Website Photography 101: What Makes for Good Photos?

Photography can allow people to connect with content in a profound way, and it’s one of the key elements of a website that can elevate it from information to experience. For nonprofits, it can provide a view into an organization more quickly and more memorably than through text alone, drawing visitors into your story, and helping to foster empathy and trust.

Yet, determining what makes for good photography, how to find it, and how to get it ready for your website may feel like an intimidating or uncertain task, especially when resources and time are tight.

So, I’m tackling just that in this three-part series. And I’ll start here with part one: what makes for good website photography for nonprofits…

Authenticity is Key

The goal of your organization’s web experience is likely—at least in part—to create a sense of empathy in the user, connect them with your mission, and build trust and credibility. Few things fracture that experience like inauthentic or insincere photographs.

Website users are good at spotting images that feel contrived or fake, even if not consciously. And their use can make audiences question the truthfulness of what they’re looking at, undermining your trustworthiness and credibility, and making an emotional connection more difficult. As an example, one research study from 2023 found that “when natural photos are used instead of stock photos, the engagement rate of posts [on social media] more than triples.” Another A/B test found that the use of a real photo resulted in a 35% increase in conversion rate vs the same design that used stock.

So, rely on real, authentic images of your actual audiences, stakeholders, staff, and the community you serve, and avoid stock or stock-like images, such as AI-generated ones (and we’ll cover the topic of AI use for image generation in the next part in this series).

It can help to think of your images as a photojournalist might, aiming to capture natural experiences, expressions and reactions, instead of forced smiles and rigid gazes. For shots of single individuals, capture them in their natural environment, doing what they normally would. For photos of multiple subjects, select photography that shows interactions between individuals, such as candid moments of discussion, engagement, or learning.

Sometimes these images aren’t perfect, and that’s okay. Of course, it’s also important to have photos that are well composed, lit, and in focus, but audiences highly value transparency in nonprofit organizations, and I would recommend a not-so-perfectly shot photo of a real community member over a professionally shot, stock-like image any day.

Be Specific

Each photo tells part of the story of your organization—the people behind your cause, who you help, where you work. And there is likely a lot to tell. But don’t be afraid to be specific in your photos. You don’t need to capture all aspects of what you do in just an image or two. In fact, quite the opposite. Specificity—perhaps counterintuitively—can tell a more universal story. Apart from photography, it’s a principle of good storytelling as a whole

So it’s okay if certain photos just capture one or two individuals, or touch on just one of your many issue areas, or just a single geographic location. An image that is specific, shows a certain context, and aims to tell a particular story will be more likely to be remembered. And the hope is that through the full library of photos across your site, you’ll build out the more complete story and representation of your organization as a whole.

But… Showcase Your Diversity

While it’s good to be specific and narrow in an individual photograph, your photography as a whole should also reflect the diversity of the communities you serve and the inclusivity that your nonprofit stands for. This provides opportunities for all users of your website—and organization—to feel represented, engaged and respected.

So, take a step back from assessing single images and view your photo library as an overall representation. Determine who is missing, and ensure you find a place for them.

All the Feels

A diverse approach to your photography shouldn’t just apply to *who* you represent, but also to the tone of your photos, and the feelings they’re intended to evoke in your audiences. Ensure the overall emotional appeal of the photos on your site matches the scale and scope that you intend your identity, mission, and values to convey. Again here, this isn’t on a per-image basis, but rather when you look at your website’s collection of photos as a whole.

Here’s an example: the state of the world at the moment is (at best) not exactly stable. And most nonprofits are tasked with responding to serious and sobering issues. So it’s likely appropriate for an example nonprofit to use images that convey a sense of urgency, hardship or perhaps alarm. But if part of the mission of this organization is to provide hope, or optimism or empowerment, then they should ensure that’s also presented in their photographs—because that match of mission to emotional appeal is what inspires action.

Document Your Approach

The above are just general guidelines, but you should create your own specific strategy for photography and document it, to share with others on your team. A section on photography is something so often omitted from organizational brand guidelines and is an easy addition if you already have guidelines (and if you don’t, create a separate document that everyone who might be taking or sourcing photography can access). 

It doesn’t need to be long—in fact, shorter is often better if you want others to easily reference it. Perhaps just a few paragraphs that state your organization’s approach to photography and answers questions such as:

• What are the primary tones that you want in your photography?—Strength? Positivity? Knowledge? Etc.
• What sort of emotions do you want images to evoke in your audiences? Compassion? Outrage? Hope? Etc.
• What is your organization’s stance on using stock photography? AI-generated images?
• How do you ensure the diversity of your community is represented?
• What specific sizes do you need for your website?
• Where will you store them, and how are they categorized?

Having this all documented somewhere as a source of truth will make your brand imagery more consistent, be easier to shoot or otherwise source, and help keep your team—and website—in sharp focus (pun very much intended :)

Stay tuned for the next part in this series, where we’ll dive into how to source photography for your website.