Using Photos & Images

Photographic Style and the TU Brand

Great photography enhances the TU website.

We choose photography that is natural, authentic and features people engaged in campus activities. Photo subjects should accurately reflect TU’s diverse community. The abundant use of natural lighting, as opposed to secondary light sources, is preferable.

Photography should be used with purpose and intention; photos should only be included when they amplify our brand or improve the user experience for a given page. We avoid photos that are purely decorative or that disrupt a user's ability to find information or complete important tasks on a page.

Learn more about how to select images and how to add images to your site. 

How to Select Images

Select the Correct Image Size

See the Snippet Library for a list design options for including photos on the TU website. The guide includes the “image code” associated with the proper image crop size for each snippet, such as -md or -sq. This information is also found on the Design Snippets Lexicon with Image Sizes (PDF).

Images for Faculty Profiles and Staff Lists

TU employees must use university portraits for faculty profiles and department staff lists. In most cases, the employee's official TU studio headshot will be used. Faculty or staff who have an alternative image on file from an existing TU photo shoot may request it to be used instead. Photographic Services cannot accommodate requests for environmental portraits.

Scheduling a Headshot

Those who need a new headshot can sign up to have a photo taken by Photographic Services at faculty/staff headshot days. The schedule is published in TU Today.

Guidance on Group Photos

Posed images of groups (for example, a group photo of an entire department's staff) are no longer supported on the TU website. These types of images are being phased out of the live site and no new group photos will be added.

For questions about this policy, please contact digitalstrategy AT_TOWSON

Adding Photos to the TU Website

Photos must exist in Modern Campus CMS before you can add them to webpages. There are four primary ways to obtain photos for your website:

1

Choose from Existing Photos in Modern Campus CMS

A number of photos are already uploaded to Modern Campus CMS—cropped and ready for use. Simply ensure that the crop size matches the crop that the snippet requires and select the image.

2

Request a Photo from the TU Photo and Media Library

If the photo you're looking for isn't already in the CMS, the TU Photo & Media Library offers many more to choose from. You may select and download images from the library, then request to have your choices cropped and uploaded to the CMS by submitting a Creative Services Project Request (log in using your TU NetID and password). 

Note: Not all images work in all snippets on the website. Creative Services or Digital Strategy may recommend alternatives for your chosen images.

3

Request New Photography

If you need a new photo, please email Lauren Castellana at lcastellana AT_TOWSON to discuss your request.

4

Photos from Other Sources

We strongly encourage you to select existing TU photos or work with TU Photographic Services if you need new photos taken.

Requests for photos by outside photographers will be considered on a case-by-case basis by Creative Services.