Visit ncsu.edu/photos to access our photography database where you can quickly search for a photo.

Photographs from the NC State University Communication Services photo database may be used by faculty, staff and students to promote the university. Images can be used for print, video, Web, Power Point, and/or HTML emails as long they adhere to NC State Brand Book guidelines. In order to access the database and download high resolution digital files you must enter a valid Unity ID.

All photos in this database are copyright protected and may not be used for commercial purposes, personal web sites, social networking sites or to sell products. Printing and/or selling of the images from this database is strictly prohibited. The sharing of digital files with anyone outside of campus (not including external vendors) is also strictly prohibited.

External graphic designers, or other media production vendors, may use the photo database for university projects, but they cannot use any images outside of university marketing and the specific project they are hired for. Please make sure all outside vendors are aware of the rules regarding usage and the university’s copyright ownership.

Editorial requests for images should be directed to Communication Services or News Services. For editorial use, all photos must be credited:  “Photo by (Photographer), NC State University Communication Services.” No photo credit is required for marketing, web or other non-editorial materials. If you would like to use images beyond that of marketing the university, please contact Communication Services at rebecca_kirkland@ncsu.edu or 919.513.3110 to request permission.

Should you need to hire a photographer, contact University Communications at 919.513.3110. Remember to allow time for scheduling your shoot.

Photography that appears in any NC State materials and Web communications should have a modern look, simple content and interesting composition. Color should be bright with adequate contrast (avoid dull or muted color with low contrast). Whenever possible, use active imagery with visual energy and flow (bold, simple images, active composition, diagonal lines, etc.).

All photography that will be printed should be 300 dpi at the actual size it will be displayed. Increasing the scale of a photo reduces its resolution, so this should be avoided. For quality control, print the photo at actual size to make sure it is not pixelated.

Professional photography should be used whenever possible, particularly for external communications such as Web sites, advertising and promotional materials. For internal communications, the best resources are our photo databases at ncsu.edu/photos. If that doesn’t have what you’re looking for, you may need to purchase stock photography. Or if you need to cover an event and professional photography is not an option, an amateur photo can be used. Stock and amateur photos should still follow the same style guidelines.

Styles to Avoid

Photography less than 300 dpi at actual printed size should not be used. Photography should be kept simple with a singular focus so as not to distract from the design. Images with low or bad lighting should not be used and photography should not be scaled disproportionately. Clip art should never be used.

Photographs from the NC State University Creative Services photo database may be used by faculty, staff and students to promote the university. Images can be used for print, video, Web, Power Point, and/or HTML emails as long they adhere to NC State Brand Book guidelines. In order to access the database and download high resolution digital files you must enter a valid Unity ID.

All photos in this database are copyright protected and may not be used for commercial purposes, personal web sites, social networking sites or to sell products. Printing and/or selling of the images from this database is strictly prohibited. The sharing of digital files with anyone outside of campus (not including external vendors) is also strictly prohibited.

External graphic designers, or other media production vendors, may use the photo database for university projects, but they cannot use any images outside of university marketing and the specific project they are hired for. Please make sure all outside vendors are aware of the rules regarding usage and the university’s copyright ownership.

Editorial requests for images should be directed to Creative Services or News Services. For editorial use, all Communication Services photos must be credited: “Photo by (Photographer), NC State University Communication Services.” No photo credit is required for marketing, web or other non-editorial materials. If you would like to use images beyond that of marketing the university, please contact Communication Services at rebecca_kirkland@ncsu.edu or 919.513.3110 to request permission.

Color photography should be used whenever possible, but if color printing is not an option, black and white photography should be used. Proper lighting and simple composition are even more important to remember when choosing which photos work better in black and white. It’s particularly important that these photos have adequate contrast and do not look gray or muddy.

Styles to Avoid
Not all photos that look good in color are appropriate for black and white. If you are unable to find a black and white photo in our database that fits your needs, do not just print color photos in black and white. You must convert the photos to black and white first using photo editing software. This will allow you to adjust the contrast or levels until there is a distinction between the blacks and whites. Stay away from photos that are dark and don’t have varying values within them. These images will not reproduce well in black and white. Photos that are too bright or washed out also don’t work well.