5 GREAT TIPS FOR FUNDRAISING PHOTOS, AND WHAT MAKES THEM WORK
Are you making the most of your fundraising photos for your organization or cause? If not, keep reading for helpful tips, tricks, and ideas that can help take your fundraising images to the next level.
Integrate some of these awesome ideas into your next fundraising campaign to make your efforts more effective. Boost profits towards your cause by making your fundraising images as appealing as possible.
1. CREATE EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS
One of the most effective ways to raise funds for your cause is to make emotional connections with potential donors. For this reason, using fundraising photos that can create emotional connections with viewers is a great idea. Capturing photos that evoke emotion, whether the image makes you smile, laugh, or cry, allows you to resonate with viewers.
Images that capture emotions can help viewers react with empathy and connection, which may push them to make a donation or attend a fundraising event for your cause. When capturing this kind of image, ask yourself how you can capture a feeling that you hope to evoke in others. Images that evoke emotions most in portraits will typically convey expression.
When capturing a portrait, consider having your subject make eye contact with the camera for an added layer of connection. If your capturing a group of people, show them helping or connecting with one another. Genuine gestures and actions help convey the connectivity of humanity and help others feel more invested in your cause.
2. TELL YOUR STORY
One of the most important qualities of a good photo is capturing an image that can tell a story. When coming up with ideas for your fundraiser photos, consider telling your organization’s story or cause through your images. When doing so, consider how your organization’s story or mission could be told in one image.
You could also select an image that reflects the values of your organization. Use images that reinforce your values to balance this with text that mirrors it when printing fundraising flyers, posters, and more. Ask yourself how your images support your mission to get effective shots that may convey emotions words cannot.
A good image will also show context and shouldn’t need an explanation. This will allow your viewers to understand the meaning without a caption. Allow your images to become a window into your work to connect to potential donors.
3. QUALITY IS KEY
The quality of your fundraising images can affect the authority of your organization. Blurry, unfocused, low-quality images will not only look less appealing but also negatively reflect your organization. To make sure that others feel they can trust you with their donations, you will want to make sure your fundraising images reflect professionalism.
Clear, focused, high-resolution images will appeal most to donors while increasing their trust in your efforts. Large images at least 1,000 pixels wide or 1MB in size are the best for showing crisp and clear details.
Bright colors and good lighting can help to improve the quality of your images. Avoid using black and white images for fundraiser photos, and opt for color instead. Dull, dark photos are often uninspiring and are not as likely to catch the viewer’s eye.
Integrating lots of colors helps make your photos pop, while a well-lit setting will allow your subject to be captured more clearly. For outdoor shoots, natural lighting is best in the early morning and early evenings for gentle sunlight.
If you’re shooting fundraising photos indoors, make sure you know how the lighting affects your subject’s skin tone. Shooting in a room with fluorescent or dim lighting may add hues of yellow or green to the image. Lighting can also be used in creative ways to highlight the focus of the image and draw the viewer’s eye to what’s most important.
4. DON’T OVERDO IT
Sometimes simple is best, and this definitely goes for fundraising images. After shooting your photos, avoid using filters or over-editing them. While you may be hoping to improve your image, you may be detracting from the quality and focus.
An over-edited photo may look less realistic, which could affect the connection you hope to gain from viewers. You should also avoid adding logos or graphics to your images. Overlaying your image with effects or text can busy your image and distract your audience.
These changes will keep your image busy, but they will also detract from your organization’s authority. Clean and simple images will convey professionalism much more clearly than an image that is cluttered.
5. AVOID STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Some organizations use stock photos to promote their fundraisers in hopes of saving time and money. This can be a big mistake, as these generic images will not connect to potential donors as much as your own unique shots would. Genuine and authentic images will appeal to viewers much more than an image that is posed or unrealistic.
When using your own photos rather than stock images to promote your fundraiser and organization, be sure to obtain informed consent to share images responsibly. Keep this in mind when posting on social media or including them in your printed materials.
TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE FUNDRAISING PHOTOS
When planning your next fundraising photos, keep these tips and tricks in mind. Make sure that you’re making the most of your promotional content by taking images that will captivate viewers and drive them to take action. Catch potential donors’ eyes and raise profits for your cause with these ideas.
Are you looking for a professional photographer who can capture high-quality images for your next fundraiser? Contact us today to get started.