Pixabay Or Own Images?

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   anaghamposted 11 years ago

   Is anybody using pictures from pixabay or using own images? What is better?

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      aa liteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I use both, as well as wikimedia commons and flickr (only the ones where that is allowed).
      
      I think your own images are better, as long as they are high quality.  They are unique, and there is a possibility of getting traffic from Google image search, also they make the hub more 'personal' and add trust. 
      
      Say you are writing about dog training, if you add pictures of your own dog, and say so in the caption, then the reader knows that you are at least a dog owner, and is more ready to accept that you know what you are talking about.
      
      I did once read some SEO claim that Google rated pages with images higher, but not so much if the images were stock or creative commons.  I don't know if that is true, and I'm not sure how Google would know that the images were CC or stock photos, but it sort of makes sense.  After all most spammers, or people who produce low masses of low quality content don't bother to add original photos to it.
      
      On the other hand if you write to communicate and care about the quality of your content, then you will probably also want to add your photos to the text. 
      
      One thing that you have to resign yourself to though, is that if you use your own photos, they will probably be stolen by other people, if they are good.

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         anaghamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Hi aa lite!! I asked this question because I'm writing a hub about judging people by their appearance, so very confused as to using own images,
         
         So searched pixabay website with clothes as search keyword.Now I'm not sure whether I should use them...
         
         Thanks for the answer

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            aa liteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            You could probably get a lot of photos from flickr.  You have to do an advance search to find creative commons images that can be used for commercial purposes, and you have to attribute the images.  But flickr has so many photos.....

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               anaghamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I have heard a lot about flickr too.. thank you so much.. the posts helped me a lot..

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         WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         You can do advanced searches by copyright type, plus you can reverse image search (see how many other sites use that photo) so Google can find out that info.

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            anaghamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Seems like this option may work out.. thanks Wrylit!

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         Writer Foxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         In June, Google stated that using original images vs. stock photo images has no bearing on search engine ranking.  (You might, however, have an advantage on Google image search with an original photo but only if your Hub ranks well on search engine results alone for text.)
         
         Keep the visitors to your page in mind.  If your original photos look amateur, your visitors won't like them and will judge your entire Hub accordingly.  Using high quality stock photos brings professionalism to your work and your visitors (or search engines) don't care where you got your images.
         
         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k15GpWfsxZU

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            anaghamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Yes.. that's true..I don't have the knack of clicking good snaps.. so its better to use attributed photos..
            Even though the hub is informative, because of a bad quality image, we lose the readers...

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      mercuryservicesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I made my own images available for anyone to use over at http://freecreativecommonsphotos.com
      No signups or annoying watermarks.  Just free photos.  Enjoy!

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         anaghamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for the website.. will check it out soon!

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2. 60

   zeke2100posted 11 years ago

   Pixabay are high quality images, but their selection is very limited. They offer a lot of landscapes and animal pictures. Consider using MorgueFile, which has a lot more people pictures, and it requires no attribution.

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      anaghamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes.. that's true.. you will have to register into pixabay for the images... Is that the same case with MorgueFile?
      
      Thanks for the answer zeke2100!

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         WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         You don't have to register for Pixabay

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   susi10posted 11 years ago

   Try freedigitalphotos.net
   They have a wealth of professional no-watermarks free images for anyone to use. However, you have to attribute to the owner of the photo. Their photos are top quality, many of my hubs have their images.

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      anaghamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I see. Thanks for sharing the information susi10..

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   jansharesposted 11 years ago

   I use both, it depends on what I need. Of course, I would love to use my own images for all my hubs but that's not practical, nor possible. I have found excellent images on Pixabay, as well as on Photopin and Morgue File. I like using these sites because they provide you with a ready-made attribution url to put under your image to show your are using the images legally.
   
   The problem with using our own images is that we tend not to use them "legally." We do have the option of correctly attributing our own images not only to protect our work but so others can use them legally. I have not made this a priority for myself but will eventually look into doing it, one pic at a time.

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      Writer Foxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Jan, I don't quite understand what this means: "The problem with using our own images is that we tend not to use them 'legally.' "

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         jansharesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I didn't mean it literally. I was just making the point that technically speaking, it's good business to have all images attributed correctly, even our own. But it is not required legally. It will force someone to have to get my permission first if they wanted to use my images. Or I can attribute them as "share alike" for anyone to use without my permission.

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            Writer Foxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I see.  If you want your images to be used by others, why don't you just use your name and one of the Creative Commons Licenses as the source?

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               jansharesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I think that's what I meant as an option, haven't done it so I may have gotten the lingo wrong.

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               susi10posted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I heard that even line dividers need attribution too even if they are your own ones. Technically, you have to provide attribution at the bottom of your hub for the line dividers.

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   Tom Londonposted 11 years ago

   I usually do the mix from everything. I don't only use pixabay -- there are a lot of other alternatives. But yes, a mixture is always a good idea, and you get more varied pics this way.

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      anaghamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I use pixabay and morgue file.. you are right.. a mixture is a good idea..

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