Editing Photos for Blogs

Almost twenty-two years ago I was fairly new to the web starting out designing my first website.  Back then it was all HTML with none of this WYSISYG web editing.  Even back then I realized what an asset photos are for websites, something that has served me well for blogging.  I use photos for most posts on four of my six blogs and one of my private blogs is very photo extensive.  Here's a few tricks I've learned with respect to using photos on blogs:

• size - Size does matter when it comes to loading speeds.  All photos used for online purposes should be optimized for web for faster loading.
• copyright - All photos should be marked with copyright, preferably with the url of your blog.  The notice can be discretely in the corner or it can take a more prominent location in the picture.  Some stamp their copyright notice in bright red or yellow across the centre of the picture or in a location to hinder its removal.  While this may be effective in preventing copyright infringement, it does distract from the photo.
• presentation - Presentation does matter.  Align your photos to give them a good advantage in your post.  Wrap text around them so they become part of the post or if only using one picture, highlight it at the beginning of the post with journalling underneath.
• caption - Unless the photo is part of the post with text wrapping so it is clear the photo is being discussed, use a caption that includes a title for the photo and date taken.  This adds interest for the reader as well.
• journalling - Unless the photo is part of a specific meme where the picture tells the story (eg. Wordless Wednesday, Mellow Yellow, Ruby Tuesday) all photos should have some type of journalling explaining a bit about the picture. 

Garden Gnome
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