February 28, 2009 189 Comments

Give Each Blog Post a Pretty Face With Flickr

I was asked by a friend on Twitter where I got all the pictures that I use for my blog posts (like the one you see in the top left of this post). The answer is that I get them off Flickr. But there’s more to it than that. Here’s a quick run-through of how I use photos on this site, and some more about Flickr.

First, A Note About Creative Commons

The photos that I use on Flickr for this blog are licensed to be used under Creative Commons. That means there are some rules to using them, but if you abide by the rules, you can use them. (More on Creative Commons.). There are multiple rules for these photos. I use the least restrictive photos, found by searching using this link, which will give you any photos posted by people who simply want credit attributed to them for their work.

Attribution

First off, this post by Steve Garfield should be required reading. He’s right that Flickr’s system needs some tidying up. That said, I’ll write from the perspective of how I’ve been using photos and how I attribute them.

The word “attribution” in this case means giving credit to a person for their work. The photo above was taken (or at least posted) by someone who goes by the name M@rg. If you note above, I’ve made the photo clickable, such that it takes you directly to the person’s Flickr page. Further, skip down to the bottom of this post, and you’ll see an italicized area where I point out the photo credit.

The best way to give credit would be to have the text of “photo by” or something directly under the photo, but I’ve yet to figure out the proper html syntax to accomplish that neatly for my blog. (You’re welcome to recommend how, in comments). That aside, I’ve at least give two ways for you to realize who snapped the photo, and how to find more about him or her.

Make Sure You Share As Well

I love that so many people make photos available for use on Flickr. You should be sure that your own settings in Flickr are set appropriately. I’ve written about that here. Simply, go into your Flickr account and adjust your settings here.

Quick Recap

To use great photos from Flickr for your blog posts:

Search for photos here.
Provide attribution by making the photo link back to the original source, and by adding a photo credit.
Share your own photos by updating your settings.

There. Anything else? Ideas? Thoughts?

Photo credit, M@rg

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http://meloart.blogspot.com/ Cris Melo

Chris, I think that what you mean by “photo by” can be accomplished on Flickr simply by using the link above the pics to “blog this”, as I’ve done here with my own photo: http://meloart.blogspot.com/2009/02/books-and-monsters.html

Is that it?
http://kevinsgreatadventure.blogspot.com Kevin Cimring

Hi Chris
Another great way of finding relevamt pics is to utilise Zemanta (a service which I first discovered through your blog). Zemanta actually suggests relevant photos from Flickr and you simply click on the photo you like and it gets posted to your blog.
Regards
Kevin
http://kevinsgreatadventure.blogspot.com Kevin Cimring

Hi Chris
Another great way of finding relevamt pics is to utilise Zemanta (a service which I first discovered through your blog). Zemanta actually suggests relevant photos from Flickr and you simply click on the photo you like and it gets posted to your blog.
Regards
Kevin
http://kevinsgreatadventure.blogspot.com Kevin Cimring

whoops, sorry about that typo *relevant*
http://kevinsgreatadventure.blogspot.com Kevin Cimring

whoops, sorry about that typo *relevant*
http://www.angryjuliemonday.com Angry Julie Monday (Julie)

ThankYou!
I like to add photographs or graphics to my posts. I usually use photobucket, but the clarity is not always great!

I love finding out new ways to perfect my blog!
http://www.angryjuliemonday.com Angry Julie Monday (Julie)

ThankYou!
I like to add photographs or graphics to my posts. I usually use photobucket, but the clarity is not always great!

I love finding out new ways to perfect my blog!
http://www.INMGuide.com Lane Romero-Reiss

Thanks for the great information, Chris. I will definitely start using Flickr for my blog photos.

Do you know of any similar creative commons licensing for music? I like to produce short videos, and it’s nice to have 5-20 second music clips at the beginning and/or end of the video. I like the idea of giving up and coming artists some exposure, and I don’t really have the budget to purchase RF music for this purpose.

Lane Reiss
http://www.INMGuide.com Lane Romero-Reiss

Thanks for the great information, Chris. I will definitely start using Flickr for my blog photos.

Do you know of any similar creative commons licensing for music? I like to produce short videos, and it’s nice to have 5-20 second music clips at the beginning and/or end of the video. I like the idea of giving up and coming artists some exposure, and I don’t really have the budget to purchase RF music for this purpose.

Lane Reiss
http://meloart.blogspot.com/ Cris Melo

Great question, Lane. I’d like to know that too. Have you tried Googling those keywords?
Let us know here if you find anything, please. Thanks!
http://meloart.blogspot.com/ Cris Melo

Great question, Lane. I’d like to know that too. Have you tried Googling those keywords?
Let us know here if you find anything, please. Thanks!
Chris Brogan

@Lane – I do, actually.

http://music.podshow.com
http://www.podsafeaudio.com

:)
Chris Brogan

@Lane – I do, actually.

http://music.podshow.com
http://www.podsafeaudio.com

:)
http://www.coherentsalesconsulting.com/blog/ Ed Callahan

Great post Chris. Question: what do you suggest for CC license? What do you use? I updated my flickr account and chose “Attribution-NoDerivs Creative Commons AttributionNo Derivative Works”. Any recommendation. I am not a professional photographer and todate haven’t uploaded any but I hadn’t thought about it until reading your post. I also read through the entire set of comments. Great thoughts by lots of people. How do I get a photo next to my comment like many have done?

