The Power of Visual Storytelling

I just returned from New Orleans where I was attending a client’s annual leadership conference.  The National Association of Private Special Education Centers’ (NAPSEC) members provide special education services to individuals with disabilities of all ages.  NAPSEC is the only national association that exclusively represents private special education programs.

I was there not only to manage social media on their behalf, but I conducted a session on using traditional and social media for advocacy.

I took the opportunity to attend some of the sessions as well, including a very interesting keynote led by Rick Guidotti, an award-winning fashion photographer and founder of POSITIVE EXPOSURE.

After a chance encounter in 1997 with a young lady living with albinism at a bus stop in New York City, Rick was taken by her extraordinary beauty. In a quest for a better understanding of albinism, Rick sought out medical textbooks, where he was affronted by the images depicting disease – all were lacking in humanity. It was this experience the guided Rick to turn his lens from the more traditional ideas of beauty to the beauty and richness of human diversity.

Although I am someone who makes a living with words, imagery continues to be an important element to everything that we do.  Need to send out a news release?  We need a photo to accompany it.  Doing a television segment?  What visual props will we have available?  Does the background in our Zoom interview align with the messages we will be sharing?

We’ve talked about imagery during an episode of Copper State of Mind.  Rick’s presentation was a good reminder that a picture really is worth a thousand words.