Five Tips for the Perfect Photo for Your Fundraising Campaign

"A picture is worth a thousand words" - we all know this saying. That's why it's so important to choose a good and meaningful photo for your fundraising campaign. A good photo appeals to people's emotions and shows them who or what your crowdfunding is about.

We'll explain how to choose a good photo for a fundraising campaign and what you absolutely need to keep in mind.

A meaningful campaign photo is very important for a successful fundraising campaign. It should match the text well and encourage people to learn more about your fundraising campaign. On Betterplace, you need to choose one photo that will represent your entire campaign. A meaningful campaign photo on the GoodCrowd.org homepage also helps spark interest in your cause. We'll explain five important tips you should follow:

Most importantly: Your selected campaign photo should match your text well (you can find tips and examples for good crowdfunding text in our blog as well). For example, if you're collecting money for surgery for your pet, the campaign image should be a nice photo of your animal. If people are visible in your photo, please always check beforehand if the photo can be used this way. If someone doesn't want their photo published, you must absolutely respect that. Even then, there are good alternatives: For example, in a campaign for disability-friendly renovations, instead of using an image of the affected person, you can choose a photo of the planned renovation or the current situation.

Make sure your photo evokes emotions. This isn't about "pulling on heartstrings." But regardless of whether you're collecting donations for yourself or someone else, photos that create a connection to you and your cause and spark interest are helpful.

It's often uncomfortable to show vulnerability, especially during difficult times. But honest and emotional images help people identify with you and your cause and feel empathy. With an emotional photo, people donate more quickly to your cause, and the likelihood of your campaign being shared increases.

Examples of suitable emotional photos are: People helping each other. People doing activities together that are related to your campaign. A person looking at the camera with a friendly and open expression. If you're collecting donations for bereaved families after a death, it makes sense to use a photo of the family or the deceased person as the campaign photo. For a medical emergency, it could be a photo of the donation recipient doing their favorite activity or in their current condition in the hospital. But in any case, always make sure you have the consent of the people pictured to publish the photo.

The quality of your campaign photo is very important, as a blurry photo quickly appears unprofessional. Therefore, make sure the photo has good quality and is sharp. Brightness also plays a big role: bright photos appear friendlier and are more recognizable.

Campaign photos on GoodCrowd.org are always square; you can easily set the desired section of a larger image after uploading. The recommended size is at least 600 x 600 pixels. It's best to look at your photo on both a smaller device like a smartphone and a larger device like a laptop or PC. What looks like good quality on small screens often doesn't look as good on a larger screen.

Also use the opportunity to edit your photo. You can optimize color, contrast, and sharpness, or change the file size. You don't necessarily need expensive software programs and professional knowledge for this. Here you'll find some suggestions for free photo editing programs that are understandable and easy to use.

Please also note: Collages with multiple photos are less suitable - especially on smartphones, collages are often hard to recognize.

As already mentioned, it's important to get consent from all people pictured beforehand. Also make sure you only use photos that you've taken or that you're allowed to use. If you don't have your own photo, you might find a suitable photo for your campaign in the database of Pexels, Pixabay or Unsplash.

Also, please only use photos that are suitable for children. Your photos should be appropriate for all age groups and not violate our terms of use.

Feel free to browse around GoodCrowd.org and look at what photos others have chosen and how they match their text. It's worth looking at the different categories, as every donation occasion is individual.

Here you'll find three examples of great campaign photos: 

Use photos that have a clear connection to your cause. Good motifs are people helping each other or activities related to your campaign. If you're collecting donations for bereaved families after a death, a photo of the family or the deceased person makes sense.

The photo should be square, at least 600 x 600 pixels, and of high quality. Bright, friendly photos appear more appealing and professional.

Blurry or dark photos appear unprofessional and dubious. A high-quality image creates trust and generates more interest from potential donors.

Make sure you have consent from people pictured. Only use your own photos or royalty-free images from platforms like Pexels, Pixabay oder Unsplash.

It's better to use a single, meaningful photo. Collages often appear cluttered on small screens and lose their impact.

You can use free programs to adjust brightness, sharpness, and contrast. This ensures your photo looks good on all devices.