I have long been a fan of Morguefile and their approach to image licensing.  Basically, Morguefile has a huge database of photographs that are open for use without attribution. 

The photographers may enjoy some recognition but the creative license does not require it. So basically you can search the database of free images, modify them how you want, and use them in any way you want.  The only thing you can’t do is resell them in their current form.

Already this makes Morguefile an awesome place for bloggers to find images for their blogs.  Now that they have added the “Crop and post” feature, finding and formatting photos for blog posts is that much easier.

Morguefile makes finding the proper photo for the job very simple because of the search bar in the upper right corner of the page.

This way you can narrow down the type of photo you are looking for.  Once you find the photo you want, and you click on it, you are brought to the photo’s page.  All of the normal options are still there, like downloading the photo, reading information about the photo, and commenting on the photo.  The area we are concerned about that makes the blogger’s life so much easier is the “Crop and post” link.

Clicking that link will make a selection box appear over the photo.

This is where the magic happens.  You can re-size the selection box to crop any portion of the photo that you want.  You can also move the scale back and forth changing the size of the finished picture.

If you know the exact size you want the picture to be, you can check the “lock size” box and then re-size the selection box and the finished picture will still remain the size you locked it at.

When you get it to where you want it, it is time to click “Finish.”  You will then be brought to a page with several options for sharing the cropped image.

Notice that you have the option to share the direct link to the image using the shortened URL they give you.  You can also grab the HTML for embedding the image and let them host the actual file for you.

The third option, which is not as obvious but is the one I choose, is to save the photo and upload it manually.  This can be a good option because you have control of the file and if Morguefile ever goes out of business (heaven forbid), the photo doesn’t disappear from your blog.  To save the image, simply right-click on it and choose to “Save image as…“or whatever your browser says that is similar.

Before I always had to either download the whole image and do my own formatting or use a screen capture tool and capture the part of the photo that I wanted.  Both of those methods are more of a hassle than Morguefile’s “Crop and post” feature.  They basically do it all for you.

How do you find imagesimages for blogs for your blog (try these 5 Free Websites for Quality Copyright Free Photographs)?  When you find them, what method do you use for formatting them so they can be used?