Photos can be useful in promoting service throughout the year. Here are a few suggestions to make your photos most useful for promotion and other purposes.

Generally, the photos of the Martin Luther King Day of Service should reflect the energy, extent, and diversity of the day, showing many types of people serving together on a variety of projects. Because you may want to use these photos to promote service broadly—and some projects that are not specifically related to the service day - you also need strong, general photos of people in action, serving together. (For example, a photo of a person wearing an MLK T-shirt or hat would be good for some purposes, but not for others.)

Specifically, you should take into consideration the following:

1. Take action shots, not just portraits of smiling faces. Shots should be tight, close-up photos of people actively serving, particularly in groups of two, three, or four;
2. Include some group shots of people interacting and even possibly looking toward the camera;
3. Photos should show diversity, with many different types of people together (ages, genders, races, etc.);
4. Remember to turn the camera sideways and get vertical shots as well; these are very helpful when you're trying to design a vertical brochure or poster;
5. Think about how you want to use the photos.  If you're looking to put a photo on a printed publication (like a brochure), you need to make sure you have a camera that will take a high quality picture (and make sure to set the quality to maximum if you're using a digital camera)

You want to have variety and energy in your photos, so they can more effectively appeal to many types of people and get more people involved in service or your organization.

Finally, please have the people in your photos sign a release form.  Click here to view a sample form.