Using images and photos in internal communications
Photographs help make your internal communications publication more attractive, breaking up slabs of text and headlines on the page.
Although it has been said that a ‘good picture is worth a thousand words’, it’s unlikely that you will have the budget or the space in your newsletter for this type of high-impact, professionally composed photography.
Instead, consider using head-and-shoulder shots of staff and management to illustrate particular articles. Be sparing, though - a photo like this for each article would be too much. One per page is just about right.
You may already have a database of this type of photography. If not, get yourself a digital camera and take the picture yourself. Or, if your subject is based some distance away, get them to send in a photo of themselves.
Always try to source photographs of staff events like fun days, social get-togethers and charity challenges. This type of picture helps readers ‘buy-in’ to your newsletter and regard it as ‘their’ publication.
When using photographs, always:
- make sure that the photo is ‘inside’ the story and headline and not elsewhere on the page;
- make sure that the photograph is immediately relevant – don’t leave your readers wondering why the picture is there.
- clearly caption all photographs – even if it’s just a head and shoulders shot and the caption is just the name. (Don’t expect your reader to look through the whole article to try to ascertain who is in the photo – it should be spelt out for them in a caption under the picture).
- when captioning a photograph featuring more than one person, always name them left to right. If there’s more than one row of people, start with the back row and move down.
- for long captions consider a brief two-word intro, followed by a colon, which sums up the subject of the photo like a mini-headline.
- put captions in bold text to make them stand out from the rest of the copy.
