There’s no better visual representation of life at Colorado State than photography. Images of campus and our people can convey more than just subject matter. Used appropriately, photos can enhance what you’re trying to communicate by evoking emotion, setting context, and anchoring our sense of space and place.
Photo Style
When creating or choosing images that represent the College of Liberal Arts, keep these recommendations in mind:
Convey
- Action
- Movement
- Forward-thinking
- Confident
- Purposefulness
- Sense of place
Composition
- Color-saturate
- Natural light
- Consider close focus, wide angles, and other unique angles
Content
- Candid (not posed or looking straight at camera except for professional headshots)
- Brand colors in surroundings and subject’s clothes
- Reflect CLA’s wide variety of disciplines
- Representation matters. When selecting images, please be mindful of who is being featured and who isn’t. Consider how you can accurately and aspirationally represent our community.
Photo Library
The College has a limited photo library with assets for our departments and units. This library will be updated periodically, and users are encouraged to add relevant photos to their department folders.
Additional Photography Options
In addition to the photos taken or commissioned by the college, units have a few other options for imagery.
Hire CSU Photography
University Marketing and Communication has a team of professional photographers who you can hire for studio or on-location photo-shoots. They operate under a fee-based model and their services cost an hourly rate.
CSU Flickr
The CSU Photo team routinely photographs campus locations and key events – such as Ram Welcome or Commencement – and makes photos available on their Flickr account. These photos are free for all units to use. Note: These photos are only made available in 1000px size which is appropriate for small web uses, SOURCE articles, and social media. They should not be used in print or full-width digital presentations because of pixilation at higher resolutions.
Creative Commons
Some stock photography is available for free use under Creative Commons (CC). CC allows you to legally use “some rights reserved” music, movies, images, and other content without purchasing a license. Wikipedia images are a great example of images that have been made available for free use. You can also use an advanced Google image search and filter by “creative commons licenses” under usage rights.
Here are a few recommendations of other CC image resources: