• Use photographs whenever possible in SFU print and online publications.
• Creative Services has an online catalogue of thousands of university images that SFU communicators can use, at www.sfu.ca/image-library. Web size images from this collection are free. Save your selection to the shopping cart and download the Web size.
• Use any photo in the catalogue regardless of faculty or department.

• If you can’t find anything suitable, contact Creative Services at least two to three weeks ahead of time and they will arrange to shoot photos for you.
• Complete the photography request form at: http://www.sfu.ca/creative-services/services_request_form or email your request to creative-photography@sfu.ca.
• For general photography information visit: www.sfu.ca/creative-services/photography
• Photography is $30 per hour (including travel time, production and post-production) plus materials and travel expenses. Shoots after 5 p.m. and on weekends are $60 per hour.

• Consult with the Public Affairs and Media Relations office before using photos that are not from the Creative Services catalogue in university publications, including home pages.
• Contact Veronica Aarstad at vaa5@sfu.ca or Steve Ray at seray@sfu.ca for more details.

• If you contract an external photographer, make sure the rights you purchase extend to all SFU websites, videos and other communications, both digital and print.
• Your department will not have copyright to the images. Copyright remains with the photographer. You may only be licensed to use the photos for a limited period of time and have to pay a re-licensing fee for further use.
• Creative Services imagery and videos have no restrictions on SFU-related use, including any use by entities outside of SFU such as magazines, broadcasters, etc., as approved by PAMR on a case-by-case basis.
• Contact web strategy manager Steve Ray at seray@sfu.ca or web strategist Annette de Vries at adevries@sfu.ca for approval before releasing Creative Services material to a non-SFU entity.

Photos not taken by a university photographer should always include a credit, such as "Photo courtesy of..." or "Courtesy of..." followed by the name of the organization and/or photographer.

You don't need to credit university photographers (although it is nevertheless appreciated if circumstances permit).

To conform to the common look and feel of www.sfu.ca, photographs must be sized to specific dimensions*, depending on where on the site you want to use them. If you are unsure about the correct dimensions for your application, contact Veronica Aarstad at vaa5@sfu.ca or Steve Ray at seray@sfu.ca for more details. *Please note these dimensions are for the new CLF templates only.*

1. Homepage main area

• 1714 pixels (px) wide by 890px high

2. Homepage secondary area (Engaging Students, Engaging Research, Engaging Communities)

• 646px wide by 430px high

3. Departmental page carousel (rotating image), three-column layout

• 800px wide by 532px high

4. Departmental page carousel (rotating image), two-column layout

• 1570px wide by 600px high

5. Departmental page non-carousel

• Images can be whatever dimensions the author chooses.

*Note: These dimensions are likely to change before the new CLF is launched.

1. When choosing photos, select images that convey a message or illustrate an idea, event or feeling.

2. Use photos that feature:

• Meaningful content
• Good composition
• Good contrast
• Sharp focus
• Effective lighting
• Interesting angles
• Candid instead of posed moments
• Individuals rather than groups

3. Use actual images of SFU campuses and people instead of stock images.

4. Choose images that reflect and reinforce your message.

• Good cropping can emphasize a subject, concept or mood.
• Avoid cropping limbs or head. Portraits should always show some neck and shoulders and not just the head.
• Avoid crops with unusual shapes other than squares and rectangles.

• Your department must obtain and keep model release forms from each subject when taking photos of anyone within a "private” space. Releases can be downloaded here for adults and children.
  
• Private spaces are defined as classrooms, labs, offices and anywhere else the public would not normally be. (It is acceptable to advise those gathered in such a space that a photo shoot is underway, and that any who do not wish to be photographed are welcome to leave for the duration or sit outside the photo shoot frame, as advised by the photographer.)
• Model releases are not required for photographs/video in public spaces.
• Public spaces are outdoors, hallways, public events and lectures open to the public.

Editorial photos

Use image-editing software such as Photoshop to crop, enhance and/or correct the exposure of news and other event photographs—but nothing more. Do not manipulate an editorial photo to create an illusion or deception.

Do:

• Eliminate red eye
• Adjust brightness/contrast
• Correct for over or under exposure
• Alter shadows/highlights
• Colour correct

Don’t:

• Add or delete objects or people in a photo except through cropping. If a photo subject has a lamp pole “growing” out of their head, for example, leave it in or choose another photo.

Marketing photos

• Alter or “photoshop” images intended for marketing purposes any way you like. It is generally understood that marketing photos do not represent reality.

If you have any questions about photo alterations contact Steve Ray (seray@sfu.ca) or Annette de Vries (adevries@sfu.ca) in the Public Affairs and Media Relations office.

SFU highly recommends Lynda.com for training in Photoshop and photography in general.

 lynda.com training video access

• As part of a one-year pilot ending Jan. 14, 2014, the SFU Library is offering free online access for current students, faculty and staff to lynda.com. The online video training library features thousands of tutorials on hundreds of software products and subjects including Photoshop and photography.
• You must have a valid SFU email address before logging in to the resource for the first time. If you do not have an SFU Computing ID, you may log in with your SFU Library barcode.
• Login to lynda.com at http://at.sfu.ca/jPoNHn.