Great work, you’ve written an excellent article. But you need some good pictures to go with it – now what?

Here are some tips of how to get good images to go with your article.

Know where to look

First of all, it is important to know where to get images from for your story as you can’t just take them straight from Google.

This is because there are copyright laws in place which stop you from just ‘stealing’ images, and that can get us into a lot of trouble!

To stay safe, use your own pictures that you have taken yourself, or you can ask permission to use pictures from social media or ones your friends and family have taken.

If this isn’t possible, the websites Pixabay and Unsplash have great images which are free to use where the photographers have waived the copyright.

Choose high quality images

Make sure your images aren’t too small or pixelated, or we won’t be able to use them with your articles.

To check your pictures are high enough quality, you can right click on the image file and click ‘properties’. Under the ‘details’ tab check the resolution. If the resolution is above 72dpi (dots per inch) the image is good enough quality. If it’s not, you should look for another. The pixels shouldn’t be under 1,000, either.

Choose colourful pictures

This sounds obvious but the more interesting and colourful your pictures, the better! They will always draw in more readers if they catch someone’s eye on social media or on Google.

They should also be clean and clear – with not too much happening in the image so it is obvious why it’s there.

Make sure they are relevant

Make sure the reason for including the image is clear and they are there for a reason, rather than being random.

If you’ve interviewed someone, getting a picture of them to include is ideal so your reader can get an idea of what they look like.

If you’re talking about a holiday destination or somewhere to visit, photos of that place can be helpful.

Basically, think about whether the image adds anything to your story. If it doesn’t, it probably isn’t right.

Make sure they are diverse

Make sure the pictures you’ve chosen reflect a diverse range of people – including race, gender, age and disability (unless, of course, your article is about one of those subjects specifically).

This is because not everyone who reads our articles is exactly the same and our stories should be relevant to everybody, regardless of their background.

Always give credit

If you’ve got permission to use someone else’s picture either in person or from social media, make sure you tell us the name of the person who took it so we can make sure they are credited online (unless, of course, they’ve specifically asked not to be credited!).

This is to make sure they get their name alongside their work, like we give your article a byline after you’ve written it.

If you’ve got pictures from a free website like Pixabay, send us a link to the image so we know where it’s come from.