PR photography is back with a bang.
Over the past months the phone’s been ringing more and more often with people asking about getting PR photos done.
Personally, I think it’s a sign of more business confidence, as companies want to spread news about their latest product, recruit, advance, deal ….. or whatever. Covid’s tail has been longer than perhaps anyone anticipated, with profits and confidence down across the board, but there really feels like a positive energy about at the moment. And the increase in PR shoots reflects that in my world.
Over the years I’ve shot many, many PR opportunities. Fun days, the opening of new business premises, cheques being presented to charitable organisations, new appointments, businesses being set up …. the list goes on, and is pretty endless. In fact, the only limit on what makes a PR story is your imagination. And the PR agencies I’ve worked with over the years have a wealth of imagination!
Photographically speaking, PR photography is pretty straightforward for a professional photographer. The client, or more usually a PR agency, has a specific story that they want to promote and the photos need to illustrate that story. The brief will outline what photos are needed, and my job is simply to turn up, arrange any group shots that need to be included, and/or photograph the subject of the story.
In these examples, I was asked to provide photos to accompany a story about a new housing development scheme being started by Taylor Wimpey. So I headed down to the site to shoot the Board members, colleagues involved in the scheme, and representatives from associated companies and bodies. With one of the houses in the background, the story is told.
Spotting the flags flying, it also made sense to get them into some shots – ‘always include the branding’ is a mantra that always holds with PR.
Photos like this will appear across media – trade press, general news announcements and on relevant social media platforms.
Do you have a story that needs illustrating with great photos? A PR campaign in the planning that would benefit from strong images? I’m always happy to chat so please get in touch via the contact form or give me a call.
