We all recognize that pictures can help make any web page or social media post more attractive. They can help pound home a message. They also serve to break up the monotony of text. However, getting that visual content can be a challenge.
There are a few ways you can do it economically, though. The best option will depend on exactly what you need. You can get anything from simple stock photos to custom-designed illustrations. Of course, the price can vary a lot, too, but there are some reasonable alternatives out there.
You also have to be careful not to run into copyright issues, of course. That means you can’t take whatever picture you want simply because you found it online! Be sure to brush up on copyright laws and rules first.
Here are some of the best options – ones we use ourselves!
Public Domain Images
There is an amazing number of artists – illustrators and photographers alike – who place their work in the public domain. That’s an incredibly generous gift to the world at large!
When their image is in the public domain, that means anyone can use it without charge. You can crop it, resize it, add text, or alter it to meet your needs.
Of course, it’s always nice to give credit to the creator, but it’s not required.
Related to this are images published under licensing agreements. Most commonly today, people choose the “Creative Commons” licenses. There are different “levels” of license that govern what you can (or can’t) do to an image and how you have to credit the creator.
Our favorite sites for finding public domain images include Pixabay, Unsplash, and Pexels. But there are many others, too!
Stock Photo Services
Technically, public domain photos are stock photos. But there are many paid options for stock material, too.
With these, you pay a fee to be able to use photos. Different sites, and even different photos on a site, have different rules for how the material can be used.
In most cases, you pay more for higher-resolution copies of the photo you want, so be sure to only choose what you need. Don’t pay more for a high-res image if you’ll have to scale it down later.
Shutterstock is one of the biggest and best-known sites for paid stock photos.
Do-it-yourself – the easy way
Of course, in many cases, you don’t want to use a photo “as is.” You may need to resize it for social media. You want to add text or a logo to it. You might even want to have a semi-transparent layer over the images so your overlay shows up better.
Fortunately, there are online tools that can make this task simpler than you ever imagined. Add and manipulate text, change fonts, add borders and shapes, all without breaking a sweat. And all without learning Photoshop or Illustrator!
We use Canva for most of our image-editing needs. It provides all the basics in its free version. There’s a paid version, too, that offers even more options. It’s not complete image-editing software, but it will definitely let you create a basic image or plain background and make adjustments to it.
Do-it-yourself – the advanced way
If you want to do the work yourself and have a more artistic bent, you could teach yourself more advanced image creation and editing software. Adobe has long had the leading products in this area with Photoshop and Illustrator.
Photoshop lets you manipulate images that are already created. You can adjust all sorts of parameters. Illustrator is more of a “start from scratch” option to create your own original design.
Both of these are expensive, though, and have steep learning curves.
We’ve found a great substitute for Photoshop that’s free, though. It’s called GIMP and it’s open-source software. It seems like it has all the features of Photoshop and performs just as well.
We don’t use Illustrator or an equivalent, but if you need something to create vector art, you might be interested in these alternatives.
Hire Someone
If you don’t have the time or inclination to learn the software but still need to do more than download something generic, you can always hire someone. There are many quality artists on sites like Freelancer, Fiverr, and Upwork. You could also check out the graphic arts department at your local community college – there could be local students looking for work.
When you do hire someone, try to remember that this is their livelihood as much as your work is yours. It’s fine to look for a deal; we all do. But these aren’t simply pieces for them to add to their resume or “favors” they do for you. They depend on this kind of income to make ends meet. Try to respect that.
Conclusion
Art and photography are not everyone’s cup of tea, but they’re still important for creating an attractive website or social media. There are a lot of options for finding or creating the art that you need. Whether you use simple stock images, craft something yourself, or hire someone for the task, you have a lot of easy alternatives for adding visual elements to your work.