" My overall experience with the PhotoVoice training taught me to not restrain myself from participating in activities that most people think require sight. Although many people are unable to sing perfectly, they can still enjoy the feeling of music. Even though we can’t always photograph exactly what we want, we can still experience the same feeling a photographer."
JinLing, China

Whatever the overall aims of the project, it is important that the format by which the images are shared publicly is accessible to the photographers who created the work being used. Whether the output be a website, an exhibition or a publication it should be designed to ensure it is fully inclusive and accessible to a non-sighted as well as sighted audience.,

Below are guidelines for a number of different options for image dissemination, taking into consideration the specific requirements of work produced by and for blind and partially sighted people.

Exhibitions

An exhibition is a great way to mark the end of a project and celebrate the achievements of those involved, as well as a way to share the work with others. If a project has an advocacy or awareness-raising objective it can be good to separate this from a celebratory event for family and friends which can take the form of a small-scale exhibition or digital presentation of the work in the workshop venue or a community space.

• Whatever the aim of the exhibition, it is an opportunity to showcase not only the work of the photographers, but the various ways that photography can be made accessible to the blind and partially sighted.
• Make prints as large as possible so that partially sighted people can access them as easily as possible.
• Hang a little lower than you might normally, to allow partially sighted people to get up close and examine the images.
• Avoid reflective glass frames – mounted prints or images printed directly onto foamboard or PVC board are preferable and allow the image to be larger and higher impact in the same space.
• Ensure the exhibition space is accessible and can be navigated safely without sight. Remove obstacles and if possible install a tactile trail to guide blind and partially sighted people around the exhibition. This can simply be a strip of rough tape along the wall a little above waist height. Ensure the audio (see below) provides the captions and information in the order they will access them if guided by the tactile trail.
• Provide captions and information in large (at least 14 point, but as big as possible) black and white print, and also in Braille. Place text at the same height as the prints so that visitors can examine it closely without bending down too far, but put the Braille lower to allow visitors to touch it without holding their arms too high. The Braille should be easy to locate from the tactile trail, and in a consistent position.
• Braille is tiring to read when wall mounted, so it is worthwhile printing copies of all the captions and signage as separate booklets for visitors to sit down and read at their own pace.
• Provide audio for the captions and information. The entire exhibition can be put onto one track as an audio tour which people listen to on an MP3 player as they go round, or each photo can have an MP3 player by it with the audio for just that image on it. It can be a nice touch to record the photographers saying their own captions, if they are interested in doing so. Simple battery operated MP3 players can be found cheaply on the internet.
• Staff the exhibition at peak times and for the launch event, so that visitors can be guided around and given assistance as required.
• If using tactile diagrams, these must be accompanied by an audio description (eg on MP3 players) that guides the visitor around the diagram so that they understand what they're feeling. Tactile diagrams need to be firmly fixed to a horizontal flat surface, if possible inclined slightly towards the user, as it is tiring and awkward to feel around them when they are wall mounted. Small tables or pedestals can be used, but ensure these are at a suitable height to be browsed without stooping (or supply chairs), and be sure to clearly indicate that they are there on the audio guide and/or by using textured tape on the floor.
  

Printed Publications

•  If producing a printed book or pamphlet, ensure all text is black and white and no smaller than 14 point. 16 or even 18 point is preferable if there is space.

•  Design the layout to be clear and intuitive to navigate – if a partially sighted person is accessing it with the help of CCTV or a magnifier, they may find it difficult to move from one isolated passage of text to the correct next one if it is not a simple, progressive block.

•  Braille text is great for those who can read it, however not all blind and partially sighted people will have learned to , and it is expensive to print in bulk. Furthermore, photos do not reproduce well on Braille imprinted paper, and can be damaged if pressed against Braille script when the book is closed. It is more useful to supply the text of a publication in Braille format as a separate insert, which can be supplied to those who require it.

•  An accompanying CD-ROM containing the content in HTML format is a simple and affordable way to make a publication more accessible. On the computer this content can be accessed using the same accessibility tools as the internet and basic software packages, including text-to-speech applications, zoom functions, and text contrast options.

•  An audio CD containing the content of the publication read out is a good option for blind users, and will avoid the publication being accessible only to those who are proficient with computers. A recording of the publication being read is more pleasant to listen to than auto-generated text-to-speech. The images themselves cannot be included on an audio CD, which means that partially sighted people will rely on the printed publication to view them. A CD-ROM can contain the audio as media files, and a slideshow of the images for partially sighted people to view on-screen at a magnification that suits them. Not all people will be comfortable using computers, however.

Multimedia Outputs

Content designed to be accessed via a computer tends to be more appropriate for blind and partially sighted people, since there are a number of software applications designed to assist them. CD-ROMS can be created and duplicated containing a mixture of multimedia content and HTML pages for this purpose. It is important, however, to ensure that the CD-ROM can be navigated as well as the content accessed. The simplest way to do this is to have an HTML contents page that loads automatically when the CD-ROM is inserted into the computer. This can feature a hyperlinked menu that will be accessible through software programs designed to assist with access to the internet (see Links and Resources). Each hyperlink can open a different piece of multimedia content without closing the original menu page.

Slideshows can be created in a number of applications, including Windows Media Player, iMovie, Powerpoint, Camtasia and lots of free downloadable applications. When creating slideshows for access by a blind and partially sighted audience it is important to include descriptions and captions for the photos as audio, so that even without seeing the images the meaning of the impact of the photographs is conveyed. If creating an audio tour for a physical exhibition this can be used to create a virtual exhibition for online use or CD-ROM/DVD dissemination, by sequencing the images in the slideshow so that they appear at the same time as the relevant audio.

See Links and Resources for guidelines for ensuring your web content is fully accessible. In particular, ensure that any images you post online have alternative text descriptions that include the photographer's credit. Including the credit on the image is not sufficient.