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Documentation toolkit info card: photo-story books
A photo-story book is a documentation and communication product that provides a visual record of activities and results during a period of time.
A photo-story book:
- Can be produced by an individual, a community or an organisation.
- Uses photos as the main means of documentation, with small amounts of text to provide explanations.
- Covers a specific period of time - such as a month, quarter or year.
- Can be updated either regularly (for example on the same day each week) or when significant events occur.
- Can be for internal use (for example to document the key steps of a project) or external use (for example to report to a donor). (Note: For further support about photography see "Section 4.9: Taking good photographs" and "Section 4.10: Using photographs well".)
Key questions
Key questions to ask before developing a photo-story book are:
? Is a photo-story book the appropriate product for your needs? Will the audience appreciate it? Will there be difficult issues about confidentiality? Will it be costly?
? Who will be responsible for making the photo-story book? Do they have the necessary time and skills? How will they be accountable to others?
? How will you reproduce the photo-story book? For example, will you be able to make photocopies of it?
Structure and content
These pages show an example of a structure and content outline for a photo-story book about a one-year project by an NGO/CBO involved in HIV prevention. The outline shows what the product will contain and in what order. The boxes around it provide some key "dos and don'ts" about how to make a photo-story book as effective as possible.
Introduction • Introduction to the NGO/CBO • Introduction to the project • Introduction to the photo-story book
Activities in first quarter • Photos and notes about key activities, results and lessons
Activities in second quarter • Photos and notes about key activities, results and lessons
Activities in third quarter • Photos and notes about key activities, results and lessons
Activities in fourth quarter • Photos and notes about key activities, results and lessons
Summary of activities, results and lessons
DO include a brief written summary - in case readers have missed anything in the photographs.
DO take photographs of all key events during the time period - even if they seem very normal to you. Remember that you need to communicate routine activities, as well as new initiatives and special events.
DO develop a contents outline for your photo-story book - to help you to think about the type of photos you will need before you start taking them.
DO respect confidentiality and do not use photographs without the permission of individuals, communities or organisations.
DO vary the type of photographs that you include, for example by: • Using portrait and landscape images. • Featuring different people and places. • Using close-up and long-distance images.
DO use brief text to label your photographs and add key information.
Example format of a page:
Activities in first quarter
Photo of sex worker being counselled.
Photo of sex worker's client receiving STI treatment.
Photo of awareness raising rally in the town.
(Next to each: Brief notes about what activity the photo shows.)
Style
This page looks at the style of photo-story books - meaning how they are designed. It provides some ideas about how to make them as interesting and attractive as possible.
Ensure that your photo-story book respects confidentiality, especially of people living with HIV/ AIDS and members of marginalised groups.
Use a style for your photo-story book that is practical as well as attractive. Check whether the photos will photocopy well if need be.
Be selective about the type of visuals that you use in your photo-story book. Choose ones that are positive, action-orientated and clearly linked to your activities.
Keep the design of each page of your photo-story book simple and focused on the photos. Make sure that the visuals and text complement each other.
Think carefully about how many images to use in your photo diary. For example, Pinoy Plus in the Philippines used a lot of small images to give an "at a glance" summary overview of their wide range of projects.
Source: Documenting and communicating HIV/AIDS work
This is an extract from Documenting and communicating HIV/AIDS work: a toolkit to support NGOs/CBOs, published by the International HIV/AIDS
Alliance in October 2001.
To view the whole toolkit follow this link.
To download this card and three others, complete with graphics, in pdf format (which requires Adobe Acrobat software to read it) follow this link (file size 482kb).