It’s pretty well accepted that including a small image in your blog posts and articles can help boost your site visitor’s interest and get more of them to actually begin reading your work, along with the title or subject line of course. It’s up to you to keep them reading. When blogging I often run across many very nice graphics and photos and can’t help but wonder where they obtained or how they created the image. I’m sure others are wondering the same thing so I thought I would share my resources.

Finding a nice fit

There are a ton of sites on the net that archive thousands of images that you can use on your site. Always read, understand and follow any terms when it comes to using their images. Some sites will want credit and/or a link back. Others are free only for personal sites. One site that I’ve used a lot recently is Bigoo.ws/images/funny-clip. A note of caution: Never assume you have the right to use an image simply because one of these sites have it up for grabs. I see many graphics that I’m certain are from others sources.

I’ve used drawings from We Blog Cartoons on several posts. Dave has a lot of talent and many of his drawings fit nicely with my blog categories.

Another one, and I think this is going to be my new favorite, is ImageChef. ImageChef enables you to easily create custom images without any technical knowledge or advanced tools and to modify text in a variety of image templates to create professional quality images with a personal touch.

Creation and editing

I use a free graphics editing program called GIMP. GIMP is a very cool and feature rich program at any price so free is fantastic.

I no longer use Adobe® Photoshop® even though it has pretty much become the standard for online graphics. It’s very expensive and rather difficult to learn. Adobe recently launched Photoshop Express, a free online version of Adobe® Photoshop®. I can’t wait to try it.

Storage and sharing

Most blog owners already have a place to store images on their sites but if bandwidth or convenience are of concern then check out Yahoo!’s® Flickr. I recently upgraded my account to pro but many bloggers get by just fine with the free version. Flickr is much more than an image storage site, it’s a very popular web2.0 social networking site. Be careful, it can be addicting.

Buying the rights

For headers, logos and other important graphics I sometimes buy the right to use it from sites like iStockphoto® and FeaturePics. It’s not as unique as directly hiring the graphic designer but it’s not going to be on every other blog you visit either.

Hiring an artist

I don’t have any experience with sites like Elance yet but it is an option. I am working on a new project that will require many different cartoon style drawings and I plan to use Elance to hire an artist.

Never leave home without it

I try to never leave home without a digital camera. Most camera phones don’t deliver the quality for online images so I carry a camera. Until recently I carried a very expensive digital camera in a rather bulky camera bag. I decided that was just too much but I didn’t want to miss out on a great photo either. My solution was to buy an inexpensive camera that I could carry on my belt or in my pocket. I found a nice little camcorder/camera at a local department store for just $99. It’s made by AIPTEK Inc. and records video as well as an 8 mega pixel digital camera. It accepts SD Cards so I always have room for one more picture.

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