspiration.
Today’s Lesson
Today, I found a new form of inspiration.
Pictures.
As I search for just the right picture for my blog posts, I often land on some great photos.
I would like to use them, but they don’t apply to any post I have in drafts or the post I’m currently composing.
So, I’ve decided to create a “photo inspiration” file.
Now, whenever I find a photograph that I am intrigued by, I add it to my file.
When my creativity stalls, I have my folder of pictures to get me back on track.
Today’s Assignment
Find a picture you like. Study it and see how you can create a blog post that applies to the picture.
Write a post using the photo as inspiration.
Drop me a comment, link to the post, and I’ll come by and read it.
So that’s why so many people “Stumble” photos!
What’s your favourite resource?
I’ve got out of the habit of posting photos lately because I’ve had less time to blog. And I’ve found I can spend an awfully long time finding the right one.
I like fotolia.com. And I’ve even bought a few for the business blog as some are really cheap and come with the right to publish without reservation or attributing the photo.
And maybe that’s an important point – moreso for the professional bloggers. A photo or image without the need to credit it, can perhaps come across better if you know it wasn’t a freebie?
And for the ultimate in exclusivity, you can even buy the right to be the only user of an image and buy it outright so nobody else can use it.
Ian Denny’s last blog post..Sky TV: Bad Customer Service Or Theft?
Hi Ian,
I love beautiful photographs. I have been using Flickr exclusively, however, I have checked out some of the other sites too. Now it’s such a habit to go to Flickr, I forget to go elsewhere.
I don’t mind showing the photo credits. The days of a photographer being paid decently for their photos are about over, so if I can give them a link, maybe it will help them sell some of their work.
I agree, finding the right picture can be extremely time consuming.
Thanks for the assignment Barbara. I based my post on my wallpaper image.
@Ian – I’ve used istockphoto.com for low-cost blog images. I got higher resolution ones as I plan to have random rotating article highlights on my main business site frontpage that link to various blog articles. Hope to have up a few up by end of month.
sterling | bizlift’s last blog post..Walking On Water Miracle Revealed. You Won’t Believe Your Eyes.
Are you inside my brain? I just tried to write my post for today and realized, I got nothing, so I thought I’d read some of my blogs in my reader while I waited for a great idea.
On a different note, how do the little pictures get assigned to our comments? Can we change them?
Debbie Yost’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday – Princess Diva
Hi Barbara – this sounds like a great idea but how do you set up a photo file? I often see flickr pics I like but I’m not sure how to file them together with the photographers name and link.
Cath Lawson’s last blog post..Business Partnership – Is It Financial Suicide?
Hi Sterling,
I haven’t had a chance to read your new post yet, but am looking forward to it.
Thank you for the link.
Hi Debbie
The “little pictures” you’re talking about are called avatars or gravatars. I just did a post on them last week. It’s titled: How -to-get-andor-add-a-gravatar-to-your-post-comments Let me know if you need help.
Yes, you can change them, by changing your registration at Gravatar.com
Hi Catherine,
In Flickr when you find a photo you like, click on it,
At the top of the picture are choices for sizes, and to the left is a little button that says “add to faves”. Click on that button. A star will appear.
If you want to look at your “faves”, go to the top of the page and click on “you” then under “your photos” click on “Favorites”. All of your faves will be stored there, and are clickable. When clicked on, you will have all of the information for photo credits, etc….
If you get confused, just let me know.
Hi j2r,
Thank you for letting me know about the picture problem. Can you try unsubscribing and then resubscribing and see if that helps?
Hi Nez,
Thanks for stopping by. Let me know if you write a post based on an inspirational photo. I’ll come by and check it out.
B,
I’ve been meaning to tell u this for a while, but always forget.
But since the topic of this post is pictures, for some reason, your pictures are not coming out in my RSS.
And since you just talked about how important pics are, I thought you might want to look into this issue.
j2r’s last blog post..The new bubble – we caused this by being impatient
That’s a great idea, Barbara!
@j2r: the photos show up fine in Google Reader. Which RSS reader are you using? You might want to try Google reader if others’ photos aren’t showing up — or is it just Barbara’s?
Nez’s last blog post..Blog Haiku #1
Hi Deb,
You’re welcome.
Let me know if you have any additional questions.
Hi Catherine,
It’s a great time saver. I think you’ll like it.
