Photography

Vibrant aerial image of workers harvesting crops by hand

FEWS NET photography should be bright, easily understood, and demonstrate realistic, neutral perspectives on the subjects. Do not show individuals decontextualized from their surroundings or an exoticized version of a culture or population. Photography should not appear as philanthropic.

Three types of photographs make up the photography system:

Arial: Populations, agriculture, and urban environments.
Close ups: Crops and topical sectors with shallow depth of field. Do not use close ups of people that blur or decontextualize their surroundings.
In the field: FEWS NET in action depicting actual field work and partners. Use only FEWS NET custom photography for this category.

Finding photos

Use photos from FEWS NET, including the FEWS NET Flickr account, when possible. When custom photography is not available, select and license existing photography that features relevant FEWS NET subject matter. Curation is critical to choosing photos that are authentic and reflective of the FEWS NET brand. Audiences should not be able to tell the difference between stock and custom photos.

Sources for stock photography

Pexels: Free stock photos & videos you can use everywhere.
Unsplash: Beautiful, free images and photos that you can download and use for any project.
iStock: Stand out with affordable royalty-free stock photos (paid option).

Guidance for choosing stock photography

Follow the photography standards included here. Use bright, easily understood, realistic photography with aerial or close up perspectives.
Use keywords to narrow your search. Search using terms like “aerial” “crops” “urban” and actual FEWS NET operating areas like “Mozambique”.
Aim for authenticity first. Obvious stock photography lacks authenticity and degrades the brand. Make sure selected photos feel real in terms of both the subject matter and setting.
Avoid overly stylized editing. If it doesn’t have a similar aesthetic quality as brand standards, it is not a fit.

Contact us if you have an application question or recommended addition to these standards.