Creating Special Effect Photos From Flickr Creative Commons
We often use photos to jazz up our blog posts and site content, and many times we use pics from Flickr Creative Commons (By: Attribute) to do so. But if you really want to stand out from the crowd, do something a little different with those photos. Really jazz things up with special effects. (Please note that you must be using photos that allow editing. I’ll show you how to make sure you abide by all the rules).
Now let’s have some photo editing fun.
First, use flickrCC to find photos on Flickr that allow use on any site (commercial or non-commercial) and allow derivatives (let’s you edit them / make changes to them). Make sure you put a check in both boxes labeled For Editing and Commercial. As you can see in the example below, I searched for “tulips” and found a picture I liked. Because I checked For Editing and Commercial, I know I can use it on my site (with proper attribution) and I can make changes to it as I like.
I saved the image I liked to my computer and then I went to FotoFlexer to give it some special effects. I uploaded the photo and clicked on the Effects tab and chose the Cartoon button. Play around with the other buttons such as Painting and Pop Art for some more fun effects. Once I decided I liked the effect that the Cartoon button created, I saved it both to my FotoFlexer account and to my computer. You’ll notice there are several ways to save pics, including just grabbing a url to post anywhere. For my blog purposes, I like to save to my computer and then upload the graphics when I create my posts, but whatever works best for you is fine.
So take a look at the screenshots below to see how easily I was able to find a photo I liked, jazz it up with special effects, and have a new graphic to use wherever I wish. Have fun with the graphics you place on your posts and articles, and your visitors will enjoy them even more. (And don’t forget to include the attribution link - flickrCC gives you the info you need to do so).
This was the original image I chose:
This is the jazzed up image now:
Photo Attribution: Tulips
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Posted on April 7th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Photo Editing
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This is really great. I love that people can be so creative with these online tools. And no cost!
And I am all for the creative commons licensing, but I have one concern about it for artists.
I create art intensive videos. Like video grams. They are free for people to use, but they are copyrighted.
I always use public domain images of old artwork because these licenses, like GNU and CC will allow derivative works. That means if I make a video and put 100 hours into it, someone else can cut it up and make one of their own from it. Art on this level that is so intensive isn’t something you want to allow mash ups of. Or allow others to create a derivative work from.
I enlist the help of professional musicians too. That means their music would also be subject to redistribution. My videos are all non-commercial. I don’t get paid for them. They are just to help musicians get noticed and make people happy. And to show off my design skills. So why should I allow 100 hours of work to be scavenged?
I wish there was a licensing agreement that would allow people to use licensed materials, but add an option to the work they create from it. The option would restrict derivations of the artwork they made. This would only be applicable to non-commercial works of art. That way, the work of art isn’t taken apart again and reused. Maybe only other artists can really understand the emotional ties one can have to such elaborate works. It is like offering a part of yourself that you don’t want hacked up. So, I only use public domain images. And that really limits my creativity.
In the very beginning, I accidently put a photo in one of my videos not understanding it was licensed. I published the video. I was so new to it I didn’t fully understand licenses.
I tried very hard to find the photographer. I never could. So, instead of removing my video, it is sitll on my site. The problem image is just one little frame in a long and beautiful video.
Nobody will probably ever know.
I think artists need special consideration with licenses. These licenses were primarily set up for software. Who cares if someone makes a derivative work from software code? That process actually improves things over time. I know. I used to work in software development. So it’s good to attribute and build upon code. But not original works of art. They are two different things.
Some videos I have made I don’t mind allowing derivative works. They will help others to learn. But some are crown jewels I don’t want changed.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Anonymous
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Wow, that looks great! And at $59, you can’t beat the price with a stick!
I’ll be sure to register for the webcast, and I’ll let others know about it too. Thanks for letting us all know about it.
This is a great tip… you wouldn’t want your blog to end up looking like everyone elses.. what would make it stand out?
great info..
great tip, thanks
This is great way to make your blog stand out. Thanks for the tip. :]