WORKING WITH IMAGES
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- Basic Rules for All Images
- Special Rules for Featured Images
- How to Find Images For Your Articles
- Importing Images into BindleSnitch
- Installing Featured Images
- Inserting Images into Your Articles
- Adjusting Image Positions and Sizes
- How to Customize Featured Images
Basic Rules for All Images
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- DO NOT USE COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL WITHOUT PERMISSION
- DO NOT USE WATERMARKED IMAGES: Do not use any image that has a watermark embossed onto it. Those are all copyrighted images. Avoid anything from Getty Images and AP for the same reason.
- AVOID EXPLICIT IMAGES: Do not use any explicitly sexual images. Offensive images will be removed at our discretion IF THEY ARE CALLED TO OUR ATTENTION.
- LOOK FOR WIDELY-USED IMAGES: If an image has been widely copied and re-used, it is generally safe to use it again. The trick to finding out how widely copied an image has been is to use the Google Image Search tool. Just position your cursor over the image, right-click on the image and select “Search Google for Image.” If you get millions of hits, the image is probably safe to use. If you get only a few hits, it might not be safe.
- DO NOT USE IMAGES OF CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 18 unless the child in question is the subject of a NEWS article or you have been given written permission. No one under 18 can give you legal permission to use their images. (Yes, this means that you have to ask for proof of age.)
- ORIGINAL IMAGES: If you are using original photographs with recognizable individuals in them, you must have release forms from those individuals. Exceptions: photographs taken in the course of covering a news story are exempt from this requirement; celebrities are news items. (Click here for a link to a free release form generator.)
- IMAGES CAPTURED FROM NEWS VIDEOS are acceptable as long as they are credited.
Special Rules for Featured Images
- EACH ARTICLE MUST HAVE A FEATURED IMAGE: Each article MUST have a “featured” image in order to conform with our page design. As a matter of fact, it is impossible to save an article in BindleSnitch without a featured image. This image will appear with your article’s headline and summary on the home page as well as in the page for your specific category.
- MINIMUM SIZE: Featured images must be at least 640 pixels wide and 480 pixels tall. You can use larger images, but they should be in that same 1.333 to 1 ratio.
- HIGH CONTRAST: Try to find high contrast images when possible. Try to find color images rather than black and white images.
- DO NOT RE-USE FEATURED IMAGES: Once you used a picture as a featured image for an article, it should not be used again as the featured image for any other article.
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How to Find Images for Your Articles- You can look for copyright-free images using your web browser. Just enter a search term that describes the story you are working on, click enter and then select Images.
- When searching for images, always use Google Chrome. Google Chrome has an image search utility that will help you determine whether an image is usable.
- If you have the skills to build composite images using Photoshop or Gimp, you can use PORTIONS of a copyrighted image. We do this all the time. The general rule is that no more than 15 percent of your composite image can be from any one source. Copyright holders do check and there are companies that specialize in finding copyright violations for the copyright holders.
- Start with Wikipedia. Every image in Wikipedia is covered by the Creative Commons license so you may freely copy and use images found on Wikipedia as long as you give proper credit. (Make sure you cite the source according to Wikipedia’s guidelines.)
- Check out these “free” image libraries. (The word “free” is in quotes because some of these sites aren’t really free, while others mix in royalty-free images with copyrighted images that require royalties. NEVER PAY ROYALTIES ON IMAGES. The fees are often more than you will earn.)
- This list is far from complete, and the resources on the list come and go rather quickly. AVOID Getty Images and never use an image with a watermark.
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.Importing Images into BindleSnitch
- Open a NEW WINDOW
- Find a royalty-free image that you want to use. (We recommend Google Chrome for this.)
- Estimate size or use a measuring tool that you can get as a free plugin for your web browser.
- Click on the Snipping Tool, which is usually found in your start menu on your computer.
- This will open the Snipping Tool dialog box on the screen. (It also installs the Snipping Tool in your program tray. It looks like a pair of scissors in a red circle.)
- Click on NEW in the Snipping Tool pop-up window.
- Highlight the image you want to copy by positioning your cursor in the top left corner of the image.
- Hold down the left button on your pointing device and pull the + sign down to the lower right hand edge of the image.
- Release the left button on your pointing device.
- The image you have selected will appear in the Snipping Tool box.
- If you are satisfied with the image, save it to a memorable name. (Make sure you know which directory the image is being saved to.)
- Next, RETURN TO BINDLESNITCH
- Click on the ADD MEDIA BUTTON and then select UPLOAD FILES
- Next, click on the SELECT FILES button that will appear in the middle of the screen. (We know. It’s redundant. We didn’t design this thing. It is built into WordPress.)
- Find the image you have just created and click on it.
- When the image appears in your image library, it will be outlined in blue and it will have check mark in a blue box. REMOVE THE CHECK MARK by clicking on it and exit from the ADD MEDIA window.
- (If you do NOT do this step, the image will appear in your current article at the point where the cursor is currently located. If this happens and you don’t want it there, simply click on the image and delete it.)
- You can now use this image anywhere you want to use it. Both featured images and inline illustrations can be created in this manner.
