How to Choose Images and Videos for Your Petition
Petitions with a strong image get significantly more signatures than those without one. The right visual tells your story at a glance and makes people stop scrolling.
Why visuals matter
When your petition is shared on social media, the image is the first thing people see, often before the title. A compelling image creates an emotional connection in seconds and increases the likelihood that someone will click through and sign.
Your main image is not decoration. It is often the first campaign message people see when the petition is shared.
A petition without an image often appears as a generic placeholder or a blank space in social media previews. This reduces click-through rates significantly.
Choose an image that shows the problem or the people affected
The most effective petition images show something real: the place that is at risk, the people who will be affected, or the problem itself.
People connect with people, so show faces when you can. If your petition is about saving a local hospital, a photo of a nurse or a patient stops more readers than a photo of the building, because humans are hardwired to look at faces and eyes.
- Good examples: A photo of the school building facing closure, a stretch of forest slated for development, a community gathering, or a person directly affected by the issue.
- Less effective: Stock photos of anonymous people, generic protest imagery unrelated to the cause, organisation logos as the main image, or text-heavy graphics that are hard to read as thumbnails.
Use a high-quality, well-lit photo
A blurry or dark photo undermines credibility. Even a photo taken with a smartphone can look professional if it is well-lit, in focus, and clearly composed.
Shoot outdoors in natural daylight when possible. Avoid harsh shadows, cluttered backgrounds, and photos where the subject is too small or too far away.
Authenticity still beats perfection: a real photo of the real place or people involved builds trust, while polished stock photos make readers scroll past.
Check that you have the right to use the image
Using someone else's photo without permission can lead to a copyright claim. Use images you took yourself, or images licensed for free use.
Free sources of licensed images include Unsplash and Pexels. Always check the license terms before using an image from these platforms.
If your image includes recognizable people, make sure they have given consent to be photographed and for the image to be used publicly.
Think about how the image looks as a thumbnail
Your image will often appear as a small square or rectangle in social media feeds and link previews. Check how it looks at a small size before you add it.
Choose a landscape photo when possible, because images that are wider than they are tall display best when shared on social media. Images with a clear subject in the center of the frame tend to work best as thumbnails. Wide shots with many small elements often lose their impact when cropped.
Add more images and context in the petition body
The main image sets the tone, but additional images in the petition text can deepen the reader's understanding of the issue.
Use additional images to show the scale of the problem, document before-and-after situations, or illustrate the community support behind the campaign.
When to use video
A short video embedded in the petition body can be very powerful for causes that are difficult to explain in text alone. You can embed videos from YouTube or Vimeo.
- Keep it short. A video of 60 to 90 seconds is ideal. Most viewers will not watch longer videos to the end.
- Lead with the most important information. Assume some viewers will only watch the first 15 seconds.
- Include captions or subtitles. Many people watch videos without sound, especially on mobile.
- Speak directly to the camera, as if explaining the issue to a friend. A personal statement from the petition creator or someone affected by the issue is often more persuasive than a produced video.
What to avoid
- Do not use images that are misleading or unrelated to your specific cause.
- Avoid images of children without explicit parental consent.
- Avoid graphic or disturbing imagery unless it is directly relevant and you warn viewers in advance.
- Do not cover the image with too much text. Use the petition title and description for words, and let the image do the visual work.
- Do not use copyrighted images from news websites, Google Images, or social media without permission.
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A strong image is the hook that draws people in, so take a moment to find the right visual before you launch.
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