3 Tools to Make Great Images

One challenge writers have is constantly creating content for social media. We have to develop a platform, and that means we need content. But the content has to be fresh, professional and most important of all easy to create. We're writers after all!

Over time, I've found a few tools that help me create visuals like the one above. I'm still learning, but I hope these tips will help you. I'd also love to hear what you use!

1) PicMonkey.com. Tricia Goyer told me about this website several years ago and I LOVE IT! It has truly been a life saver for me. I love that you don't need to register -- though if you pay a bit each month, you get rid of all the crazy ads. Still, if I have to have log-in information to remember one more place I might go crazy. Certainly, my brain will explode and that is simply bad for this homeschooling momma and writer. The website is fairly intuitive, but you'll want to play around for a bit.

On PicMonkey.com, there are several options. You can upload a photo you've taken and add text, edit to change the look, add overlays, etc. Or you can design collages and Facebook headers. You can start with a blank slate and create a quote. I made this book review pull quote on PicMonkey.com. Those with better design skills could make it sing, but I liked it :-) If you're going to do something like this, start with an image that does not have the quote. Then it's super easy to open it, add the quote, and save it as a new image without recreating the basic image each time.

2) Quozio.com: This website is perfect when you want to create a quick quote. Once you're on the website, you enter your text, where it's from/who said it, and hit enter. After that it creates an image. You may choose from approximately 20 backdrops with preset fonts. This is not for those who like to create on their own. You have no design flexibility. However, it is GREAT for quick pull quote images. Download it to your desktop. Upload it to a blog, Facebook, Instagram, etc., and away you go. This verse is one I made on Quozio a couple years ago. It's also great for pull quotes from book reviews. 

3) Canva.com: This is a great resource if you want super professional, pre-made images. You can also create your own if you have the time and patience. Most of the images have an associate fee, but there are many free designs to choose from. The one at the top of this post is free -- and it took me less than five minutes to create the image. Here's another image I created at Canva.com:

BONUS: 4) DollarPhotoClub.com: When creating graphic images, using photos you've taken ensures you're in compliance with copyright laws. But if you haven't taken the right image that you need, the DollarPhotoClub.com is a great place to explore. For $1 per image, you can find great photos that make your verses, ideas, etc., come to life. If you would like an invitation to join, let me know in the comments. Here's an example of a photo I bought at DollarPhotoClub.com and edited on PicMonkey.com:

This final graphic is one I made on Canva.com, and then edited at PicMonkey.com

What tools do you use?

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Cara Putman

An award-winning author of twenty books, Cara is a lecturer on business and employment law to graduate students at Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management. Putman also practices law and is a second-generation homeschooling mom. She lives with her husband and four children in Indiana.

Blogging and Copyright Issues

Photo by FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you are a blogger who uses photographs in your posts, you need to be aware that the photos you use may be copyrighted. Let me tell you...if you aren't careful, you can face legal action.

I was one of those stupid ones who would google my blog topic, then choose a photo from Google Images. Yeah, that's not a good idea. I had used a photo that belonged to an artist who did not appreciate me using it. I was told to remove it or face legal action in three days. I removed it from the blog post, but it kept showing up in Google Image searches. I was told it was my responsibility to have it removed...or else. It took hours of research to figure out how to remove an image from searches, but I did it, and haven't heard any more from the artist. 

I promptly deleted ALL photos from my posts that were not my own; so if you are going back through my backlist of posts to learn from all my "wisdom", you will find lots of those white squares with the little red X's in them. I want to be legal. I want to respect the artist. I want to do what's right. 

During my scary "experience", I emailed back and forth with my Alley Cats, and Mary sent us her list of  links to sites that have copyright-free photos to use. So with her permission, I am sharing her list, along with some other sites that readers from my personal blog sent me. 

Free Stock Photos:  FreeStockPhotos.com 
Stock Xchng: http://sxc.hu/
Wikimedia Commons:  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Flikr Pingnews Commons:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/pingnews/collections/72157600007938726/
Morgue File:  http://www.morguefile.com./
Free Digital Photos:  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
Visual Bible Alive:  www.visualbiblealive.com/
Christian Image Source:  http://christianimagesource.com
Dreamstime:  http://www.dreamstime.com/free-photos

Here are a couple of sites that have a great list of photo sites:

http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2007/11/there-are-many.html
http://www.authormedia.com/2009/07/11/where-to-find-free-legal-photos-online/

Please note that even though these sites have photographs that you can use, some may require an attribution. That means you may have to either link back to the site, or put the name of the author/artist with the photo.

So you bloggers out there, go out and be not afraid. Just be careful.

Do you have a favorite site for gathering photos for your blog posts? Please share!