Last week we talked about the power of utilizing photography in your blog posts. There’s so much ground to cover when you talk about photography in blogging that it only makes sense to follow that post up with one about the legal aspect of it.
The power of Google Images has led to everyone taking to it to update their Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts with the wittiest, most obscure screenshots from pop culture. While this is fine for your personal accounts, you cannot adopt this strategy for your professional blog. In order to ensure you’re not breaking any copyright laws when utilizing photography in your blog, here are some tips:
- Use stock imagery. Websites like photos.com and 123rf.com specialize in stock photography. Once you create an account, you’ll have access to thousands of different images that are searchable and come in a variety of sizes. The one downfall with stock imagery is that it can be difficult to find photos specific to what you’re looking for. For example, most stock imagery does not include licensed logos and other copyrighted material, instead offering generic representations of situations.
- Take it to the streets. As a real estate professional, you’re likely blogging about listings and buildings in your area. While you may not have the rights to use a photo of a certain building you can find online, take out your camera and visit the building in person. Snap a few photos and use the best one for your blog.
As hinted at in the previous post about photos, the power of imagery is very real when it comes to blogging. However, it’s important that you stick within the legal realm when publishing photos as you don’t want to potentially harm your business by posting a photo that you do not explicitly have the rights to.
