How to Add Pictures to Posts 📸 All the ways!


Image by Soragrit Wongsa

Pictures can make everything better, right? If anything they can add a bit of flair to your writing or even help you make a point. We love when everyone shares photos with their posts here on the forum! We put together this handy guide for anyone struggling to add pictures to the forum or who maybe didn’t know there’s more than one way of doing it!

This post is going to cover the following…

Ready? Let’s get started!

Guidelines for Sharing Images

We have to go over some guidelines when sharing pictures. These are also included in our main forum guidelines but I would like to include them here as well.

:one: – Any image you share that is not your own or that requires a source back for copyright must have a source. This can be a link back to where you found the picture, the name of the artist or photographer, or something similar. Please try to avoid saying things like “Pinterest” or “Google” and instead help people find the wonderful artists and photographers you enjoy!

If you’d like images that you don’t have to credit, you can check out Pexels, Unsplash, and Pixabay. All images there are generally free to use and share without attribution.

:two: – For pictures that are not yours (but are taken by/portray) people you know, please get permission before posting them.

:three: – In order to share pictures with minors, you MUST have received prior approval from the minor’s legal guardians. This is a privacy issue as well as a legal one.

Do you have the guidelines down? Ready to share your amazing pictures? Let’s go over sharing pictures on a desktop computer first.

Adding Pictures to a Post on Desktop

There are two ways to add pictures to a post on desktop. These are copy/paste and upload. The first is simple. You “Copy” the image you want, then “Paste” the image in your post. Here are some photos that demonstrate! This is how I added the picture at the top to the post.

Copy/Paste an Image

First, search for your picture(s).

When you’ve found the image you want, right-click the image and select “Copy Image”.

image

And then right click in your post and select “Paste”.

image

You will then see the image added in the text box as code for the forum.

image

And when the post is published, it will look like this!

Since I pulled this image from Unsplash I don’t technically have to credit it. However, I always like to give credit where credit is due, even if I don’t have to, so I added a link to the artist’s profile on Unsplash.


Uploading your Own Images

The second method of adding a picture is by uploading it directly from your computer.

First, click the “Upload” button shown in dark gray here.

image

A window will pop up of your file explorer on your computer.

Select the image you want to include and click “Open”.

And then ta-da! Your picture is now in your post!

This is a picture of my own child, so I am already following the guidelines here because I have my own permission to post it :sweat_smile:


Adding Pictures on the Mobile App

You can still add pictures if you’re using the mobile app. The same copy/paste method from before will also work so I’m not going to cover that. I’m assuming if you know how to copy/paste on your phone, you can add a picture here. If anyone needs that tutorial let me know and I’ll add it in.

Otherwise, let’s look at uploading a picture from your phone. Here’s how!

First, click the upload button on the bottom right-hand corner. It looks the same on desktop and mobile.

Then, at least on Android phones, a little window will pop up and ask if you want to share images from your camera or your files. If you select “Camera”, your camera will open and you can take a picture to share. If you select “Files”, your file explorer will open and you can then select an image.

image

Once you make your choice, select your photo by tapping on it.

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And then ta-da! Your photo is included in the post!


Adding Alt Text

Alt text, or alternative text, is a description of the image for those who are visually impaired or using a screen reader. This helps them still “see” the pictures and get the context of the post. This is optional, of course, and should only be added if the image in question lends context to the post or is important. For example, the images in this post don’t have alt-text because it would just repeat the things I’ve already said.

Anyway, you can read more about alt-text here if you want → How To: Write Good Alt Text | Supercool

But I’m going to show you how to add it in case you ever want to. It’s very simple once you have your image uploaded. I am going to use one of the images I have already added as an example.

This is the code for the candle picture above.

![20220110_114811|500x500, 75%](upload://fDVKi3QIg4xLHdGqdJMSyBLNhNH.jpeg)

To add alt-text, I am just going to add text right inside the first bracket like this.

![Alt text goes here! 20220110_114811|500x500, 75%](upload://fDVKi3QIg4xLHdGqdJMSyBLNhNH.jpeg)

Now if a screen reader picks up that image, it will say this, “Alt text goes here!” as it scans the image!

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Speaking about pictures and art- this post is a masterpiece! :clap: This is an amazing guide, @MeganB- thank you so much for taking the time to share it! :star_struck:

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I love this, I learned about Alt-Txt… I had wondered how to do that & now it seems so obvious. Lol :rofl: Thank you for the “How To” for pictures. :two_hearts:

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There were a lot of new members who came in over the weekend (welcome, everyone! :blush:) so bumping this great post up :arrow_double_up:

For folks both new and weathered, this is an excellent guide to help you spice up your posts with pictures- feel free to give it a read! :sparkling_heart:

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There are lot of new folks in the forum (welcome! :heart:) so just bumping this very helpful guide about sharing photos along with the important reminder:

Please share your own images freely, but if you are sharing something owned by someone else, please give that person credit for their work/image/etc! It is extremely hard on content creators to see their hard-earned content elsewhere and not be getting credit for it (or worse, to see someone claiming your work as their own).

This coven is so wonderfully loving and respectful - let’s continue to respect fellow content creators and inspirers :handshake: :heart:

Thank you!

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So, if I’ve bought the rights to use an image, I don’t have to add it, right? There’s the possible confusion that no one else knows that I’ve bought it, but if I just say “rights owned” or something, that should cover it? Not that it happens often, but I do have a few from back in the day. :smile_cat:

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Technically yes! This is also true for images in the public domain - images on sites like Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons allow some of their images to be used (and owned or edited) freely, no sources required.

That being said, a little note somewhere near the image that this is yours/owned by you/you have the rights to it will be a big help, as otherwise there may be a friendly little check-in message from a moderator in regards to the image :wink:

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Thank you for clarifying that~ :black_heart:

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@starborn Always happy to clarify! :hugs: :heart:

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