Hi Barbara –
Thanks for answering my question. I was so out of it last week I missed some stuff and just had to skip some things to get back on track. Obviously, I skipped the wrong thing. I’ll go check it out!
Debbie Yost’s last blog post..Going Mad
Hi JEMi
I know you must spend a lot of time find just the right photo, as the pictures you use are perfect.
I’m happy to hear you are taking the challenge of writing a post regarding lonely bloggers. I’m anxious to read what spin you put on it.
Thanks Barbara – that seems straightforward enough. I’ll try it.
Cath Lawson’s last blog post..Quit The Internet Copyright Paranoia
You are right up my alley with this post Barbara
My site wouldn’t be what it is without the pictures I find on Flickr. Some of them inspire a post and sometimes it the other way around. I would write something and look for just the right photo to express the thought. I find images to be important – not only for aesthetics but also to correctly portray the moods or thoughts in my writing.
I’ll take you up on this project. Definitely fun for me! 🙂
JEMi @ InMyHeels’s last blog post..Stripped: Vulnerability In Love
Hi Pat,
I’m not sure why some readers are showing the pictures and some aren’t. And…I don’t know what I have to do on my end to make it happen.
Normally I look for a picture when I get a post topic done, or shortly after I choose my blog topic. Recently I have begun to get inspired by photos, and will build off of them.
Some posts don’t need a photo as the title and topic speak for themselves. Following what feels right for you is the best way to blog. There is no right or wrong way.
I’ve checked out stockschng, but haven’t used them yet. I like your kitchen table photo.
Thank you for the kind words. In your travels to the other commenter’s blogs, you will find great works. They are my greatest inspiration for blogging.
Hi Pat,
I figured out one problem. Earlier today I was trying to do some “clean up” on the backside of my blog. I use “image manager” plugin for uploading photos. Anyway, I thought, “I don’t need all of these photos anymore”, so I deleted them out of image manager. Ooooops. I did need them. By deleting them, I also removed the photo from my blog posts, and all that remained, was the link code.
Good lesson learned….what not to do.
Barb – I like your theme in this post and it’s interesting who your commenters use for their photos. I’m not able to view your picture either by your feed or in your site. I don’t know if my computer is blocking it or not so I can’t really give my feedback on it.
I feel like JEMi in that I like to write something first and then look for a picture that inspires what I wrote. It’s funny since I started my blog I put a picture in every post until a week or so ago and then it didn’t feel right to add a picture. I guess you just go with the flow and what feels right – for me, that’s usually the best way.
For my pictures, I use either personal pictures or I have been using Microsoft Office Clipart. I have also used a site I came across called stock.xchng . This is the site where I got the picture of the kitchen table. I’ve heard alot about Flickr but just haven’t been there yet.
I like your blog. You really give a wealth of information. I want to check out the sites of your other bloggers too. Sounds like some good reading.
Blessings
Pat R’s last blog post..“Go Feed the Birds” (from The Tracker by Tom Brown, Jr.)
So is this post worth 9000+ words, because of the pictures at the top? That’s more than Steve Pavlina writes!
Something I haven’t thought about before is that if you see a great picture, you can search through other photos by that person and see if you find something you can use. I always search by topic, but I never thought to search by the photographer. It might not be efficient, but you might come up with some great pictures.
Hunter Nuttall’s last blog post..I Can Has Digg?
Hi Hunter,
That’s good. 🙂 Steve’s posts are quite lengthy, aren’t the. But…well worth reading.
That’s a great idea – search the photographers archives. It would be a great way to give a favorite one some recognition.
Hi Natural,
I’ll be waiting to hear from you when you have completed this assignment. I know you’ll do great. 🙂
Find a picture you like. Study it and see how you can create a blog post that applies to the picture. I’ll look through my own personal photos.
Write a post using the photo as inspiration. I’ll see if I can give this a try.
Drop me a comment, link to the post, and I’ll come by and read it. I’ll make a note to do so when and if I do.
Thanks Barbara!
Natural Woman’s last blog post..Free Stuff!
Hi Zenobia,
Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
I’m clicking your link next. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, it’s me again and YES I’m late reading this. But, you have so many interesting posts. And although the comment energy has faded, I MUST leave my mark 🙂 I wanted to share some art with you that you may like. I will confess upfront that it is my brother’s, however it is very good and thought-provoking. So, here it is: http://www.2nspire.net . Enjoy
Zenobias last blog post..How Do You Love a Black Woman