Get picture perfect!
Anyone can take a picture, but not all are a good quality.
Please note, the information below is designed to help anyone who is taking photos for promotional purposes, including social media, intranet, website posters etc.
For the perfect picture, follow these simple steps.
When photographing anyone, whether it's a patient, visitor or a colleague, you must have written consent beforehand.
Without written consent, UHLG cannot use any photographs.
You can download a consent form - Word or pdf version.
When sending photographs to the Communications Team you must include a scan of the completed consent forms.
The Communications Team will maintain a record of consent forms for any images it publishes and anyone wishing to withdraw their consent can contact the team by emailing: communications
Make sure that your camera is on a suitable setting for the lighting conditions. Try to find an area which has a good source of natural light – you want this light to be facing the subject, otherwise you will get unwanted shadows and a poorly light photo.
If there is no natural light on offer, try your best to light your chosen location or alternatively, suggest a change of scenery.
A friendly approach will keep your subject or subjects at ease and make for a better photo.
Although the portrait photo may look great on your smartphone on social media it will lose its quality.
Make sure that they look neat and tidy and that their uniform complies with the uniform policy.
If you are taking a group photo, please ensure subjects are complying with social distancing measures – two meters apart.
If you are not happy with how your subject or subjects are positioned, do not be afraid to rearrange them. Make sure that everybody can be seen. If this is difficult, consider positioning your subjects at different levels, with some sitting and standing or with subjects standing on stairs.
Some of the best photographs are taken from unusual angles. Consider standing on a chair with all of your subjects looking up at you, or crouching on the floor with of all of them looking down.
If you are using a smartphone, consider using the gridlines on your camera to help you structure the photo. To enable this feature on an iPhone, please go into your Settings, select Camera and then toggle Grid to green.
Keep your subjects' legs out of sight. Pictures focusing on the waist above are preferable.
Focus on your subject and not the background. If the background can be seen, make sure that it is tidy and that no confidential information can be seen, such as patients’ details on boards.
It is better to have too many photos than too few. Take three or four of the same photo and choose the best from the bunch.
Before walking away from the job, double check your photos to see if you are happy with the final outcome.
It is recommended to zoom in and check that everybody is smiling, looking to camera and that nobody is blinking.