Photos of your community in action can be an ideal way to tell your story. But sometimes it can be hard to capture a picture that communicates the message you want to share. Whether it be for privacy, logistical, or quality reasons, stock photos can be a preferable solution.

First, isolating your parish’s “story”, who you are and what you do in the world, is an essential part of your communication strategy. Selecting the right image to tell that story can profoundly drive your web traffic and even lead to new-comers on a Sunday morning.

A picture, after all, is worth a thousand words. This point was driven home this past September as millions of people saw the lifeless body of Alan Kurdi lying on a beach in Turkey. This image moved thousands of people across the Diocese of Huron to join with thousands more across Canada to open their homes and lives to refugees from this humanitarian crisis.

We were aware of the refugee crisis prior to seeing the image, much like the world is aware of the church and the work we do to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world. Yet an image can move people to open their homes, or even to join a church.

Selecting the images you use to tell your story is critical. Sharing images of a youth group worshiping with a praise band, or a collection of young families is fine, if that is part of your story. But if your parish is elderly, appreciates Gregorian chant and sings hymns accompanied an organ, then you are not telling your genuine story. Newcomers want to know who you are, not who you aspire to be. And if they feel they have been misled, they may not return and you may be missing out on attracting those who would be a fantastic fit for your community.

A good rule of thumb when deploying an image on your website is to use one every 250 words. It helps to properly space images and avoids the over use of images while also helping to tell your story.
Images are a great way to help tell your story in the digital realm. Following some simple rules can go a long way to communicate your particular story. Just keep in mind some useful tips: one image for every 250 words, always purchase your image to fairly compensate the artist and most importantly, have the image tell your story and avoid Exodus 20:16.