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Presentation given at the 2013 Texas School Public Relations Conference on the basics of photography and it's importance for school public relations professionals.
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Why is photography important to the PR professional?
� The majority of media releases sent don’t include an image – make yours stand out by including a great photo
� P.R. Blogger, Brooke Nolan writes: “Perhaps you don’t even need to bother writing a story to go along with images. Great exposure can be [won] through an image alone. Without sounding too corny ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’ and all that. Send pictures with a simple photo caption and short paragraph outlining the story — this works especially well for the ‘social’ pages in magazines.”
Social Media
� On Facebook, photos generate twice as many Likes as text updates, and videos are shared twelve times more than links and text posts
� 42 percent of all Tumblr posts are photos
� Photo and video posts on Pinterest generate more referral traffic than Twitter, Stumbleupon, LinkedIn and Google+ combined
What makes a great PR photo?
� Avoid clichéd photos (smiling business men holding giant checks are no-no’s)
� News is about real people – your photo should reflect this
� Should sum up your story – often strong photos run with just a caption
� Include branding (naturally)
� Tells something about the person, what they are doing, what the company involvement is
Learn the basics
� Get to know your camera
� Hold your camera properly
� Get out of auto mode
� Learn to collect subject’s information quickly
How to hold your camera
• Left hand holding the camera, fingers softly gripping around the lens
• Right hand is used for controlling the settings of the camera
• Elbows together, pressing on the chest
• Camera firmly against the forehead, head leaning towards the camera
Exposure control
AV-mode
P-mode
TV-mode
Composition
� Fill the frame
� Simplify the image by getting in close
� Be aware of your background
� Rule of thirds
Rule of Thirds
• Picture is separated into a grid of thirds
• The subject is placed at intersections of lines
• The picture is more visually appealing because the subject is not centered or symmetrical
• This is a tried and true method, but not always the best
Rule of Thirds
Fill your frame
� Use your zoom
� Position yourself close to your subject
� Crop your shots (be aware of quality loss)
� Remember: including your subject’s entire body is not necessary
Fill your frame
Far vs. Close
Fill your frame
Background
� Make sure backgrounds don’t interfere with your subject
� Look for solid color backgrounds like a solid colored wall or expanse of blue sky
� Beware of distractions such as objects, other people or colors that take away from your subject
� Isolate your subject
� Use depth of field to make your subject sharp and background soft
� Don’t eliminate your background completely! It is still necessary for showing where your subject is located.
Backgrounds (Bad)
Distracting colors
Other people
Backgrounds (Good)
Uncommon Angles
� Experiment with high- and low-angle shots that show both scale and perspective
� Kneel down to capture subjects near the ground or photograph subjects above you
Uncommon Angles
Speaker shots
� Animated speaker – look for hand gestures
� Enthralled listeners
� Use long lenses & no flash
Headshots without a studio
� Simple or plain background
� Have subject stand or sit on stool
� Position body ¾ turn, but have them look forward
� Have subject sit up straight and stick neck out
Other Tips
� A photo only tells a great story if it can stand on its own. Ask yourself: can you tell what the subject is without an explanation?
� Name tags are your best friend. Snap a shot of them immediately after taking your subject’s photo for identification later.
� Read/subscribe to photography tutorials � www.digitalphotographyschool.com � www.photojojo.com � www.photo.net
� Don’t forget to send links to your photo sharing sites and Facebook galleries in your media releases.
Editing
� Free: � Picasa
� GIMP
� Picmonkey
� $$: � Adobe Photoshop
� Adobe Lightroom
Photo Sharing
� Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blog, etc.)
� Photo sharing sites: � SmugMug
� Flickr
� Picasa
� Your website