Information for Candidates

Interacting with waterlooregionvotes.org

Candidate profile photo guidelines

For this election we are requesting that candidates submit a single photo of themselves that will be posted on their candidate listing. We request that photos adhere to the guidelines below. We will usually reject photos that do not adhere to these guidelines.

Submitting a photo is not mandatory but is probably helpful. Candidates cards without photos will display a generic icon.

We store photos on our website’s servers, and thus require explicit permission from candidates in order to get a copy, store them, and crop/resize them as necessary. You can grant us this permission in your email.

Candidates can submit photos to us by emailing us an appropriate PNG or JPEG file, or send us a link to a photo we may copy and use on our website.

Quality

• be clear, sharp, and in focus;
• have good lighting;
• be closely cropped/framed and centered on the face just above the shoulders;
• be an original photo (not an illustration, avatar, etc);
• show how the candidate looks now – the photos should be taken within the last six months.

Dress

• the candidate must be clothed;
• military, police, service, or sports uniforms are not permitted;
• photos should not include or emphasize symbols (images on shirts, pins, medals, badges, etc.) of affiliation (clubs, political parties, sports teams, unions, etc.) and symbols should not appear in the cropped/framed area of the image.

Photo file formats

• must be PNG or JPEG;
• must be a flat static image (without animations);
• be cropped to a square image that will display well in a circle
• be about 200 x 200 pixels in size

If you provide a larger or uncropped photo then we can assist in cropping and shrinking it down.

(These guidelines are adapted from the Content Inclusion Policy from the Know Your Vote TO project in Toronto.)

Missing or incorrect information

If we are missing information (for example, social media links) or have gotten something wrong, please email civictechwr.wrvotes@gmail.com . If possible, use the email address we listed in your candidate card.