A photo is worth 1,000 words.
I know it, you know it.
Even the “girls under the tree” shots that are so often used on college homepages are definitely better than what would be a text-based generic description of your campus.
Yet, when you go beyond the website main pages or the cover of print publications, great photos are harder and harder to spot in higher education.
That’s what I discovered last year when I worked on an extensive print and electronic publications audit for a big state university. After reviewing and assessing the quality of about 150 electronic and print publications, I believe small improvement in the quality of the photos can have a tremendeous impact on the overall perceived quality of any publication.
In an ideal world, you would be able to call a professional photographer each time you need a shot to be taken.
Not in higher education.
Not with the current budget levels.
Not with the busy schedule of your campus photographer (that is if you have one).
That’s the reason why I asked Judson Copeland who works at Oklahoma Christian University and taught a few college classes about photography to share some of his secrets.
Judson, who came highly recommended by 2 different co-workers at OC, is going to present a webinar that will help anybody working on campus become a better photographer, one of the 3 webinars of our upcoming series Professional Photos, Videos and Live Streaming 101 (Jan 18-20, 2011).
I also got to ask him a few questions about photography in higher education, which he answered with just a few words – as you’ll see.
1) How long have you been taking campus photos?
The last 12 years I have pretty much been dedicated to shooting for OC even though my “real†job is a graphic design.
2) Why does it make sense to incorporate photo in higher ed content?
We need to incorporate photos in our higher ed content to help elevate our universities brand and tell our stories better.
3) In your opinion, what is the top reason for poor quality when it comes to photo?
One of the top reasons for poor content in photography is when the photo is cluttered with information and does not focus on what is really important.
4) You will share many professional tips and tricks during your webinar, but can you give us 2 to 3 don’ts to assure professional photos?
- Don’t just take one photo:
Take multiples shots so you’ll have a several options to pick the best photo as the first is not always the best. - Don’t stay in the same place:
Move around and get different vantage points to find the best composition.
Want to learn more about the webinar?
Visit www.higheredexperts.com/likeapro
