Photography
Photo Guidelines Refresh
Our goal is to create new photo guidelines for use across print and web. We want the photos to be welcoming, youthful, less corporate and embody the three aspirations of our brand identity:
Humanistic, Inclusive & Student Focused
Photos allow individuals to visualize an experience and should focus the possibilities and the journey. CIEE’s core is about learning new things, broadening perspectives and bridging the gap between people around the world.
Photos should include people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized (eg – members of minority/underrepresented groups, have physical or mental disabilities and locals). As one of CIEE’s initiatives to increase access, diversity in images should be considered as often as possible.
Photos taken by students should be a priority. They have more genuine feel and energy than stock photos. Students should be encouraged to take a lot of photos throughout their journey. Going abroad is about learning and sharing experiences. The first-person view is ideal for capturing them.
Sourcing of images from students should be promoted. It is important that permission to use photos is granted from the student when photos are uploaded through a portal to avoid copyright violations/complaints. An agreement needs to be drafted and implemented when photos are obtained. When appropriate, the photographer should be credited if it is used in marketing material.
Landscapes
Landscapes should be used as hero images, large photos, overlays or as small accent points in a layout. Choose bright and colorful horizontal photos. Use photos that include people interacting in the landscape. If the photo has no people in it, make sure it really stands out. They should be well composed and have a depth of field. Avoid photos of people in cliché poses, jumping in the air, drinking alcohol or in dangerous situations.
Slice of Life Photos
Slice of life photos should be used as hero images, digital marketing, large photos, overlays or as small accent points in a layout. The photos should include people that are engaging and should tell a story or express a mood. Candid photos from the student’s perspective are ideal choices. Stay away from landscapes with no people, photos that are unbalanced or don’t have a unique perspective. If the photo doesn’t draw in the viewer or looks cliché, you shouldn’t use it.
Action Photos
Action photos should be used as large or medium accent points in a layout. Large photos can used as an overlay. Colorful photos capturing action with frozen or blurred motion can really give a layout some spark. The photos should be well composed and have a depth of field. Avoid using photos that have too much blur. There has to be a balance, or the subject may not be recognizable or ineffective.
Photo Overlays
Photo overlays should be used as large or medium accent points in a layout. Color or black and white images with enough contrast will work nicely. They should not be too busy so that the text or graphic on top of the overlay will be readable. Avoid using close-ups and make sure the subject matter is recognizable.
Asset Bank & Stock Photography
When searching for photos in the Asset Bank use the Advanced Search option. Use one or a combination of words to search for better results. Suggested keywords: people, life, hero, landscape, interacting or colorful. Suggested tags: students, learning, internship, work, culture or study abroad.
Use the Image Quality option to search for high-resolution print use, so you know the image is large enough to print at 300 dpi. Image Quality settings are based on the number of pixels in the longest side of an image.
- Print: 2500+, Large: 1000-2500, Medium: 500-1000, or Small: < 500.
When you find a photo you like, click on it and select add to lightbox option. A lightbox is a collection of assets that you can create, add to, and share. You can share your lightboxes with other Asset Bank users or send them to people who don’t have access to Asset Bank.
Many of the stock photos and photos taken by students have burnt out backgrounds that are usually caused by the sun. Getty Images has a plethora of these images, avoid using them. Stock photography needs to be picked carefully because most of it looks and feels like it was paid for. If you must use stock photography, make sure it’s appropriate, and do what you can to make it your own. You can download stock photos from Getty Images. Please note that the Getty license does not permit sharing of downloaded photos with parties beyond CIEE.