Ten Tips for Using Photos on Your Blog

I blogged for half a decade before I started using very many photos on my blog, but it soon became addicting to includes photos in my posts. Pictures add a lot to your blog, from illustrating what you are talking about to catching a reader’s attention on social media or even in a list of posts on your own site. Here are my tips for how and why to use pictures with your posts.

1.  Pictures Catch Attention

It’s true that a good picture is worth a thousand words, so a simple picture can tell a reader a lot with just a glance. A picture could be the reason that a person decides to read your blog post rather than scrolling onto the next item in their Facebook newsfeed or hopping to the next blog in their list. Can you think of eye-catching pictures you’ve seen with blog posts?

2.  Pictures for Pinterest

Pinterest is currently the number one driver of traffic to many blogs. It’s easy to scroll through the pictures on Pinterest and then click on one that catches your attention. As you choose pictures for your blog, keep Pinterest in mind (even if you aren’t on Pinterest yourself—your readers might pin your pictures).

If you are on Pinterest, pay attention to what people are pinning (and repinning) and only pin pictures that are worth it. Don’t pin junk just to promote your blog. If you pin an image from your blog, make sure it links back to the blog post URL, not your blog homepage, as the picture pinned creates a bookmark to your blog for readers’ future reference.

3.  Use Your Own Photos

When I first started adding photos to my blog, I used only my own photos. I was honestly a bit afraid of using others’ photos. With a digital camera and a bit of creativity, it’s easy to create pictures for almost any blog post. Plus, since I was writing about my personal experiences, I usually had a ton of my own photos to choose from. Now, I often take just as many photos to share on my blog and Instagram as I take for my own personal photo albums.

3.  Get Permission

However, there are times when you can’t take your own photos or don’t have a photo suitable for the post you want to write. Then you need to use stock photos. But wait—just because you found a great picture online doesn’t mean you can use it on your blog.

Alex of the blog If Emily Posted says, “The moment someone creates a photo—paid or unpaid, pro or someone just playing with Instagram—it is protected under copyright law.” Ask permission and make sure that you credit the author when they give you permission.

Rather than googling images, I go to stock photo sites to find photos for my blog. Free photo sites such as Pexels, Unsplash and Pixabay include specific instructions for if and how to provide attribution; if you use photos from their sites, follow their guidelines.

5.  Images Help Break Up Text

Because I did magazine layout for years before starting to blog, the way a blog looks is very important to me.  Pictures help a lot in this area.  They can break up long posts and provide a rest for weary readers’ eyes.

“When you place an image every six to ten paragraphs, the text gets really reader-friendly. Everyone can easily follow your way of thinking and do a little five-second break to look at an image. And then they can easily return to the place where they’ve left off.” ~ Darren Rowse of Problogger

6.  Search Engine Optimization

That’s right—good pictures can also help search engines find your blog.  Make sure you title your images with relevant keywords before uploading them to your blog.  For example, you don’t want to share a picture simply named IMG00004.  That means nothing to the search engines.  Instead, rename that picture with two or three keywords that people might search if they were looking for the post.

(If you use WordPress, you can also add more descriptions to your photos using the “alt text” field when you upload photos.  This also helps search engines find your pictures.)

7.  Jazz Up Your Pictures

Adding pictures to your blog posts is great; making sure those photos stand out and catch attention is even better.  Lately, I’ve become addicted to using Picmonkey for fixing up my pictures. Picmonkey lets me crop photos, add frames or special effects, create collages, and so much more. Their templates are also helpful for creating social media posts and the featured images I use on my blog.

8.  Create a Blog Graphic

What about those posts that are really really really hard to find pictures to go with—like Ten Tips for Building Your Blog or this post?  Create a graphic.  You can either start with a plain background some with some clipart or a simple photo. Use Picmonkey to add text and textures to the photo.  This works great for creating blog buttons or for creating an image to use in a series of posts on your blog. 

9.  Watermark Your Photos

Always add your name (or your blog name) to your picture before posting.  This is one way to avoid any copyright confusion because it’s clear who originally posted the picture.  Again, this is easy to do using or any other photo editing program available on the market today.

Try to position your name in a place that it can’t be cropped out of the image, but don’t put it in an annoying place.  I visited one blogger who’d put her name in the middle of every picture on her blog—even when the name interfered with the picture.  I vary where I place my name in my pictures to suit the picture or the effect I want to create.

10. Link Your Photos

You can add links to your photos just as you’d add links to your text. When I’m creating product reviews, I always link all the photos to the product website. This can be a great way to direct readers to the website to learn more about the product (and hopefully buy it, especially if you are using affiliate links).

Do you use pictures in your blog?  What advice would you share about photos?