10 Tips for

USING PHOTOGRAPHY AND PHOTO SHARING FOR PRESERVATION

1. Use captionsInclude the name of the building, its location, the name of the photographer, and any other relevant information. This will help people find your images when they’re searching.

2. Include tags and hashtags.Flickr uses tags (descriptive words) and Instagram uses hashtags (descriptive words preceded by #) to help direct users interested in specific topics to related photos.

3. Run a contest.Ask people to take photos of a certain kind of building, location, or detail during a particular timeframe; share it on Instagram and include your hashtag. You can pick a winner, or ask your followers to “like” their favorites.

4. Let others do the work for you.Flickr makes it really easy to set up an open group on any topic—broad or narrow—so you can use groups to collect user-generated photos of your community, a particular building, or an event.

5. Share and share alike.Just as you can create groups to gather photos on Flickr, you can also participate in groups. When you come home from vacation, share your photos in groups related to the place you visited.

6. Take it offline.Organize a tour of a street or building and encourage everyone to share their photos online. This will create a community around the shared love of a place... and you might even make some new friends.

7. Spread the love.Make your photos available via Creative Commons licensing to allow others to use them in their creative work.

8. Have an opening.Once you've gathered lots of photos, talk to local galleries, community centers, and libraries about the possibility of displaying them. Use it as an opportunity to teach people about a place you love.

9. Donate your skills.Local preservation groups are always in need of great photography. Get in touch with staff and see how you can help the cause from behind the lens.

10. Get some ink.Share your photos with local community blogs and websites and see if they are interested in running them as a slideshow. Blogs are always looking for free, easy content, and this is a great way to share your story.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America’s historic places. Preservation Tips & Tools helps others do the same in their own communities.

For more information, visit SavingPlaces.org.

Photos courtesy: Olle Eriksson/Flickr/CC BY-2.0; bonaircat/Flickr/CC BY-2.0; Ecodallalunar/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0; anthony posey/Flickr/CC BY-NC ND 2.0; Frank Lindecke/Flickr/CC BY-ND 2.0; ryancr/Flickr/CC BY-NC 2.0; Prayitno/Thank you for (10 millions +) views/Flickr/CC BY-2.0; Kristina Alexanderson/Flickr/CC BY-2.0; mooninsean/Flickr/CC BY-NC ND 2.0; Giuseppe Milo/Flickr/CC BY-NC 2.0; GetCredit/Flickr/CC BY-2.0