A Great Way to Store & Share Community-Sourced Images!

Dec 22, 2014

MorgueFile Daily ChallengesSince we're always looking for free elearning images - and since we all understand the value of sharing assets in the community - I wanted to share what I've learned about an image-sharing community that anyone can join and use.

You probably know that MorgueFile's images are cost-free and attribution-free, but I never realized it was designed to be a take-one-give-one self-sustaining resource - and that anyone can take part.

They caught my eye with their daily mobile challenges, which are a lot of fun (and which I wrote a post about), but I could also see using the site as a way to share elearning-appropriate images with each other. You can search using tags, and I was thinking maybe using one we'd all recognize (in addition to content-specific tags) could potentially be a way to find each other's contributions there?

I know our community members have offered up lots of great photos in the past (including Dianne Hope's gorgeous pics of the Outback), but thought I'd suggest the MorgueFile repository as a way of doing the same in a more easily-discoverable and social way. (Here are my contributions so far, too!)

What do you think?

28 Replies
Ralf Hilgenstock

Jackie wrote "The number one thing I tend to look for - after any specifics I have in mind - is that the image is as big as I can get it. That way I can crop it any way I'd like - whether to focus on an object or choose the orientation I need - and it'll still look good even at full screen. "

That means the perfect photo for us as learning designer has different criteria that the perfect photo that a photographer creates normally or that we print and put on the wall.

A typical photographer puts the main object near the middle. Not exaclty in the middle but in the 1/3-2/3 area (golden ratio). The photo that we can use as background needs the main object in the left/right side or /top or better bottom area. We need background in the rest where we can put text or interaction elements on the photo.

Jackie Van Nice

Well, keep in mind that's simply how I approach using photos. I see them as bits of form, color, and light that I can manipulate. I don't worry about how the photographer composed them since I'm going to recompose them for my own purposes.

I'm sure you'll get very different answers and approaches from others. :)

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