October 2011
Surely your beginning weeks of school yielded a host of great pictures. Now what? You know of course, that a single picture can tell many stories. Yet, pictures are often filed either under one category, or more often, under one date. To exacerbate matters, those doing the filing often don’t understand some basics about digital photos, design, and printing.
Recently, I worked with two schools to develop end of year reports. One simply referred me to a huge file of low-resolution pictures labeled “school activities and class room photos, 2010-11.” The file reminded me of great Aunt Bessie’s huge tote bag – it held everything but the kitchen sink and the daily search for the house keys could take twenty minutes. The second administrator knew exactly where to find early childhood picture that epitomized the wide-eyed wonder of exploration, the middle school picture that demonstrated collaborative learning, and the high school picture that displayed the school’s Zionistic philosophy.
The days of filing pictures away in shoeboxes have passed. Invest a few minutes now to learn how to organize your picture files strategically. The dividend? A huge favor for yourself, your marketing professional, your designers, and printers! You may earn publicity that would otherwise escape you.
Filing
I suggest that you file pictures in multiple categories:
1. By date: i.e. October, 2011
2. By event: i.e. Succah Hop
3. By theme: although sorting by theme is more challenging and time consuming, it can be very helpful in the future. Certainly all the pictures of the event can be filed under a genral chag category. Think more strategically and when you need specific pictures, you won’t have to search hard to find them. If guests attended the Succah hop from a school for developmentally disabled children, some of your pictures should be filed thematically under Chesed. A shot of a child and teacher hanging up Succah decorations together might be used to show close student and teacher interaction. A picture of a child benching lulav with her grandfather could document family involvement.
Thematic Sorting Quiz
Where would you store the following pictures?
1. A teacher bending over a student – both looking at a computer screen featuring a page from Bar Ilan software?
A. Close teacher-student interaction
B. Judaic Studies
C. Computer Studies
D. “PR: Our students use cutting edge technology to help them access ancient texts.”
E. All of the above
2. Three children engaged in building a wooden Chanukia – balancing different parts of the Chanukia.
A. Hands-on experiential education
B. Collaborative learning
C. Science
D. Crafts
E. All of the above
Similarly, grandparent involvement can be shown not only through your “Grandparent Day pictures,” but also through other pictures taken throughout the year that feature grandparents engaged with students, teachers or administrators. Through adroit filing, you’ll be able to access those pictures prior to meeting with a future grandparent honoree or a potential family whose grandparents have expressed clear interest (or – as the case may be – defiant opposition).
Storage Advice
Graphic designer Miriam Steinberg, who works with schools and institutions across the country, cautions that you must keep an original untouched copy of the photo in the highest resolution available to you. Although you may need to crop out certain people (perhaps a child whose parents won’t allow you to use her picture or a teacher you just fired), keep the original photo. Do not convert the file format without first checking with your designer. “It’s best to let your graphic designer make decisions about how large the photo should be, how it should be cropped, and what file format is best for the job,” explains Miriam. “Your input is very important, but take advantage of your designer’s eye for looking at things a different way and the fact that they have tools at their disposal that can do a much better job.”
I asked Judah Harris, a photographer who often works with schools for additional advice. He asserts, “There is a vital need for protecting your digital photos which can be accomplished by redundancy – making copies of your organized picture collection in multiple places. Recommended are at least two external hard drive sources, in addition to your computer hard drive, and an additional burning to DVD every three months.”
He also suggests that you edit your picture files as soon as your download them from your camera, saving only the best photographs that are likely to be used in the future.
Click here to read part II, Low-Res / High-Res A, B, C’s.
If you have any questions about laser-targeted PR feel free to contact me at (516) 569-8070 or send me an email.
Until the next issue, Kol Tuv!
Sincerely,
Candace Plotsker-Herman
Creative Communications
Seasonal Focal Points… No doubt, your Tu b’Shevat plans are in place. Preschool and lower school bulletin boards are dressed in creative “trees” that may be blossoming self portraits, blooming mitzvah notes, or sprouting pictures of students’ extended families. Hopeful little planters adorn classroom windowsills. Middle school students may be involved in multi-faceted projects that weave Torah and Science together. Perhaps they are participating in innovative cross curriculum projects such as Hazon’s Min Ha’Aretz.
