There's a whole universe of images out there, but you have to be mindful. (Courtesy of NASA.gov)
We consistently hear from the Argo-bloggers that the most difficult part of blogging is the visual component – telling your stories in pictures as well as words. It’s hard even before we get to the many legal and ethical pitfalls that most folks haven’t been trained on how to avoid. But we also know how incredibly valuable images are for storytelling, comprehension, punctuation, humor, delight and many, many other things. So each blogger has to figure out a strategy for acquiring and using images.
First, consider this.
Before I get to the sources, let me spell out two big questions you want to keep in mind as you think about using images from any source. (And remember, I’m not your lawyer. These are what I view as best practices, not legal advice. Always check with your counsel, and keep in mind your organization is responsible for what appears on your site.)
1. Do you have the right to use this image?
Again, I can’t offer you any legal guidance on whether you have the right to use a particular image. Every organization has a different threshold for what it considers fair use, permitted use and other questions of rights.
But it’s important for you to figure out what your organization’s threshold is, and to be scrupulous about acting within that threshold. Be certain you’re using images that your organization is willing to defend its right to use.
2. What are you trying to portray, and how faithfully does the image accomplish this?
Be careful to make sure your images are faithful to their context. The images you use are part of the journalism you perform, and you should always treat them that way.
Broadly, you might think in terms of two distinct contexts for the use of imagery - editorial and conceptual.
Editorial: Editorial images should always directly relate to the story at hand. Sometimes they’re referential, such as the use of a head shot in a post about a particular individual, or a product shot in a post about a product. Sometimes they actually represent the story, such as a shot of a local event you’re posting about. Often, the photo itself is the story. But if your post is about a protest against the construction of a particular mosque, for example, don’t illustrate it with a news photo of a union protest that happens to be in front of a mosque. That’s unrelated, and misleading.
Be especially mindful about using editorial imagery from others. Other than sources such as Getty and the AP that have up-front journalistic standards for image production, it’s difficult to be sure that an image hasn’t, for example, been manipulated beyond a journalistic threshold. When vetting images, you can lean on some of the same instincts you use in vetting any information you don’t obtain firsthand – triangulating between multiple sources (if a few different people capture a similar perspective of a place or event, that ups the likelihood that those representations are faithful), weighing it against your firsthand knowledge, and pursuing more info about how the image was created.
Be sensitive about using editorial imagery in which people are recognizable. Be extremely careful about using such imagery in a pejorative context (e.g. when writing about the commission of a crime).
Conceptual: The MintLife blog is the first example that comes to mind of a site where the vast majority of images are conceptual. In this context, images are intended to play off a theme or idea in a post, rather than represent a news event.
In most cases, conceptual imagery is less valuable than editorial imagery; a stream of endless stock photos can have a sort of dulling effect. But it’s also generally more available and poses fewer questions about accuracy in representation. And you can often use conceptual imagery to add a touch of humor to your posts, although make sure it’s appropriate.
One key to locating or producing conceptual imagery is not to be too literal; the whole point is that these images illustrate or punctuate a post rather than representing it directly. If Wired’s Threat Level can illustrate a post about a potential cyber-extortion scheme with stacks of Spam, you can figure out a way to visualize that wonky post about budget processes.
Make sure you clearly signal to your users which context an image appears in, using cues such as captions and image placement to convey your intent. (Rule of thumb regarding image placement: play news photos big, but let conceptual imagery serve as punctuation.) And whenever you feature a post, take a moment to consider how the post’s headline and the featured image will appear alongside each other without that additional context.
We want to uphold our organizations’ reputations as exemplars for ethics in all aspects of our journalism, including visual journalism. So ingrain these questions and ask them every time you make or use an image.
Now without further ado … (More …)
jsucherman 10:20 am on August 25, 2010 Permalink
Put it in pink and it looks suspiciously like my daughter’s Barbie camper.