"Vista's Little Voice": How to choose featured images for articles
The so-called featured image usually refers to the first image in a blog article, product copy, or social post. The reason for placing featured images in articles is not only to attract attention, but also to assist communication and conveyance through the power of images.
The featured image (opens in a new tab) is likely the first thing your readers will see in your post. That means it plays an important role in setting a tone and defining expectations for what follows.
Regarding the source of featured images, in addition to taking photos yourself for use, you can of course also pay to purchase image works authorized by manufacturers, or go directly to many free libraries or CC0 libraries to download some of your favorite pictures.
Overall, I would recommend that you make more use of the photos you usually take, or make good use of the resources of CC0 Gallery.
“Public Domain Contribution Declaration (opens in a new tab)” (CC0) allows scientists, educators, artists, other creators and copyright holders, or rights holders whose content is protected by the database, to abandon their interests in their respective works, and release these works into the public domain as much as possible, so that others can freely create, enhance or reuse based on the work for any purpose, without being restricted by copyright or database-related laws. CC0 is different from other creative use CC authorizations, which allow the copyright owner to choose to release the rights within a certain range and retain some rights. On the contrary, CC0 provides another “no rights reserved” authorization option, allowing the rights holder to choose not to be protected by laws related to copyright and databases, and not to enjoy the exclusive rights provided directly to creators by law.
For example, I often go to Unsplash (opens in a new tab) or Pexels (opens in a new tab) websites to search for suitable pictures. I can find many beautiful pictures just by entering keywords. In addition, if you have the need to use portrait photos, you may also try to dig treasures on the xFrame (opens in a new tab) website!
In order to speed up the search and selection of featured images, I suggest that you do more homework and understand the subject matter and scope of your writing. Only in this way can you quickly use keywords to find featured images that are both eye-catching and relevant to the theme.
If the keywords you use are too obscure, or you are not satisfied with the pictures you find, you can also consider finding another way and try changing the keywords, or you can find good pictures!
When selecting featured images, in addition to considering whether the image is pleasing to the eye, I also recommend that you pay attention to the size and style of the image you use. It is best to keep it consistent to ensure that it leaves a lasting impression on readers.
In addition, I would also like to remind you: if possible, it is best to avoid using pictures that are too popular or can often be seen in mainstream media. Otherwise, readers will easily mistakenly think that they have read this article before because they see familiar pictures! Wouldn’t that be a pity?
For myself, when I usually write blog article (opens in a new tab), in addition to connecting to CC0 Gallery (opens in a new tab) to select images, and also edit and compress image files to try to make this featured image useful and echo the article you write.
Of course, I will also combine the work related to selecting pictures, editing, and submitting manuscripts into a complete task, and strive to complete it in one go, compressing it to be completed within five minutes.
When it comes to the selection of featured images, there may not be a unified standard, but I still want to suggest that you spend more time and establish your own set of logic. As the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” If you can choose a suitable picture carefully, it will definitely enhance your article!
The above are some things to note about selecting featured images. I hope today’s sharing can be helpful to you!
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Further reading
- “Vista’s Little Voice”: Have you started writing your “Achievements List”
- “Vista’s Little Voice”: Vista Reading 2/13/2022 - 2/19/2022
- “Vista’s Little Voice”: How to create a colorful blog
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Vista Cheng speaks and runs workshops on AI workflows, writing and content systems for companies, schools and public agencies.
