Posts Tagged ‘photos’

An essential tool for any Information Marketer’s toolbox is a high-quality image editor. Of course, the King of the Hill for image editing software is Adobe Photoshop. Having used Photoshop for the past 18 years, I can safely say that, from a design perspective, we’re definitely joined at the hip…grin. I use it every day. The problem that crops up, however, is that Photoshop isn’t cheap and is often out of the budget range for many, especially if they’re just starting out. It doesn’t change the fact that there are still header graphics to create and photos to edit…ebook covers to design and DVD cases to finalize…but sometimes, having the best tools for the job simply isn’t an option.

There are some cheap and free software options out there, like Photoshop Elements or GimpShop. I’ve talked about (and promoted) these options before, but they are not the topic of THIS post. There are some new, amazing web-based tools emerging, that, in my opinion, could actually give Photoshop a run for their money. Adobe DOES offer an online image editor (Photoshop Express http://www.photoshop.com), but I’m not including it in this post. I personally prefer the other programs I DO include here. The point I want to make here as we begin to explore these new, online tools is that you have options…more now than ever before…and the best news is, they’re FREE!

Pixlr (http://www.pixlr.com):

Pixlr is perhaps my favorite online image editing software of all the ones I’ll be sharing today because it’s so well done. The look and feel is nearly identical to Photoshop (as most of them are), and quite honestly, it performs nearly ALL the same tasks Photoshop will. It even opens Photoshop PSD files and maintains the layers, which is a nice touch. None of the other programs offer that. It offers an extensive line of filters and editing tools, as well as everything else you would expect from a high-quality image editing software. The ONLY issue I have with Pixlr (if you even want to call it an issue) is that it doesn’t offer an option to show rulers or draw snap guides. And actually, none of the web-based programs I’m sharing here offer that feature (except for Aviary, which I’ll talk about a little later). It’s not a huge deal but it would be nice to have (Please take note Pixlr…grin). And…BTW…all the screen captures for this post were edited in Pixlr.

SplashUp (http://www.splashup.com):

SplashUp is another great online image editing option. While it doesn’t have all the features that Pixlr does, it’s still a great choice…especially if you don’t need all the extra features. It DOES have the ones that matter: layers and layer effects, some decent basic filters, etc. My favorite option in this program is how it handles type. Unlike Pixlr (where you have to enter the type into a type palette and then click “Okay” to add it to your document), you can type directly into your document…just like you would in Photoshop. The biggest bummer with this program? It doesn’t support Photoshop files. Pixlr does. In my book that’s a big deal, but that aside, SplashUp is still a great option for your image editing needs.

Aviary (http://www.aviary.com):

Aviary is more than just an image editor, it’s an entire suite of free online tools that includes an image editor, a color editor, an effects editor, a vector editor (think Illustrator), an audio editor, screen capture and more! Quite honestly, it’s one of the most amazing suites of online tools I’ve seen anywhere. When using the image editor (called Phoenix), you will notice, again, that the basic look and layout is similar to our standard, Photoshop (it doesn’t support PSD files however). What I love about Aviary is how they handle their layers. You can have regular layers (like images, text, etc) but ALSO access the Effects Editor and Vector Editor and add dedicated layers from those tools as well. This greatly expands the reach of Phoenix’s (the image editor) basic offering of tools. They also offer extensive tutorials, including how to create banners for Etsy (nice touch for one of their target audiences). All in all, this is another amazing suite of tools that is worth your time to investigate!

In addition to the three image editors I mention here, there are others as well, such as Pixinate, Picnik and SumoPaint. They each have merit, but speaking as a veteran graphic designer, the three I mention here should more than address ANY graphics needs you may encounter. What I would to you is to try out all three offerings I mention here and get a feel for what each one offers. You may prefer one over the others. Of course, the GREAT news is that you no longer have to stress about shelling out big sums of cash to address your image editing needs!

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for new product creation ideas, and recently I found a use for Public Domain images that, quite honestly wasn’t even sure was possible for the average person. Boy was I wrong! The site I found is certainly one to check out…and it’s one that I plan to do some serious experimenting with.

The site is called Spoonflower (http://www.spoonflower.com) and it allows you to create your own fabric. Now before you begin thinking that I’m going to tell you all to get into the custom dress-making business (yes, I can actually sew rather well…Mom was a career seamstress), hear me out for a little bit. The idea of using Public Domain images to create your own fabric isn’t cool because of the fancy material you can make to sew your own clothes…oh no… this strategy is cool because of ALL the things you can make with fabric…like furniture and wall coverings, purses and bags, dolls and stuffed animals (using vintage patterns of dolls as the image for your fabric), pillows, camera and cell phone cases…the list goes on and on. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of products you can create from custom fabric apart from clothing! As a matter of fact, I just shared one with my daughter related to her Native American regalia! Below is an example someone created on the site using Public Domain images as a pattern.

