It’s going to be awhile before full-scale events return. Event organizers can take advantage of the down time to tackle you festival or event’s photo library.

If you’re like many event organizers, your media library probably includes a hodgepodge of images – some high and some low-resolution photos … the latter perhaps taken on a smart phone with a few no larger than a postage stamp. I suspect you have no idea where some came from or who the people are in the image. The quality in several may be marginal at best.

Over the years, I’ve learned:

• Some photos may be exceptional but they have no real life application. Why keep them? Think about the various uses of an image – marketing materials, a website, print or digital ads, a trade show display, social media, a PowerPoint presentation or video. Stop pining over how cool they are and move them to an I-don’t-have-the-heart-to-throw-them-way folder. Also known as, some images are better as screensavers or artwork hanging on the wall. They have no functional purpose in marketing.
• Photos that may have historical value should be placed in a folder identified for a particular decade. Stop sifting through outdated images. Better yet, see if your historical society would like a set, providing you can identify the photographer, subject matter, people and dates taken.
• Images that are too generic and don’t convey the unique qualities of a destination are useless. Do you have any idea how many artsy photos of empty wine glasses sitting on a table that I’ve been given? The shoot was a waste of money. They don’t sell the experience; they promote glassware.
• A bad image is a bad image. It can be for any number of reasons:  poor composition, closed eyes, improper lighting or wrong time of day. The truth is the longer you keep it in your library the image is not going to get better. Toss it or you’ll waste 30 seconds every month looking at it while trying to find a different image.
• If you aren’t happy with the quality of a photo, why do you think anyone else would use it? Toss it. Promote your business or destination with only the best-composed and quality images. It really is OK to use a strong photo over and over again, except on social media.
• Photos of signs don’t sell. Only keep and use images that convey that activity.
• A signature image is an awesome thing. It should sell the experience and, in my opinion, be the image(s) that you reserve exclusively for your own use.
• It may take several rounds to narrow your selections. Take notes as you clean house. You’ll want to make a list of images that you’re missing, and/or need to updated or replaced.

It comes down to this – spend time now cleaning up your event’s digital library or waste time later.

Stay safe everyone. See you on the flip side.