They say a picture says a thousand words - and they're probably right. It's not for nothing that PR people talk about image and profile - we all use visual terms to describe our perception of businesses because we want to 'see' businesses.
That means it's crucial to get the right picture for your business. A good, strong image will make all the difference to whether your PR grabs a headline piece or ends up on a journalist’s spike. Back when I was a hack, I binned beautifully written PR for want of a decent picture, while the scantiest of scribbles were elevated to star billing on the back of an arresting image.
If you’re doing your own PR in-house, it’s likely that a professional photographer is too much of an expense. While we would always recommend getting a professional in to do the job, here’s a few useful pointers to getting the job done by your own fair hand - with examples where we've helped deliver the image, without the budget.
1. Make the best of your in-house resources
You might not be a professional snapper, but the bigger your team, the more likely it is that someone is a keen photographer with a half-decent camera. If you’re struggling, the very basic you can get away with is a camera with a manual focus or autofocus mode, as well as basic mechanical zoom. We’d avoid using a smartphone or other digital device to do the job: while the advances on digital devices have been enormous, semi-professional quality they ain’t.
5 minutes and a basic SLR camera gave depth to this Servomex shot - and has been used by media around the world
2. Prepare Everybody
Nothing irks people more than dragging them out for a photo without notice. Give everybody 24 hours warning that you’re going to take their picture so they can prepare themselves or dress appropriately. This is especially important if you’re running a business where there are dress code or uniform requirements.
3. Avoid taking pictures indoors
Office photographs yield notoriously patchy results. Most offices are either drab and untidy; fluorescent lights tend to give a nasty yellow hue to a picture; overhead lighting in general casts all sorts of difficult downward shadows.
As a general rule taking a picture in natural light will give the best result – a light cloudy day being the best, as the sunlight will be diffused to give an even lighting effect and stop people squinting into the sun. So if you’re not certain of getting a good picture, round up your team and take them outside.
Groves Nurseries: All they needed was a laptop to illustrate a new website launch - the nurseries did the rest. Easy!
4. Make the most of your branding
If you’ve got signage – use it. It’s a chance to build brand recognition for your business. If not, find a location that says something about your business or where you’re based. We’re based in Poole, so a our images have Brownsea Island - not only is it an attractive backdrop, but it instantly locates where we’re based for the casual visitor.
5. Are you on-brand?
Is your team representing your company and brand? It’s crucial that your team has the look and feel that represents the image you want to project.If it’s a corporate look you’re going for, don’t wait for dress down Friday to do your picture; If you’re an energetic kind of brand, make sure you look engaged and enthusiastic ; if you’re a sober professional business, avoid doing anything wacky.
3 Sided Cube: Energy and enthusiasm matches their brand - and they've made the most of their branding
6. Avoid a line-up
Don’t put people up against a wall – it has terrible parallels with the fate of tinpot dictators, especially if some of them don’t return to work the next day. If you must do a group shot, get everyone shoulder to shoulder, nice and close in a rough semi-circle. If people freeze, as many do when faced with a camera, employ a few strategies to take their mind off the camera: crack a few jokes or start a conversation – anything that takes their mind off the task in hand. You’ll be surprised how much more natural everyone looks.
7. Act Naturally
If you feel that your team shot isn’t working – it’s looking too posed, or the subject look too nervous – then go reportage; that is, try taking pictures of everyone acting naturally, whether that’s at work. The best method? Get everyone around a table, give them a topic to chat about and then circle the table snapping them. If it’s indoors, try and avoid the traps of overhead lighting mentioned before.
8. Need just a head-and-shoulders shot?
The most common mistake in taking a head-and-shoulder shot is to photograph someone face-on, as the result is generally more akin to a passport photo/mug shot. If you get your subject to stand at a 45 degree angle to you (with feet pointing in that direction) and turn their head to face you, it gives the right effect – an easy win.
Rocktime Digital Agency: Early November relaunch + Annual calendar event = Media Coverage
9. Use props
Does your story have a particular theme? One business we managed PR was relaunching their brand in November…….so we armed the management team with bundles of branded fireworks – just standard fireworks with their logo printed out and stuck over the rocket head- and plenty of puns about launches, blue touch paper etc.
The result? A headline article and full half-page in the local business pages, so well worth the £25 investment in fireworks.
10. Get yourself a decent processing package
Once you’ve got your shot, a little time spent optimising it can work wonders. Even a basic bit of cropping, colour balancing (most programmes have a one-button colour fix) and resizing can make a bid difference. The industry standard has long been Adobe Photoshop, but the cut-down Photoshop Elements costs as little as £60 and does pretty much everything the casual snapper will need. If you can set the resolution at 300dpi, then your images are ready to go. Job done!
