Introduction Building an image libraryBuilding an image library isn’t necessarily at the top of every marketing director’s list, but it should be. Without high-quality images you can actually use, you sacrifice your brand identity and give in to expensive, played-out, or low-impact stock art. How do you fix it? Use this template (slides 3-12) to provide guidelines to anyone taking photos for your company. If you have a brand style guide, social media guide, and/or marketing plan, refer to those resources when filling out the template to ensure your images align with these branding tools. Soon you’ll have the images you need, when you need them—and you’ll know where to find them!

Company ABC Image Guidelines Revised: Insert your company name. Insert your logo Update the “revised” date if you make changes. Give this guide to staff, freelancers, or anyone else taking pictures for your company.

Contents 1.Resolution & Size 2.Content 3.Composition 4.Enhancing & Editing 5.Upload & Storage Add key descriptor and URL. This will be useful to freelancers or contractors who aren’t familiar with your company. Insert your company’s key descriptor here.

1. Resolution & Size Set your camera or phone to the highest-quality setting possible to ensure images are useable across all media. Print minimum standard is 300dpi at 4 x 6 inches. Images captured on a camera phone must be larger than 1MB. If you plan on using images larger than 4 x 6, say on a poster or in an annual report, note the minimum requirements for that particular collateral.

2. Content Include people whenever possible. [The bulk of this section will depend on what your company or organization does. For example: If your business is helping people, staff should take pictures of people—not the tools you use to help them. If your business is product-based, take pictures of people making / enjoying / using your product. Factory or production line photos are great (and necessary) for your company’s website!] Focus on the details. When photographing people, make sure they are dressed appropriately for the context, and watch out for (and correct) things that may make the shot look unprofessional. This includes, [straightening hoods, removing headphones, tucking in shirts, cleaning up workspaces, removing restricted items such as open water bottles near computers]. Pay attention to background objects with equal weight to foreground objects. Avoid things such as [trash cans, other companies’ advertising/billboards, people in awkward positions]. Customize the text in brackets to align with your company’s work.

3. Composition Take a variety of shots: close-up, medium, and wide-angle. Be creative—photograph from multiple angles. If photographing a person with the product isn’t an option, shooting from different angles becomes increasingly important. Looking at your subject from another point of view could enhance a boring product image. Incorporate elements of photography in every shot, including the rule of thirds and look space. The rule of thirds relates to the focal point of an image. If you draw a tic-tac-toe board over it, the focal point should land at one of the points of intersection (not dead center). The space in the frame should be larger on the side that the subject is looking to, or look space. Add any other elements of photography you want staff to focus on— and their definitions— here.

4. Enhancing & Editing Using filters to enhance images is acceptable under certain circumstances. Refer to the chart on the following page for a complete list of approved filters and to which mediums they apply. Use editing software to improve composition and color only. Do not alter the meaning of the image. If you have further editing protocol, add that here.

Acceptable FiltersApproved for Blog Posts Approved for Social Media Posts Approved for Print e.g. vignetteXX Fill in the chart with acceptable filters and delineate to which mediums they apply with an “x.”

5. Upload & Storage All images are stored on the web at [ Save all images using the subject (person’s name or product) and the month and year the photo was taken. In instances when there are several images of the same subject, add a number. For example, [rollerskates_Jan20.jpg, rollerskates2_Jan20.jpg]. Use tags to group like images. If the image is of a person, begin by tagging with their name. Then, refer to the chart on the following page for location, subject/campaign, and product tags. Provide URL and login information. Edit nomenclature guidelines as necessary.

SiteSubject / CampaignProduct e.g. Milwaukee, Highland Park e.g. JanMarketinge.g. RollerSkates Categorize tags using columns. Update as necessary. [Picasa] Image Tags, [Company XYZ]

Name and Contact Information Insert your logo

Conclusion This template was created to help ensure your business has quality, one-of-a-kind images to accompany your unique brand identity—and save you time during the image selection process. For more on this, check out our blog: 4 Tips for Building Your Image Library.check out our blog: 4 Tips for Building Your Image Library.

Request a free inbound marketing assessment from Yodelpop. Want to put your image library to work improving your sales and internet marketing efforts?