Having great pictures in your updates to supporters is one of the best ways to get them to read your entire update, here are a few examples and tips on how to get your newsletters read!

Here is an example of a great picture taken by Katie Siemens, on staff at the Colorado School of Mines:

a) It is of a picture of the student she wrote a story about in that particular update
b) It is close-up and not straight on
c) It's playful


Now, I am not assuming that you have all the time in the world to run around and take the perfect photo for your next newsletter/update. Having said that, here are some tips to using photos to illustrate your communication:

1) Use an inanimate object to describe an idea or event, like a picture of a brewing cup of coffee aside a story of a meeting with a student at the local coffee shop.
2) Make sure you are in the photos often. You (and your family) are your donors' frame of reference.
3) Candid photos show ministry in action. You don't need to have everybody smiling for the camera at all times.
4) If you do have people smiling for the camera, close-up shots where the whites of their eyes can be seen are best.
5) Simple photos without a lot of background noise stand out.