In this assignment, you are acting as low-budget photo director who needs to choose free images to publish with text stories. You will select, edit and cite photos for three news article scenarios.
Why does image choice matter?
The picture superiority effect means people remember images better than words, all other factors being equal. This effect has been reproduced in many studies, though the why is less certain. Studies consistently show higher engagement on all social media and online platforms for stories with any image compared to those without.
Characteristics of successful images for catching attention:
- High quality (clear point of focus, not pixelated)
- Easy to understand at a glance at a small size
- Elicit emotional connection or reaction
- Make use of color, patterns, or other visual appeal
Resource pages for steps in this assignment:
It’s strongly recommended that you read through the full instructions before starting this assignment to make sure you can complete it as efficiently as possible. You’ll go through the full selecting, formatting and citing process for one scenario, and then repeat the process for two additional scenarios.
Scenario 1: Flu Vaccinations
This news story is about flu vaccinations, which are recommended every year. Public health officials are seeing signs of a bad flu season, and are strongly encouraging people to get a flu vaccine. Adults over 65, children under 5 and pregnant women are most at risk of developing severe flu-related complications. Residents of group living facilities are also at risk, as well as people with chronic illnesses or medical conditions.
Photo selection and formatting:
1. Search for an image that will be published with this story. It must be:
- Unquestionably legal to use for editorial purposes (news)
- High enough quality to use online at 1200px or larger
- Appropriate for the topic and tone of the story
2. Download a copy of the image and save it into a folder where you can collect files for this assignment.
3. In a text document, write the citation (with links) for your image. Also write a sentence explaining why you chose this particular image.
4. Open the image in Photoshop. Crop three JPG versions for your publication:
- One main version that is 1200px by 770px, which will appear with the story on your website
- One social media version that is 1080px by 1080px, which is recommended for Facebook and Instagram
- One newsletter version that is 744px by 419px, which is used for some Mailchimp email newsletter templates
Use a consistent naming style for all three, such as flu-main.jpg, flu-social.jpg and flu-newsletter.jpg.
The three crops will not be the same since the dimensions are different, and you may choose to focus on a particular part of an image if it will appear smaller to viewers.
Scenario 2: Traveling with pets
This story is about tips for traveling with pets that aren't service animals, with advice from veterinarians and travel agents about keeping pets comfortable and making plans for pet-friendly travel accommodations. It is focused on air travel with dogs and cats, but also mentions road trips and other types of pets.
Follow the same process as in Scenario 1 to choose, crop and cite a photo.
Scenario 3: Hybrid Workplaces
This magazine story is about how more workplaces — especially in tech, media and consulting — are implementing remote work and hybrid work schedules, where employees work at the office on some days and from home on other days. Surveys show that office employees overwhelming support some amount of remote or hybrid work, though there is also concern about effects on workplace culture and professional relationships.
Follow the same process as in Scenario 1 to choose, crop and cite a photo.
When you’re done, you’ll have nine images total (3 photos cropped 3 ways), similar to this (though the topics and dimensions may change each semester):
Submitting Your Work
Submit the following to Canvas by going to “Assignments” and uploading the files with your submission:
- Text document with a citations and explanations for each of the three scenarios
- Nine .jpg files (three from each scenario), with consistent file names
Always upload images separately as photo files rather than embedded into your text document.
Demonstrated Skills:
- Identify free-to-use images online for various subjects
- Cite photos in a uniform format with author and license information
- Thoughtfully crop photos in Photoshop to proportions that differ from the original
- Resize images in Photoshop to match pixel dimensions for various media purposes