So if you find yourself thinking, “Hey…I could do this, and this…,” write those thoughts down and then take action! And if you get any great ideas, share them in the comments below! Let’s see how creative you REALLY are!

I thought I would share a quick tour of some of the new features of the Public Domain Expert Toolbar 2.0. Enjoy!

Get the Toolbar 2.0 Now!

As a former commercial photographer and graphic designer, I was naturally drawn to the images side of the Public Domain first…even before books! It was from selling images that I made my first dollars from the Public Domain…thousands of dollars actually! Of course, images (photographs, illustrations, fine art, ephemera, maps, etc.) are those images whose copyrights have expired or that did not qualify for copyright protection. For this article, I want to focus on the latter option…how to find images that do not qualify for copyright protection.

Many people do not realize it, but most content created by our Federal Government does not qualify for copyright protection because, when created as a part of a Federal employee’s regular duties, the content is paid for by taxpayer’s dollars and is therefore “owned” by the people. Simply stated, that means that you are free to use Federal Government-created content (books, images, videos, audios, etc.) in any way you see fit because YOU paid for it! So let’s take a quick look at what your hard-earned money paid for in the way of image resources.

There are a TON of image resources available online (and offline) related to images…in this article, I’m going to focus on two of the best. One of my personal favorites is the U.S. Government Photos and Graphics site (http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Graphics.shtml) Most of these images and graphics are available for use in the public domain, and they may be used and reproduced without permission or fee. However, some images may be protected by license, so you want to make sure you thoroughly read the disclaimers on each site before use.

When you visit this page, you will discover that it is actually a directory of government website links where you can locate photographs and graphics. Nice of them to make it easy for us…guess they should since we paid for it! As you scan down through the list, you’ll quickly discover that there are LOTS of photos available to you from this portal…literally hundreds of thousands of them!

Some of my personal favorite websites listed on this page include:

America’s Historical Documents (http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/)

Earth as Art (http://earthasart.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.htm)

Grand Canyon National Park (http://www.nps.gov/archive/grca/photos/index.htm)

National Park Service (http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/imagebase.html)

Portraits and Stock Photos (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/pix/)

There is another Government-image site that I really enjoy digging through called “Government “Resources for Science Images” found at the Sciences Reference Services (http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/selected-internet/imagesources.html). This is another image portal site for Government-produced image content specifically related to the sciences. Yes, I admit it…I am a science geek…always have been! Anyway, there are a few sites that were also included on the previous resource website, but there are many new sites listed here as well. One of my personal favorite sites from this portal HAS to be the USGS Maps and Imagery site (http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/) the very first Public Domain anything I sold (and made a lot of money from) was a USGS map of Atlantic City that was reproduced by the printing company I managed. Having access to big printing presses has its advantages! I was selling these maps 20 years ago at flea markets…now you can download them digitally and sell them literally anywhere! And again…because you paid for their creation, it’s your legal right to do so!

I always say that you can’t find what you don’t know to look for, and I hope that this brief article has peeled back the curtain just a bit to what is available to you image-wise courtesy our Federal Government (and your tax-payer dollars of course). In a future article, I’ll share some ways you can profit from all the image content found on these sites, but until then, let me leave you with one simple thought: Where do you think ALL the books, posters, t-shirts and all the other Obama-related products available out there got their image content from? You guessed it!!

In my popular e-book, “Easy Money Picture Project,” I go into great detail on how to locate and use Public Domain image content to create successful, money-producing image-based products. In the book I share a long list of websites where you can find Public Domain images of all types, how-to sections for actually creating products from Public Domain images, case studies of those who are using Public Domain images in successful business ventures and SO much more. I normally sell this 200+ page e-book for $97, but for a limited time, you can get it for $30 less HERE.

I’ve been finding a lot of terrific Public Domain images lately on Wikipedia.org. Not all images there are in the Public Domain…some are licensed CC or GNU…but quite a few images have been release into the Public Domain by the copyright holder. As a matter of fact, Wikipedia has become my “go-to” place when I need images for my blog posts. I talk about this in much more detail in Limitless Blog Content.

 I was experimenting with search terms on Google to see how easy (or hard) it would be to gain quick access to the Wikipedia Public Domain images through Google. Here was one keyword string I used to gain some interesting results. You should try it:

 ”hereby release it into the public domain” wikipedia

 All the images on my “Does Your Dog Do This” blog are from Wikipedia and nearly all of them are from the Public Domain.

Another fun trick for “scaring” up Public Domain images is to go to Flickr.com and do a search for “Public Domain.” Last I checked it produced over 19,000 results. Here is another cool Flickr trick: Go to Flickr’s Advanced Search (http://www.flickr.com/search/advanced/) and scroll down to the bottom. You’ll see a couple check boxes for Creative Commons. Check both “Only search within Creative Commons-licensed photos” and (this is the key!) “Find content to use commercially”. Then scroll back up to the top and type in whatever keyword you’re searching for. Every result returned can be used commercially (that means to make money from). Very cool. Oh, and BTW…expect a LOT of results!