In today’s landscape, a community’s digital presence is often its first handshake with the world. Whether you are seeking to attract new residents, drive economic development, or increase tourism, your visual assets must do more than just look professional—they must tell a consistent, authentic story.

At North Star, we are often asked how a community can move beyond stock photography to build a proprietary photo library that captures its unique identity. Here are our best practices for capturing, storing, and utilizing the images that define your place.

Where to Start: Categorize Your Opportunities

A high-impact library is built on variety. If you’re starting at square one, we recommend prioritizing a few hallmark features within these key strategic categories:

• Lifestyle and Recreation: Include photos of active residents, youth sports, outdoor activities, and municipal staff in action.
• Arts, Culture, and Heritage: Showcase iconic landmarks, historic architecture, public art installations, and signature community events.
• The Local Experience: Highlight the distinct character of your downtown, local businesses, restaurants and eateries, and economic drivers.
• Atmosphere and Scenery: Capture seasonal cityscapes for year-round use, natural landscapes, and hospitality venues.

Capturing the Best Shots: Quality Matters

To ensure your images are versatile enough for everything from high-end print brochures to social media and website design, maintain these technical and creative standards:

• Quality and Lighting: Always prioritize high-resolution files (300 DPI) with clean composition. Natural lighting is almost always preferable to preserve the authentic feel of a location.
• Composition: Follow the rule of thirds for balanced shots, and keep backgrounds clean. 
• Editing: Keep it simple. While basic color correction and cropping are necessary to polish an image, avoid over-processing. 

The Logistics: Organizing and Protecting Your Assets

A photo library is only valuable if it is accessible and legally sound. Follow these best practices to ensure that your images are readily usable:

• Releases and Documentation: Obtain signed model releases for identifiable individuals and property releases for recognizable buildings or branded items.
• Naming and Searchability: Replace generic filenames (e.g., “IMG_1234”) with descriptive titles and keywords. This ensures your team can efficiently search for specific assets like “Main Street Sunset” or “Community Garden Volunteer.”
• Technical Specifications: For maximum utility, maintain files in sRGB for digital use and Adobe RGB for print production.

Ethical and Legal Considerations

Community leaders and municipal communicators have the responsibility of portraying their communities in a way that is authentic and representative of their population. Strive for inclusive representation that avoids stereotypes and portrays subjects with dignity. 

Legally, ensure you own the rights to every photo in your library and clearly define your licensing terms—whether they are royalty-free or rights-managed—to anyone using them.

Let North Star Capture Your Story

Building a visual narrative requires more than just a camera; it requires a deep understanding of place branding strategy. At North Star Place Branding + Marketing, our team specializes in on-the-ground photo and video shoots that uncover and document the distinct places and moments that make each client community special.

We’ve had the privilege of traveling across the country to help communities build their photo and video libraries. Is your community ready to elevate its visual story? Contact our team today to learn more about our photography, videography, and marketing services.