Using images from the web in blogs and web sites

A picture speaks a thousand words - an old saying but perhaps even more true now than when it was said by an early Emperor of the Xia Dynasty in China about 4,000 years ago.With the coming of broadband, photographic and graphic images have become easily accessible through all kinds of channels; and very useful they are too. Web sites, business cards, adverts, flyers all benefit from well chosen images and there are so many to pick from......good old Google offers hundreds for just about any topic you can think of.There's a popular mis-conception that if you can find an image through Google then it's OK to use it, I guess we'd all like to believe that but it's wrong. The vast majority of images on the web are copyrighted by the photographer / owner, even if the ownership is unstated.If you want images to use on your web site, blog or flyers etc. the simplest source is from your own camera. If you're not too handy with a camera then some trade suppiers will permit use of their images - but you must ask first.The best images usually come from picture libraries - just a few years ago the cost of photos from libraries was prohibitive for smaller businesses but a new development called Microstock has changed everything. Top quality images can now be had for just over a dollar, the kind of shots that have real impact are within the reach of everyones pocket.........and avoid copyright infringement.

The image you see above is my best seller on iStock - it's just someone laying pavers - very simple but it's been used over 150 times. If you are handy with your camera you could make a few ££'s by selling you images on iStock (or one of the other microstock sites). If you're rubbish with a camera you can get great images with a clear conscience from iStock.iStockphoto is the leading Microstock supplier - there are others but it's a good place to start. The orange link button below takes you to my portfolio but at the top of my page there's a search box - try searching for paving, or lawns or something relevant to your trade like garden design and see what there is.

I started off buying images on iStock and then found I could more than cover the costs by uploading and selling some there. I've seen a lot of shots on LJNetwork that would sell well on iStock - images of nicely laid out modern gardens are always in demand.......just remember keep recognisable faces out of the shots to avoid the need for model releases.

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