Ever see those inspirational quote images on Facebook or Pinterest and think, “Wonder how they did that?” These images didn’t just appear on the internet by magic. And they weren’t all created by professional graphic artists.
At Lab3, we believe in the power of copyright – if you didn’t create an image, it doesn’t belong to you. We use photos, illustrations, infographics, etc. all the time in social media. But if an image doesn’t already come attached to the content you’re sharing, then where do you find one? Simple – you create it. And you can do it online – free of charge and totally, 100% copyright-free!
How To Create Customized Images for Your Blog or Social Media
1. Find a copyright-free image you like, and save it to your desktop.
Finding acceptable images online is more complicated than doing a simple Google image search. Most, if not all of the pictures you’ll see already belong to someone else. You’ve probably been using those copyrighted images without even knowing you were doing anything wrong. But just because you found it on Google, doesn’t mean you can just save it to your desktop and use it however you want. That’s called stealing. And stealing is bad.
We’ve written about this before! If you need extra information on images, check out our post: Images on the Web – What Can I Use?
I use Morgue File pretty regularly, but there are other sites too. The point is, just make sure your images are free to use.
2. Import your picture to a free online photo editor, like PicMonkey.
Choose “Edit a photo” in the upper left hand corner and select the photo you saved to your desktop. The editor will open with your photo ready to go.
3. Crop your image to the desired size.
In PicMonkey, your editing options are all on the left side of your window. Start with the first icon to crop.
I chose to crop my image as a square. Facebook images automatically display as a square on your timeline, so to get the most out of your image, go with square. (Of course, as Facebook changes things, these dimensions may change as well.)
4. Add a filter and play with the coloring. It’s kind of like Instagram. And it’s a lot of fun.
The second option in PicMonkey allows you to add filters to your image. Some of them change the color, others add rounded corners. At this point, just play around with the settings until you find something you like.
5. Add an overlay to make your text easier to read.
If your image contains a lot of contrast (lights and darks), it may be difficult to read any text you may add later. Using the 5th option down, the butterfly for Overlays, I added a simple circle.
Since the black circle seemed too harsh for my picture, I changed it to white using the color picker. You can adjust your colors manually or use the eye-dropper to choose one directly from the image. Then I adjusted the Fade slider to let some of the image peek through.
6. Add text.
Here’s where you add your inspirational quote. If you have one in mind, great. If not, a simple Google or Pinterest search for “inspirational quotes” will be sure to distract you for hours.
Choose the Text icon in PicMonkey and click “Add Text.” Then paste your quote into the text box. Don’t forget to credit your quote – wouldn’t want ol’ Shakespeare getting upset that you forgot to attribute a line. But seriously, authors grant validity to the quote, and they add a sense of familiarity that can help your image stick. (Oh, TS Eliot? I remember reading him in high school… I think.)
Once you’ve added the text, now you can play around with fonts and colors. Select fonts that are easy to read, but don’t be afraid to get a little creative. Remember, this art project is supposed to be fun!
7. Tweak your masterpiece.
Once you’ve got everything added, it’s ok to play around a little more (just be mindful of the time – these projects can really get away from you if you’re not careful). Change the colors, move the text around, and add or delete elements as you see fit.
I decided that I didn’t really need the overlay once I changed the color of my text to contrast with the image.
8. Add your own watermark.
Remember how we mentioned how easy it is to steal images on the internet without even knowing it? Well, to keep people from doing the same thing to you, add your website as a watermark to the bottom of the image.
Click the Text feature one more time and “Add Text” to the bottom. You don’t need the www. at the beginning. Just the simple web address will suffice. Keep it small so it doesn’t upstage the rest of your hard work. I used the eye-dropper tool to choose a color from my image so it blends in with the picture and yet still stands out.
9. Save your work and post away!
When you’ve finally tweaked and added all you can stand, it’s time to save your work and share with the world. Click the Save button at the top of the PicMonkey window. Then, choose the quality of the image – I always choose the highest quality, since Facebook will downsize it anyway. But that’s just personal preference. (Bonus points if you can guess how PicMonkey chose their quality selection names!)
Then post to the social media platform of your choice. Or post to them all!
Let’s make the internet a more beautiful, inspiring, and copyright-infringement-free place to live! Share this how-to with others on Pinterest and Facebook!
Over and out,
Erika Stanley
