5 ways to pick photos that advance your cause
Flickr / kelvin255
Here’s a little game for you. Open the next newsletter you receive. Check out the photos. Chances are good that in the mix you’ll find at least one of the following:
A – A row (or three) of people smiling at the camera
B – People in suits flanking a big check, smiling
C – Couples attending a recent fundraiser, smiling
Notice anything similar about the three categories? Aside from the grins, they’re ubiquitous, and they’re boring.
Photos add tremendous vitality to a story, not to mention literal and figurative color. In fact, done well, they can tell a story on their own. So how do you breathe life into your photos? Here are 5 techniques that don’t require you or your staff to be an expert photographer:
1. Crop aggressively
Flickr / Sailing "Footprints:...
There’s no rule that says you have to include a person’s whole body. Or that the photo has to be centered.
2. Use more candids
Yes, this is a photo of people at a party. But though this trio may have known the camera was around, they weren’t posing for it. When people pose for a photo, they have to take time out from the activity they’re enjoying. Candids bring the viewer in.
3. Compile a series of related photos
Flickr / Oslo in the Summertime
A comic strip can tell a story in a few panels, and so can you. This is a great technique to use if you have a few photos and none of them is good enough to stand on their own.
4. Focus on the activity, not the result
Flickr / carf
Instead of trying to capture the feel-good moment at the conclusion of an event with a posed photo of all involved, illustrate the program in progress. Include a photo of a volunteer making posters or of a family dropping off canned goods. Readers can extrapolate from the face of one child the impact that an educational program will have on a whole school. They can then read about the program’s results in the accompanying article.
5. Let captions help you tell your story
Flickr / alexanderdrachmann
If you don’t have the right photo for a story you need to tell, include a seemingly unrelated image and use the caption to make the connection. Captions are the third-most frequently read element in a newsletter – right behind headlines and subheads – so use them to your advantage.
What else?
These suggestions are a starting point only. Can you add to the list? What are your techniques for picking photos that move beyond the grip and grin and help tell your stories?
4 Responses to “5 ways to pick photos that advance your cause”
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Hank Osborne on May 19th, 2009
Amen. My battle with one organization’s picture culture (well described by your initial ABCs) subsided somewhat after purchasing a good digital SLR with a couple of decent lenses—allowing me to capture the moment through action, not poses. An advocate to the cause was the local newspaper and their refusal to publish holding-the-check pictures.
Hank Osborne
admin on May 19th, 2009
Thanks, Hank. Good tip. And great to hear others with clout are on the bandwagon! There are just so many other more interesting alternatives out there!
What Makes A Good Photo? : Nature Potpourri on May 27th, 2009
[...] *Reciprocal Link: 5 ways to pick photos that advance your cause [...]
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