Breadcrumb
Photography Guidelines
Photos are an important part of your publication process. Great effort and thought should be put into all your photography choices. A great photo selection will engage your audience and grab their attention so they are compelled to read the content. Poorly selected, low quality images will damage your credibility and not engage your audience.
When taking and selecting your photography, follow the guidelines below.
- Pay attention to the background in the photography. Simple, uncluttered backgrounds work best.
- Remove all clutter in the frame before the image is taken. Look for branded material such as water and soda bottles, clothing with names, subject matter and logos that don’t support the university.
- Fill the frame with your subject. Images can always be cropped to eliminate any dead space that doesn’t add to the main subject.
- Make images more engaging by including an environment that relates to the subjects interests. (lab, classroom, etc)
- Try to make the subject as natural and comfortable as possible.
Technical Guidelines
- All images should be taken on the camera’s highest quality settings.
- Always take photos in a well-lit area.
- The main subject of the photograph must be in focus.
Talent Guidelines
- Always have your subjects fill out a model release.
- Minors must have release signed by a parent or legal guardian. It is strongly recommended that a parent or legal guardian accompany minor on the photo shoot.
- Avoid sleeveless garments.
- Darker or neutral colors are best, avoid white if possible.
- For group photos have subjects place hands at side.
- No logos should appear on apparel except UCM logos.
IMC Photography
The Office of Integrated Marketing and Communications does not employ a professional photographer on staff which means we have to pull people off of their jobs to accommodate photography requests. As a result, IMC must limit the number of photography requests we can accommodate. Photography requests must have a specific purpose, be high-impact in nature, be compelling, support recruitment and have good visual appeal. Current workload and availability will also be taken into consideration.
In the event your request for IMC to take your photos is not approved, we regularly recommend two options:
- You have someone take the picture with a camera or phone, but make sure it is set to take high resolution pictures. In today's society, many students take pictures all of the time so most phone cameras are already set up like that.
- Hire a photographer. IMC has referred a photographer to other departments and have been pleased in the past. Please contact IMC for this recommendation.
In both of these scenarios, please be sure to follow the above guidelines, especially the waiver requirement.
Professional Headshots
IMC hires a company to provide professional headshots several times per year. This schedule is posted in UCM Daily several weeks in advance of the photo shoot.
