A Picture Says 1000 Words - How Your Photos May Be Problematic
And I'm still accepting questions for tomorrow's Live Q&A
Hi everyone,
The week is starting off great. My first article with Midwest Living publishes today, I confirmed a piece with the Wall Street Journal this morning, and I’m excited about my next Ask Me Anything session tomorrow (more on that below).
Today, I’d like to talk about how your brand or destination’s photography may be problematic, limiting your reach, and potentially offensive. This topic smacked me in my face while researching my Midwest Living article on the best destinations for disabled adults, and while simultaneously researching a print piece for AAA on the most accessible destinations across the country.
What exactly is the problem? Well, almost none of the cities I spoke with had any imagery of disabled travelers. Even cities that have fairly comprehensive accessibility initiatives had zero pictures to accompany them. As the saying goes, a picture says 1,000 words, and what exactly is the message if there is no picture of the group you’re trying to target? The message is that you don’t prioritize them.
While a lot of companies and destinations have gotten a lot better about inclusive photography when it comes to race and gender, few are thinking about accessibilty. If I’m writing an article about people who are blind, deaf, have autism, or use a wheelchair (which I am - I’m writing several, in fact!), it’s important to have accompanying photography that represents these travelers. One city even sent me a photograph of obviously fully abled travelers. This was annyoing, unhelpful, and offensive.
Would you send a photo of all white people to accompany an article about the best places for Black solo travelers? How about a picture of men for an article about the safest destinations for female travelers? It would be absurd! So why is it okay to only have pictures of fully abled travelers representing your supposedly-accessible destination? On that note, as great as it is to have pics of people in wheelchairs, physical mobility is only one type of disablity and even that encompasses far more than wheelchairs. What about scooters, walkers and arm crutches?
I realize that your teams can’t manage or afford to do fresh photo shoots every few months and possibly every year. However, I urge you to prioritize true diversity - which includes physical and cognitive abilities - in your photography, branding, and reprentation.
Thank you so much!
Cassandra
P.S. The pic above is a photo I took of a couple riding a mountain swing in Sri Lanka two weeks ago.
Ask Me Anything TOMORROW, March 12
My first Ask Me Anything in January was awesome and it was such a joy to get to sit down with a small group of publicists, destination managers, and product reps to discuss pitching, trends, and lots more. The next one will be TOMORROW and it’s included free for all paid subscribers. If you upgrade to paid, you also get access to my full archives and comprehensive pitch guides.
Date: Tuesday, March 12th
Time: 10 am PT/1 pm ET
In order to track (and cap!) the number of participants, registration is required. When you register, you can also leave a comment or question you’d like to discuss during the call. Here’s the registration link:
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