Choosing good photos for your Experience page is crucial as this is how your Experience will be showcased to your users both on the Mereka Connect homepage and in our promotional materials.
❗️Please note that the photo criterium is one of the most common reasons why the Mereka Connect team requests Hubs to reconsider their Experience listing. We kindly ask you to review the tips below very carefully as high quality photos help our team market your services and receive more bookings.
Dimensions & Ratio
We highly encourage you to upload photos only in a landscape orientation. The ideal ratio for your Experience photos is 16:9.
It is understandable that the Experience photos you’ve prepared might come in all shapes and sizes (including vertical and square formats). In such cases, please crop your photos to suit the required ratio (16:9) and to make sure the subject of the photo is centered. You may always preview the outcome on the “Confirmation” page of the Experience form. If it still doesn’t look appealing and you don’t have any other photo options, we recommend using stock photos (more on free stock photo resources below).
✅ Dos: Cover photo and gallery photos of the right format & ratio (landscape, 16:9)
❌ Don’ts: Vertical/square cover photo and/or gallery photos with unappealing cropping which makes it unclear what the Experience is about
Image Format & Resolution
The preferred file formats are jpg, jpeg or png. Your photos should be high-definition, bright and clear. Although resolutions may vary, please make sure your photos aren’t blurry and pixelated.
✅ Dos: High resolution photos which make your Experience look professional and engaging
❌ Don’ts: Blurry and unclear images which make your page look unprofessional and sloppy
Content & Amount
Please upload no less than 5 photos to the Experience photo gallery. As a general tip, your images should tell a story. For instance, if you’re conducting a beginner workshop on how to create a still-life painting, your photos may include a close-up shot of a paintbrush on canvas, an Expert demonstrating the right techniques and correcting users’ mistakes, and a group picture showcasing the final works of art.
- For physical Experiences, it is recommended to include the photos that either showcase the final product your users will make (e.g. examples of artwork, handicraft, etc.) or the images from your past Experiences of a similar topic. You may upload stock photos if you think your current images aren’t quite suitable.
- For online Experiences, we recommend that you use quality stock photos which portray the topic of your Experience.
The following photos are not encouraged and are likely to be rejected:
❌ Posters
❌ Any images with text on them
❌ Images with logos and watermarks
✅ Dos: Engaging photos which showcase the Experience in action or demonstrate the process/final product
❌ Don’ts: Posters and low-quality images; photos that are irrelevant to the topic of the Experience; less than 5 photos uploaded
Your photos must belong to you or should be sourced from royalty-free stock photo websites. Please do not use someone else’s copyrighted work.
If your pictures feature people in action, do remember to ask for their consent first before uploading the images on Mereka Connect.
Stock Photos
If you are organizing a brand new Experience or simply don’t have any usable images from previous ones, you may opt to use stock photos.
Stock photos are a great way to illustrate what your Experience is all about. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when using them:
Make sure to use high-resolution stock photos that look natural to avoid your Experience giving an inauthentic impression.
Avoid using stock photos with watermarks, headers and footers.
Always make sure that you have all of the necessary permissions and licenses to use any stock photos.
✅ Dos: high-quality pictures that look natural and relatable, without watermarks and text
❌ Don’ts: pictures that give staged, inauthentic impressions, with watermarks and text on them
Great websites where you can download high quality free stock photos
Graphics & Illustrations
Graphics and illustrations serve important roles in fostering your users’ understanding of the Experience. In order to maintain a streamlined Experience page, please use clean and consistent design elements.
Do not use overcrowded and oversaturated design materials. Any graphics should also be free of text (no posters!).
✅ Dos: clean, consistent designs without text
❌ Don’ts: overcrowded, oversaturated designs with text
You’ve got great Experiences – now all you need is a little creative thinking! These techniques and resources can help you stand out from the rest – like we’ve illustrated above, just be mindful of how you use them and you’re off to an amazing start.
Our team provides complimentary assistance with photos for your Experience page, so do feel free to reach out to us via [email protected] should you require our help.