Ed Callahan
http://www.coherentsalesconsulting.com/blog/ Ed Callahan

Great post Chris. Question: what do you suggest for CC license? What do you use? I updated my flickr account and chose “Attribution-NoDerivs Creative Commons AttributionNo Derivative Works”. Any recommendation. I am not a professional photographer and todate haven’t uploaded any but I hadn’t thought about it until reading your post. I also read through the entire set of comments. Great thoughts by lots of people. How do I get a photo next to my comment like many have done?

Ed Callahan
http://www.tumblemoose.com Tumblemoose

I’m always struggling for good pics, and I had no idea this was an option.

This is me, headed over to flickr to open an account…

Thanks Chris.

George
http://www.tumblemoose.com Tumblemoose

I’m always struggling for good pics, and I had no idea this was an option.

This is me, headed over to flickr to open an account…

Thanks Chris.

George
http://www.RedesignYourBiz.com WebDesigner

nice article

thanks for sharing
http://www.RedesignYourBiz.com WebDesigner

nice article

thanks for sharing
http://blogtelling.net Lindsay

I agree – Zemanta makes adding pictures to blog posts a dream. I really like the photos they suggest. Zemanta also suggests some related posts to link to – I have learned about some great blogs from their suggestions. Once you start using Zemanta your posts become part of the suggested posts for others and I have gained some extra traffic that way too.

Here is my write up on Zemanta http://blogtelling.net/2008/07/blog-me-up-checking-out-zemanta/
http://blogtelling.net Lindsay

I agree – Zemanta makes adding pictures to blog posts a dream. I really like the photos they suggest. Zemanta also suggests some related posts to link to – I have learned about some great blogs from their suggestions. Once you start using Zemanta your posts become part of the suggested posts for others and I have gained some extra traffic that way too.

Here is my write up on Zemanta http://blogtelling.net/2008/07/blog-me-up-checking-out-zemanta/
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AM

Thank you chris for the information. Described in a very user friendly way.
cheers,
AM

Thank you chris for the information. Described in a very user friendly way.
cheers,
http://www.mikemoran.com Mike Moran

I agree with the others on Zemanta. I’ve been using it for a few months and while it doesn’t often suggest a good picture based on my content alone, I can always enter search words to find something useful. And it automatically finds pictures that I can use legally, and it attributes them right under the picture just as you requested. I won’t go back to searching FlickR by hand now.
http://www.mikemoran.com Mike Moran

I agree with the others on Zemanta. I’ve been using it for a few months and while it doesn’t often suggest a good picture based on my content alone, I can always enter search words to find something useful. And it automatically finds pictures that I can use legally, and it attributes them right under the picture just as you requested. I won’t go back to searching FlickR by hand now.
http://www.beawealthyentrepreneur.com/ Grow Your Business with Ease

Love this post today Chris. I have always wondered how i can start using flickers photo on my blog.

Thanks
:)
Joyce
http://www.beawealthyentrepreneur.com
http://www.beawealthyentrepreneur.com/ Grow Your Business with Ease

Love this post today Chris. I have always wondered how i can start using flickers photo on my blog.

Thanks
:)
Joyce
http://www.beawealthyentrepreneur.com
http://www.muscle-build.com/about-me.html Bill @ Muscle-Build.com

Great concept! I LOVE Flickr as a user, but rarely think of using the CC photos there! Duh!!! Some things are so simple…as to be forgotten. Thanks for “re-reminding” me!
http://www.muscle-build.com/about-me.html Bill @ Muscle-Build.com

Great concept! I LOVE Flickr as a user, but rarely think of using the CC photos there! Duh!!! Some things are so simple…as to be forgotten. Thanks for “re-reminding” me!
http://www.conradtheart.com Conrad

Thanks for this! Great idea and very informative!

I have not used Flickr in forever, but I think I’ll start using it again after reading this!
http://www.conradtheart.com Conrad

Thanks for this! Great idea and very informative!

I have not used Flickr in forever, but I think I’ll start using it again after reading this!
http://www.INMGuide.com Lane Romero-Reiss

Hi Chris,

Thanks for those links. I browsed each site a little bit, but I’m not clear on the best method for attribution if I use music clips from them. If I give proper attribution, is that all I need to safely use the music from these sites?

On another note, I’d love to link my messages to a profile and pic, as many others have done here. I’m not seeing where to register my profile information, though. Any guidance will be appreciated.

