Telling Your Story

The imagery you choose can significantly impact your audience and message. In this series, we’ll explore what makes a photo or illustration a good fit for your communications piece.

Choosing images for your communications piece can be tricky – you can check all the boxes, but something may still not be quite right. As discussed in previous blogs for this series, your image could have the right color palette and be appropriate for your target audience, but it still lacks an emotional connection.

Stir up that connection in your audience by ensuring your images tell your story. Each image can carry a bit of your program’s DNA, show your audience what makes you unique, and make them want to know more about involvement.

Use images unique to your program or event

Stock images can be beneficial when a professional image or illustration is needed, but they can feel cold or generic if not used properly. or images from the UF/IFAS Photoshelter can feel more authentic to your audience. If you are promoting an event, include images from past years. If you’re recruiting, show a current student interacting with others on campus.

People can make it interactive

Including people in your images can increase audience engagement with your marketing piece. Look at the images below. Both show a microscope, but the image of a UF/IFAS student using a microscope is more personal than the static microscope itself.

Use different points of view

You can tell different parts of your story using various photo shots. For example, close-ups or macro photographs can show important details or give your piece an artistic feel. Zoom out a bit, and you can show the expression on someone’s face. Zoom out on a landscape or crowd photo to show your story’s broader context.

Your story is important, and the UF/IFAS Communications staff are here to help you tell it. If you’d like to connect withus about your next project, email us or submit a request using Adobe Workfront!

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