Photography that meets a high professional standard plays a critical role in creating a positive image of Lamar University. The photographic images used on our websites should inspire prospective students and faculty, connect with the people and activities depicted and cause alumni to feel pride in their connection to Lamar University.
When posting photos on the site, CMS users should use primarily documentary–style photography that captures the authentic and vibrant interactions among students and faculty. Our graphics should showcase Lamar University's diversity by including a range of genders, ethnic backgrounds, races, ages, etc. Avoid using artificial-looking images (eg. posed stock images). Do not use clip art or low-end graphics.
CMS users should follow the guidelines set forth in the Visual Standards Manual and keep photos under 300KB to allow for quicker page load times. Upload images on lamar.edu to the CMS and post them to the webservers. Do not link to external images.
Because we are a public university, visitors should be able to access all areas of our site. When adding photos, include “Alt Text” so that they are discoverable by individuals using text browsers. The World Wide Web Consortium accessibility guidelines suggest that web writers imagine reading the picture/illustration aloud over the telephone. What would you say about the image to help listeners understand it? Shorter is better: a good rule of thumb is to keep it between 5 and 15 words. See the World Wide Web Consortium tutorial on accessible images.
See the Lamar University guidelines on visual content.
Departmental web liaisons, publishers and contributors are responsible for all images on their pages. Marketing Communications maintains a database of photos and can provide access to a photographer for events and activities. Contact Marketing Communications at (409) 880-8426 for more info.
If you prefer to photograph your own events, you should attend the linked-in course titled Introduction to Photography.