GUIDE / IMAGES
An image may provide evidence, atmosphere or explanation. Its role determines placement, alternative text and usage rights.
01 / GUIDE / IMAGES
Before adding a photograph, state what it helps readers understand. A decorative image needs different treatment from a document, portrait or diagram. Caption, credit, context and text alternative should serve that role.
GuidesIN PRACTICE
Decide what the reader must understand first. An atmosphere image may introduce a topic; an image used as evidence needs an origin and context. Decide cropping, caption and file weight afterwards.
Choose the situation you observed. Each path gives a first check, useful evidence and the limit of that check.
Further reading
| Situation | Avoid | Useful correction |
|---|---|---|
| Atmosphere image | Presenting a generated scene as a real event. | State its illustrative role and AI generation. |
| Documentary photograph | Reusing an attractive image without date or provenance. | Link the record, author or institution, capture date and reuse terms. |
| Explanatory chart | Keeping numbers only inside pixels. | Also provide values, units and limits as readable text or a table. |
What meaning disappears if the image is removed?
Which source and caption justify its use?
Which variant stays sharp at the actual display size?
Review with images hidden, then on a small screen. The caption must remain understandable and essential meaning must not depend on colour alone.
Site WebP files; an estimated scenario, not a traffic or speed measurement. Cache, screen density and other resources affect actual results.
Estimated total : 100.5 KiB
960 px reference : 283.1 KiB
Weight difference : 182.6 KiB
| File width | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| 480 px | 100.5 KiB |
| 768 px | 203.6 KiB |
| 960 px | 283.1 KiB |
Consulted on .
Apollo 17’s Earth photo offers a concrete case: identifying a photograph does not date the story attached to it. The date of a page republishing it and the capture date are separate facts.
Real documentary case, consulted on 2026-10-14. Resized and encoded WebP version, with no crop or AI retouching.
Earthrise lets us compare three documented dates. The photograph is real; the two official records give its context.
Republication in 2024 does not make this a photograph taken in 2024. Retain the capture date and the reference for each consulted page.
It dates your access to a source. It replaces neither capture nor publication and does not prove the page was identical earlier.
Sources consulted on . WebP version resized from the NASA-supplied file, without cropping or AI retouching.
02 / GUIDE / IMAGES
The file, context and use should remain consistent on the page and in search results.
Identify creator, licence, permissions and restrictions. Finding an image in search does not grant reuse rights.
Record to retain · Source, licence and creditPlace the image beside relevant content; a caption can clarify place, date, subject and limits without inventing facts.
Record to retain · Caption and contextWrite alternative text for the information conveyed. Use empty alt text for purely decorative images.
Record to retain · Alt and purposeUse suitable format, explicit dimensions and controlled file size. Keep the principal image discoverable in an img element.
Record to retain · Format, weight and dimensionsPrepare different crops for hero and cards when needed. Descriptive filenames and rights metadata aid asset management.
Record to retain · Variant inventory03 / GUIDE / IMAGES
An image record connects editorial choice, provenance, display and maintenance.
Check usefulness, origin and rights before choosing the image.
Export needed dimensions, check file weight and keep the master separately.
Write alt, caption and credit for the actual function and visible context.
Check mobile display, loading, links, discoverability and consistency after page updates.
04 / GUIDE / IMAGES
Each requires an editorial decision and a technical check.
Select a subject consistent with the title and include the principal image in HTML.
Read the dossierPreserve origin and interpretive limits before using it to support a claim.
Read the dossierReduce dimensions and weight, defer secondary content where appropriate and measure rendering.
Read the dossier05 / GUIDE / IMAGES
06 / FAQ
It can carry useful provenance and rights details but guarantees no ranking. Visible content, context and accessibility matter.
Repetition can identify a subject, but distinct page images often make editorial intent clearer.
Use HTML text when it must be read, translated or resized. Provide an accessible equivalent if embedded text is necessary.
Compare displayed dimensions, pixel density and the file actually selected by the browser. Check sharpness, crop and size in that context. Keep a quality original and generate derivatives from it rather than repeatedly recompressing already degraded files.
