Photo Blogging Tips

flickr

If you have read my blog for any length of time you know I love to use photos in my posts. I have finally found a satisfactory way to give attribution to the photographers who post photos on flickr that I often use when I don't have photos of my own to illustration or enhance an idea.

I have read many articles on using other people's photos and the basic thing to remember is that they usually don't mind as long as they are recognized for their work, or given proper attribution as long as you are not using their photo for any commercial gain.

The articles point out that technically you should seek permission to use the photo but I have tried this numerous times and people do not even respond back. They don't seem to care as long as you give attribution. I have tried various ways of doing this, most of them quite tedious, but this method is easy and seems best to me.

This is what I do now:

When I find a photo on flickr.com that I like and that can be uploaded, I go up to the url bar and select the address associated with that photo and then go to edit to copy the url address for that photo while I am still in flickr. (Note often you will find great photos that have a little i in the lower right hand corner. Those are photos that cannot be uploaded. Most on flickr can be though, so keep looking for one that you will be able to use.) On the Mac you can just click and drag them on to your desk top or on a PC just go to file and click on Save as. (The photos with the little i cannot be saved as or dragged onto your desk top, but all the rest can. Often they will allow you to download them in any size you prefer and that is noted directly above the photo)

I then save the image on to my desktop.

Next upload the photo into your text box while composing a post just like you would do for any photo upload.

Under the photo type the word flickr and then select and highlight the word flickr.

Next go to your tool bar above your text posting box for your new post and click on the chain link icon (just above the box next to the text color icon) to link the photo to the url that you copied and is sitting in your edit box waiting to be pasted someplace.

Note that the linking box will come up with the http:// already in it. I delete that from the linking box and then place the cursor at the beginning of the box and paste in the photo link for the photo to be used. I do this because when you paste in the link and the http:// is already on the url you copied, it will then be in your link 2 times and will not work.

If you want to see how this works go up to the flickr photo on this post and click on the word flickr under the photo to find the name of the photographer and the other photos he has downloaded to flickr.

Once you have published your post check it to make sure that the link is working properly. Always do that when you post a link of any kind to your blog.

So I hope that has helped for those who have asked me about it. It seems cumbersome at first but once you have done it a few times it is easy peasy! Most people will appreciate this courtesy.