GUIDE TO WORKING WITH THE OFFICE OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Photography tips

If photography is part of your publication, we'll work with you to schedule priority time with the Office of University Relations photographers. If you need photos for another purpose, call Photography directly at 8-8332.

Good photographs—photos that are well composed, well lighted, visually interesting, and illustrative of the text—almost always require careful advance planning. Interior photos can call for up to two hours of lighting preparation for a single shot, so please be patient as we factor this into the scheduling of your job. If you'll be taking the photographs yourself (which we wouldn't encourage, unless you're experienced and equipped or naturally lucky) or getting them from another source, here are some tips on making good ones.

Less is more—good democracy does not always equal good photography. While you may want to put everyone in your department in the photo so no one feels left out, the result is likely to be a static group photograph with no inherent appeal for the audience of your publication. If depicting everyone is mandatory, it's better to use several photographs of small groups doing something interesting.

Bigger usually is better. Tiny pictures have their places, but big (good) ones can grab the audience's eye.

Act natural. Take a deep breath and relax. Think the word "smile" and your face will take on a more pleasant aspect, whether you smile or not.

Digital images must be at least 300 dpi for printed pieces. Digital images that are not at least 300 dpi will not have good enough resolution to reproduce well in printed pieces. However, digital images with 72 dpi work well for online (or Web-based) projects.