Lane Reiss
http://www.INMGuide.com Lane Romero-Reiss

Hi Chris,

Thanks for those links. I browsed each site a little bit, but I’m not clear on the best method for attribution if I use music clips from them. If I give proper attribution, is that all I need to safely use the music from these sites?

On another note, I’d love to link my messages to a profile and pic, as many others have done here. I’m not seeing where to register my profile information, though. Any guidance will be appreciated.

Lane Reiss
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http://www.everythinggreenhome.com Charane

Thank you for this article. I’m new to the world of ecommerce & blogging. My marketing guy (www.precisionintermedia.com) forwarded your article http://www.chrisbrogan.com/27-blogging-secrets-to-power-your-community/
and 1 of your points was to give credit for pics. It took all day for me to figure out the flickr thing & giving credit (I didn’t want to mess it up). This post has clarified that I did it correctly! One of my concerns was that the photographer wouldn’t want me to use the photo for my blog but according to the rest of the comments it only sometimes becomes an issue.
Thank you again from a newbie,
Charane
http://www.everythinggreenhome.blogspot.com
http://www.everythinggreenhome.com Charane

Thank you for this article. I’m new to the world of ecommerce & blogging. My marketing guy (www.precisionintermedia.com) forwarded your article http://www.chrisbrogan.com/27-blogging-secrets-to-power-your-community/
and 1 of your points was to give credit for pics. It took all day for me to figure out the flickr thing & giving credit (I didn’t want to mess it up). This post has clarified that I did it correctly! One of my concerns was that the photographer wouldn’t want me to use the photo for my blog but according to the rest of the comments it only sometimes becomes an issue.
Thank you again from a newbie,
Charane
http://www.everythinggreenhome.blogspot.com
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http://sboyle.powweb.com/wordpress Stephen Boyle “Fuzzytek”

As a blogger and photographer I highly value key photos on posts. They do attract attention, provided they theme properly with the content. As a Flickr member I’ve had people inquire about using my photos for publication but as yet have had nobody offer payment. This brings me to the point of which CC licensing is in place – attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives, share alike. So the point is each publishing site thus far has not been very small or commercial. I have searched recently and found a photo on a large commercial site, with a link back to my photo on Flickr. So now I’m faced with approaching the site about addressing licensing concerns. Not only that but the article is written in such a manner that it might be considered defaming, especially since it has my brand/name on it clearly. The situation being a matter against a larger entity I had marketed which ended up shut-down as a pyramid scheme. This begs the point of informing your source that their photo is being used and having approval. Flickr terms of use states link-through of images, by doing so if the photographer pulls down the image it would disappear from all sources referencing it. If you approach the photographer and ask for a copy, then you’ll not be under the terms of use of the host site. Thanking them through accrediting the source for discovery is a courtesy at that point.
http://sboyle.powweb.com/wordpress Stephen Boyle “Fuzzytek”

As a blogger and photographer I highly value key photos on posts. They do attract attention, provided they theme properly with the content. As a Flickr member I’ve had people inquire about using my photos for publication but as yet have had nobody offer payment. This brings me to the point of which CC licensing is in place – attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives, share alike. So the point is each publishing site thus far has not been very small or commercial. I have searched recently and found a photo on a large commercial site, with a link back to my photo on Flickr. So now I’m faced with approaching the site about addressing licensing concerns. Not only that but the article is written in such a manner that it might be considered defaming, especially since it has my brand/name on it clearly. The situation being a matter against a larger entity I had marketed which ended up shut-down as a pyramid scheme. This begs the point of informing your source that their photo is being used and having approval. Flickr terms of use states link-through of images, by doing so if the photographer pulls down the image it would disappear from all sources referencing it. If you approach the photographer and ask for a copy, then you’ll not be under the terms of use of the host site. Thanking them through accrediting the source for discovery is a courtesy at that point.
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http://amandare.blogspot.com Amanda Eamich

Late to the party, but The Commons is a GREAT repository of high-res images from Federal, state, and now international organizations. http://www.flickr.com/commons

@amandare
http://amandare.blogspot.com Amanda Eamich

Late to the party, but The Commons is a GREAT repository of high-res images from Federal, state, and now international organizations. http://www.flickr.com/commons

@amandare
Pingback: Ways to increase blog traffic | Life and Style
JG

Thanks Chris!

How to do if I using Flickr to store my images and link to my blog post ? I means reader only view my images from my blog.

I am confusing of using Flickr.

Thanks Again :)
JG

Thanks Chris!

How to do if I using Flickr to store my images and link to my blog post ? I means reader only view my images from my blog.

I am confusing of using Flickr.

Thanks Again :)
http://www.homebuysblog.com Ted Mackel

Chris, Great post. I buy photos many times, but for some simple stuff it would be nice to use your system with FLICKR.
http://www.homebuysblog.com Ted Mackel

Chris, Great post. I buy photos many times, but for some simple stuff it would be nice to use your system with FLICKR.
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