07 / Discuss a context
An inventory of visuals, rights and uses supports consistent publishing.
DOCUMENTED REFERENCE
Presentation API 3.0 organises a digitised object’s presentation. A Canvas is a virtual frame, not the image file itself. The diagram shows a typical image-painting path without assuming exactly one image per Canvas.
| Reference | Value or form | What it identifies |
|---|---|---|
| Manifest | items | Describes the compound object and organises presented views. |
| Canvas | items | Frame for a page or view with dimensions and associated content. |
| AnnotationPage | items | Collects annotations associating content with the Canvas. |
| Annotation | body / target | body identifies content and target its destination; painting marks content displayed on the Canvas. |
| rights / requiredStatement | URI / text | rights links a licence or rights statement; requiredStatement carries text to display when using the resource. |
For a region, retain Manifest URI, Canvas URI and the actual image used, not just a thumbnail URL. Check rights and statements at the relevant level; IIIF delivery does not grant general reuse permission.
Not necessarily: it identifies the presentation frame. Follow its annotation, body and any image service. Preserve that path to connect your reproduction to the original view even if technical files change.
Documentation consulted on .
DEEPER READING / PRACTICE
An illustration is used in banner, map and on mobile. The publication shall take into account the framework, the readability of the subject and the information that accompanies each use.
Updated on .
Check original file, dimensions, variants, alternative text and legend. Test the definition of need for useful sizes and check that the links to the files correspond to the images served.
A recharge may remove any essential information or change the meaning of a document. Too strong compression can make the details necessary for understanding unreadable.
The publication sheet indicates role, origin, variants and user pages. It keeps the editorial choices and facilitates the consistent replacement of a visual in the corpus.
PRACTICAL CASE / WORKED EXAMPLE
The example is a web control educational situation. It connects the defect to a concrete path and describes a way to verify the correction, rather than consider the only publication of the change as a proof of resolution.
A visual extract shows a phrase without the note that limits its scope. The definition of the need for a card then gives a different impression of the full image.
Compare all uses to the original file. Check the lost information and the available context. Keep a definition of the full need or clearly refer to the piece needed to read.
The published version does not support an interpretation contrary to the document. The need definition choices are recorded with the user pages to facilitate a coherent correction.
Uses may require different frameworks. Check the visible subject, the necessary details and the related information in each format before automatically reuse a variant.
DETAILED WORKSHOP / APPLICATION
Prepar original, formats, cadrages and user pages. Identify the necessary details and the information that accompanies each role of the image.
Compare the variants to the full document or visual. Test the displays and check the routes of the resources. Examine the readability and context preserved in maps, banners and mobile uses.
If a variant removes a reserve or a decisive detail, review its definition of need or role. The same image may require different adjustments depending on use.
The publication is validated when the served variants correspond to the formats announced and preserve the useful meaning. The source and associated information shall remain documented.
Transmit an original inventory, variants and uses. It facilitates coordinated replacement of an image and verification of the pages that depend on its files.
ANNOTATED WORKING DOCUMENT / REVIEW GRID
The manifesto links original, frameworks, dimensions and user pages. It retains the editorial options that allow to replace an image without losing its role or useful information.
On a small screen, scroll the grid horizontally to read all three columns.
| Observation | Supported interpretation | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| The served variants correspond to the planned uses. | Resources are consistent with controlled formats and frameworks. | Keep the references and test the most compulsory content. |
| A variation reduces the readability of a decisive detail. | The format does not preserve all the information necessary for the announced role. | Revise the compression, dimensions or destination of the visual. |
| The same legend is bad for a new use. | Re-use changes the reading context. | Adjust the related information and check the destination page. |
The inspector examines each role, not only the original file. A modification of the origin or definition of the need may require a review of the pages that used different variants.
REPORTING / EXAMPLE WORDING
Variants can retain different details depending on their definition of need.
Control the served variants and the pages that reuse each file.
The published files have been verified for their use. The necessary details remain readable and the related information is adapted to the destination contexts.
