How to Use Magazine Photography Images in a Blog

The glossy pages of magazines often provide you with excellent photographs to be used for your personal blog. These images can be transferred digitally to your blog in a few simple steps, but it is important to cite the photographer of the image. Legally, you cannot use a copyrighted image for your own personal blog unless it is clearly cited as not your own.

• Check the magazine’s website to see whether the current issue has the same image as the one you found in the print magazine. If so, right-click the image and click “save as” to save it to your computer. Being able to find the image on the website can save you a lot of time and effort.


• Tear out the pages with images you would like to use on your blog if you were unable to locate them on the website. Be careful when tearing out the pages not to rip the image. You may find it easier to use scissors to cut out the pages as close to the magazine binding as you can get. If the image is much smaller than the page, cut around the image to avoid excess cropping later on. Look for the photographer’s name or copyright information on the page with the image and make a note of it.


• Place the magazine image on your scanner face-down, and be sure the scanner is turned on and connected to your computer. Use the buttons on your scanner to choose color or black and white. If you have the option, scan the image at 300 dpi for a high quality picture.


• Locate the scanned image on your computer, and edit it using your preferred photo editing software. If you have not purchased software, you can download Picasa for free at picasa.google.com or use a free online photo editing program at picnik.com. Use the editing tools to crop and sharpen the picture. When you save it, do not change the file size to keep the quality of the image intact.


• Insert the edited magazine image onto your blog within the post you want to have it. Directly underneath the image, be sure to include the copyright or source information. This may be the photographer’s name or magazine title. If citing the magazine as the source, include the date of the issue it was included in.