A grant from Beckley Area Foundation is a partnership. It is also an opportunity to educate our donors and community on all of the awesome things happening in our region and how their support plays a vital role in improving the quality of life in our area. You can publicize your projects and BAF's support in a number of ways.
Press releases
Directly contacting local news organizations (such as the Register-Herald, WOAY, WVNS, WVVA, local radio stations, and other media groups) is a great way to let them know about your project and your grant from BAF. We would be happy to provide a quote for your press release that is specific to your organization. Below is a sample press release you are welcome to adapt to your specific grant/project/organization, or feel free to write your own.
Please share information about your grant through your newsletters, annual reports, and/or social media. When announcing the grant on social media, link to us on Facebook. You may also put a link to the Foundation on your website, and we will also happily link to you on ours. Please use the BAF logos below when appropriate and we encourage you to send us a high-resolution version of your logo for our marketing materials as well.
Logo
You may download and use our logo below, however please do not alter them in any way. If you need a different format of our logo than what is listed, you may send your request to [email protected] or call 304-253-3806.
Great pictures are one of the best resources we have in marketing our organization. The pictures you submit are not just a means of proving you did the project, but more importantly a way for us to showcase your hard work to the community and continue raising funds and awareness.
Important Reminders:
You must identify all people in each photograph and have permission from them to submit to the Foundation for use at our discretion.
Please do not send blurry, pixelated, and/or poor quality pictures.
Please send us the photos as attachments, and NOT embedded in the final report, PDF, or other word document. We prefer the highest resolution photo you can send.
Watch the light
Know your flash range:The number one flash mistake is taking pictures beyond the flash's range. Why is this a mistake? Because pictures taken beyond the maximum flash range will be too dark. For many cameras, the maximum flash range is less than fifteen feet—about five steps away. What is your camera's flash range? Look it up in your camera manual. Can't find it? Then don't take a chance. Position yourself so subjects are no farther than ten feet away. Film users can extend the flash range by using Kodak Max versatility or versatility plus film.
Use flash outdoors:Bright sun can create unattractive deep facial shadows. Eliminate the shadows by using your flash to lighten the face. When taking people pictures on sunny days, turn your flash on. You may have a choice of fill-flash mode or full-flash mode. If the person is within five feet, use the fill-flash mode; beyond five feet, the full-power mode may be required. With a digital camera, use the picture display panel to review the results.
Look your subject in the eye: Direct eye contact can be as engaging in a picture as it is in real life. When taking a picture of someone, hold the camera at the person's eye level to unleash the power of those magnetic gazes and mesmerizing smiles. For children, that means stooping to their level. And your subject need not always stare at the camera. All by itself that eye level angle will create a personal and inviting feeling that pulls you into the picture.
Use a plain background:A plain background shows off the subject you are photographing. When you look through the camera viewfinder, force yourself to study the area surrounding your subject. Make sure no poles grow from the head of your favorite niece and that no cars seem to dangle from her ears. On cloudy days, use the camera's fill-flash mode if it has one. The flash will brighten up people's faces and make them stand out. Also take a picture without the flash, because the soft light of overcast days sometimes gives quite pleasing results by itself.
Move it from the middle:Center-stage is a great place for a performer to be. However, the middle of your picture is not the best place for your subject. Bring your picture to life by simply moving your subject away from the middle of your picture. Start by playing tick-tack-toe with subject position. Imagine a tick-tack-toe grid in your viewfinder. Now place your important subject at one of the intersections of lines. You'll need to lock the focus if you have an auto-focus camera because most of them focus on whatever is in the center of the viewfinder.
Lock the focus:If your subject is not in the center of the picture, you need to lock the focus to create a sharp picture. Most auto-focus cameras focus on whatever is in the center of the picture. But to improve pictures, you will often want to move the subject away from the center of the picture. If you don't want a blurred picture, you'll need to first lock the focus with the subject in the middle and then recompose the picture so the subject is away from the middle. Usually you can lock the focus in three steps. First, center the subject and press and hold the shutter button halfway down. Second, re position your camera (while still holding the shutter button) so the subject is away from the center. And third, finish by pressing the shutter button all the way down to take the picture.
Take vertical pictures: Is your camera vertically challenged? It is if you never turn it sideways to take a vertical picture. All sorts of things look better in a vertical picture. From a lighthouse near a cliff to the Eiffel Tower to your four-year-old niece jumping in a puddle. So next time out, make a conscious effort to turn your camera sideways and take some vertical pictures.
Be a picture director:Take control of your picture-taking and watch your pictures dramatically improve. Become a picture director, not just a passive picture-taker. A picture director takes charge. A picture director picks the location: "Everybody go outside to the backyard." A picture director adds props: "Girls, put on your pink sunglasses." A picture director arranges people: "Now move in close, and lean toward the camera." Most pictures won't be that involved, but you get the idea: Take charge of your pictures and win your own best picture awards.