- REMEMBER: FEATURED IMAGES MUST BE AT LEAST 640 pixels wide and 480 pixels high and should be in the 1.33 to 1 ratio. (Some things bear repeating.)
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.Installing Featured Images
- You should now have your image file in a directory on your local machine.
- Scroll down to the Featured Image box in the right side column on the data entry form. (In some cases it may be at the top of the page.)
- Click on SET FEATURED IMAGE
- Find the featured image you want to use in your Media Library.
- Click on the image.
- When the image appears in the selector box on the right side of the screen, click on SELECT FEATURED IMAGE button at the bottom right side of the dialog box.
- The image will appear in the featured image box, It will not appear in the article itself. If it does not appear, the image was probably too small. As a general rule images should be approximately 640x 480 pixels.
- REMEMBER: DO NOT re-use images that have been used as the featured image as the featured image for any other article.
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.Inserting Images into Your Articles
- WARNINGS
- Do not reuse the same featured image in the body of an article.
- Do not insert any images above the first paragraph of your article.
- Do not use copyrighted images.
- COPY AND PASTE FROM THE INTERNET (EASY)
- Many images can be directly copied and pasted into your article.
- Simply activate your cursor menu (right click on most Windows Machines) and select COPY IMAGE.
- Switch back to BindleSnitch, position the cursor where you want to put the image and paste the image into place.
- If this doesn’t work, it is probably because the image is copy protected. If it is copy protected, you probably shouldn’t use it.
- However, if it is essential that you use that particular image, follow the directions for THE EASY WAY TO CAPTURE IMAGES
- This will install the image in your media library.
- IF THE IMAGE IS IN YOUR IMAGE LIBRARY
- Position your cursor at the point where you want to insert the image.
- Click on the ADD MEDIA button as shown above.
- Find the image you want to insert in your media library.
- Select the image you want from your Media Library.
- When the image appears in the Selector Box on the right side of the screen, click on INSERT INTO POST (the green button on the lower right.
- Once the new item appears you can adjust it using the same tools described above.
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.Adjusting Image Positions and Sizes
Once the image has appeared in your article, you can change the appearance of the image but, if you have to move the image, it is better to delete it and reinsert it where you wanted it in the first place. When you click on any image, a number of controls appear.
The first button above the image will force the image to the left margin and allow text to run to the right of the image. 
The second button forces the image to the center of the screen and does not allow text on either side of the image. 
The third button forces the image to the right side of the screen and allows text to appear to the left of the image. 
The fourth button forces the image to the left side of the screen but does not allow text to run to the right of the image. 
The pencil allows you to insert a caption that will appear under the article. This can be used to give credit to the source of the image. See Below. 
The x box obviously deletes the image. Adjusting Image Sizes
When you select the pencil tool as shown above, you get the Image Details box.
This gives you the option of selecting the alignment of the entire image and also gives you a number of choices of standard sizes for the image.
You can insert a caption. We recommend that you use the caption box to credit the source of the images you are using.
The link box at the bottom of the dialogue box allows you to link the image to a media file (which is useful for attaching an audio file to an image), a specific page on the website (don’t use that one), or any valid URL.
Note: You can also adjust the size of the image manually by clicking on any of the anchors at the corners of the image and dragging the image to shrink or enlarge it to meet your needs.
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.How to Customize Featured Images
- This process requires an image manipulation program. We recommend the Gimp Image Manipulation Program (which is free and can be downloaded here) .
- Find a royalty-free non-copyrighted image that you want to use from anywhere on the internet. (Start with Wikipedia.)
- Using the Snipping Tool, copy the image that you want to use.
- Open Gimp (or any other graphics program you might have.)
- Go to the menu bar at the top of the Gimp page and select File, then click on NEW.
- In the pop-up window, enter a width of 640 and a height of 480 and then click OK
- A window will open up on your screen with a white box.
- Put your cursor in the white box and click the left button on your pointing device.
- Click on Edit in the pop up menu, then select PASTE from the next menu.
- This will deposit the image you have chosen into the Gimp program.
- Now, click on the SCALE button in the Gimp menu on the right side of the screen, which looks like this:
- Grab the anchor on the upper left corner of the image by clicking on the left button while the cursor is inside the anchor and pull the anchor up to the upper left corner of the white box. Release the button on the pointing device.
- Next, grab the anchor on the lower right hand corner of the image, by left clicking the pointing device and pull the anchor down to the lower right hand corner of the image area (the white box.) Release the button.
- Your image is now correctly sized.
- You can now adjust, modify, or edit the image using the tools in the graphics program.
- Once you are satisfied with the results, Save the image using THE SAVE AS Function.
- Name the image with the same name as the article the image is going to appear. Use the .GIF EXTENTION. (article name.gif.)
- When you use the .GIF extension, you will get a pop-up message. Click on TAKE ME TO THE EXPORT DIALOG.
- When the EXPORT DIALOG opens, make sure that the Save in Folder is saving to your PICTURES directory (or any other directory that you use to store images.)
- If a message pops up indicating that the image extends beyond the actual borders of the image, click on CROP.
- This will bring up a fail-safe message. Click EXPORT on this message. This will save the image to the correct directory.
