6 Images to Boost Your Website

IMAGES
TO BOOST
YOURWEBSITE
Logan Aimone, MJE • @loganaimone
JEA/NSPA National High School
Journalism Convention • Spring 2023
6

6 Images to Boost Your Website
With the evolution
of news media from
print to digital to social,
one rule has
remained true:

Images
attract
eyes

Youwantyoursite to
look interesting.
Youwantyouraudience
to look at the content.

Include an image
on every story.

Yes —
every
story!

MostWordPress themes
use a featured image
fora post, so take
advantage of the space.

The Standard, The American School in London

U-High Midway, University of Chicago Laboratory High School

The Rubicon, St. Paul Academy & Summit School

ForSNO Flex,
the image is
900x600 pixels
ora 3:2 ratio

CANDID
IMAGE
1

A candid action photo taken by a student on
your staff from the event, activity or scene.
These are your standard candid images:
assemblies, games, guest speakers,
classroom activities.
CANDID IMAGE

CANDID IMAGE
• Image is cropped to 3:2
horizontal proportion
• Show the subject of the
story doing the thing the
story is about.

CANDID IMAGE
• If necessary, an image with
different proportions can be
embedded in the story text.

CANDID IMAGE
This is a candid photo, but not one you can use.
• Lifting a copyrighted image
and republishing it without a
license (permission, license
fee or Creative Commons)
is not acceptable.
• Even if you give credit, if you
don’t have permission/
license, it’s breaking
copyright.

CANDID IMAGE
This is a candid photo, but not one you can use.
• Even if the image does a
great job of enhancing the
story you wrote.

ENVIRONMENTAL
PORTRAIT
2

A planned, posed image of a person/people
specifically illustrating an aspect from the
story (e.g. artistic student surrounded by
artwork).
Most common in personality profiles or
other features.
ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAIT

• Plan together to allow time
to create the image that will
tell the story in the most
effective way.

• Use objects from the
person’s environment to
convey the information to
support the story.

CANDID IMAGE
Don’t repurpose images from other sources.
• Again, this violates
copyright, but also these
are not environmental
portraits.

“STILL LIFE”
IMAGE
3

Photo of objects to illustrate the concept in
the photo (also called a “flat lay”) or a
screenshot from a videoconference
(Zoom).
Example: calculator, protractor and
textbook for a news brief about a math
competition, or the various “superfoods” for
a health story. Also the now-cliché photo of
a hand holding a phone displaying an app.
“STILL LIFE” IMAGE

• Not ideal, but we had to get
creative in the pandemic
with few/no events in
person or for more
conceptual stories about
mental health.

• A few props make for a good
image to accompany a
routine brief, like this one
about applications for the
student ambassador team.

• Develop your own library of
“stock images,” which are
helpful for conceptual
stories or advances. This
image was one of several
taken to accompany stories
about COVID-19 testing.

This is a “still life” photo, but not one you can use.
• The credit of “unknown” is a
flag that this image needs
to change.

This is a “still life” photo, but not one you can use.
• Nice image — because it’s
by a professional!
• Did the student news
organization pay the
licensing fee for this image?
If so, say so:
Used with permission

FAIR USE
IMAGE
4

For reviews especially, this includes album
covers, movie posters, screenshots of
streaming, etc.
FAIR USE IMAGE

FAIR USE IMAGE
• A portion of the promotional
image for the movie, show,
etc.
• Make sure you credit the
studio or promotional
agency. Don’t take these
from another media outlet!

FAIR USE IMAGE
• A screenshot (also possibly
a promotional image) from
the movie, show, etc.
• Make sure you add a
caption.

FAIR USE IMAGE
• A fair use image clearly
labeled as provided for use
under a license.
• For example, images from
the United States
government agencies
(NASA, FEMA) are generally
copyright-free.

PLACARD
5

That’s the term we use for when the image
is text over a background (either an image
or solid color).
Every opinion column gets this treatment
— solid background, mug shot, quote from
story.
Make these in InDesign or Canva and export
as a JPEG.
PLACARD

PLACARD
• Just make a label with an
image that represents the
topic of the story.
• Make a template or copy
the previous version, and
change the image and/or
text.

PLACARD
• These can be re-used for
multiple stories on the
topic.

PLACARD
• Each opinion column uses
this template: quote from
the column with the writer’s
name and mug. It’s shown
here with the headline on
the category page.

PLACARD
• Here’s a
panel of
placards
on the
category
page.

PLACARD
• Here’s how placards fit in
among other types of
images on the section page.

ILLUSTRATION /
GRAPHIC
6

Art drawn by someone, or something like a
map, graph, chart, etc.
ILLUSTRATION / GRAPHIC

• The website version can be
cropped for the 3:2 ratio,
though the print version
may take a different shape.
• Even an illustration needs a
caption.

• Be careful of white
backgrounds and how they
may look different on the
website/mobile and in print.

More
examples

The Globe, Clayton High School

The Call, Kirkwood High School

The Messenger, McHenry High School

Aquila, Harker Upper School

Coral Gables Senior High School

Case
studies

CASE STUDY
Four finalists for principal visit campus
• Photo description sent to
photographer:
Horizontal, candid photos of
finalist candidates
interacting with students,
talking & gesturing at the
open sessions
And Vertical headshots of
each candidate

CASE STUDY
Mock trial team goes to state competition
• The state competition
would be during spring
break and in Springfield,
hours away. So a practice
would be the image.
photographer:
Candid horizontal of one of
Mock Trial’s practices

CASE STUDY
Women of Color assembly for Women’s History Month
photographer:
Candid. Horizontal. Photos
of the speakers at the
assembly. Capture
moments of the speakers
when they are full of
emotion with lots of hand
gestures.

CASE STUDY
Audio story about the beatmaking club
photographer:
Photo of club members at
club meeting, which is only
Mondays at lunch.

Need an
idea?

What’s a storyyour
staff isworking on?
What is the imageyou
plan forit?

QUESTIONS
?Logan Aimone, MJE • @loganaimone
Permission is granted to use this
slideshow in your newsroom training:
slideshare.net/loganaimone

6 Images to Boost Your Website

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