Out of all the elements, our imagery is the most human representation of our brand. It captures a real moment in time, a slice of life.

Generally, the balance of subject matter should be 70/30 clinical to lifestyle.

Our brand personality is authentic, bold, compassionate, confident, driven and welcoming. To convey this, here are a few tips:

• People — providers, patients and their families — should be the focal point in context with their environment.
• Images should portray action and active emotional connections (i.e., no posing and smiling to the camera).
• They should also evoke a sense of confidence, expertise and compassion from our health professionals.
• Subjects in photos should reflect the diversity of our community, e.g., ability, age, gender, race and ethnicity.
• Appearances must adhere to VCU Health policies and procedures, i.e., team members and locations must adhere to rules and best practices regarding dress code, HIPPA compliance, clean spaces, and no visible patient health information (PHI).
• Avoid cluttered backgrounds or objects that distract from the main theme.
• Not all images will require cropping. When cropping a photo, focus on the main subject to improve impact and composition. Too tight cropping or loss of environment diminishes the experience.

Additional tips by subject

Providers

• Natural lighting and setting
• Angled shoulders — not facing straight on camera
• Crop so the subject's body is not centered in the photo
• Shoot at eye level
• Light background
• Textural and contextual backgrounds, not flat color or white — no studio settings
• Selective focus
• Ensure no visible PHI

Clinical

• Candid, real-life moments — no overly staged settings
• No direct eye contact with the camera
• Natural light source
• Avoid plain white backgrounds which feel too sterile
• Imperfections in the background and setting create a sense of authenticity
• Ensure no visible PHI

Lifestyle

• Sense of home, family, friendship, connection
• Candid, real-life moments — no overly staged settings
• No direct eye contact with the camera
• Natural light source
• Avoid plain white backgrounds, which feel too sterile
• Imperfections in the background and setting create a sense of authenticity

Metaphorical

• Should be used to represent lofty, conceptual or sensitive subjects
• A gold or yellow tone in photos helps reinforce VCU Health gold — use selectively
• Strong sense of direction or angles
• Light and optimistic — avoid dark photos
• Should feel visionary — unique vantage points and sense of movement