Posts Tagged ‘picture desk’
Interesting piece in the current issue of PR Week about concerns we could be seeing the ‘Slow death of the embargo’. The Wall Street Journal is believed to have introduced a new policy stipulating that they will only honour embargos on exclusive stories. It’s a change of direction that’s obviously brought on by the pressure to be first with breaking news amid increasing competition from other online media outlets especially bloggers who traditionally have been more cavalier with embargos.
Certain newspapers may feel that they can’t afford the niceties of sitting on embargoed stories when specialist blogs are prepared to ‘publish and be dammed’. News has moved on it’s no longer written up today printed tonight and read in papers tomorrow, it’s available instantly & constantly via multiple formats.
The walls have come down and the means of news production are now available to anyone. In that light embargos can seem antiquated, but they still have a place, they just need to be used with care and not as a ‘catch all’ control mechanism.
PR Week editor Danny Rogers talks about embargoes as being “a lazy means of dealing with the media.” The WSJ and the blogs have stirred things up & if that stops these ‘lazy’ embargoes it’s probably no bad thing.
So what could this it mean for photos? I always feel the best way to handle a press PR photo is to use embargoes as sparingly as possible. Basically, ‘take it, get it out, get it in!’ Getting your pictures in the press is always hard enough without making it harder for yourself by putting embargoes across the top of them unless they’re really necessary.
Obviously certain photos because of logistics or availability need to be be taken beforehand and held back. Journalists will understand that and personal relationships, trust and exclusives will always play a role in this business. But maybe the shake up in attitudes towards embargoes generally will make people look at picture embargoes a bit harder too. Using embargoes where they aren’t really appropriate, such as on pictures taken in public places or of stunts that are open knowledge may start to become a thing of the past.
In this climate when the media is crying out for good, free to use PR copy, it’s unnecessary to shackle every story & picture with an embargo. Nobody can really control the media, instead we just need to continue to work with it making content that the press will want to use now, not next week.
Post by Tim Kerr (Director & Picture Editor of PA Photocall)
Tags: Danny Rogers, embargo, embargos, Media, media outlets, newspapers, online media, PA Photocall, Photographer, photographic agency, Photography, photography tips, picture desk, picture editor, PR, PR Camapign, PR Photography, pr week, Press, Press Association, press coverage, Press Photography, press picture, public relations, public relations photography, tim kerr, wall street journal
Posted in Photography, PR | 2 Comments »
I spent Tuesday morning as a guest judge for Heritage Lottery Fund’s Postcards from the Park 2009 photography competition.
The annual competition is designed to celebrate UK parks through photos that reflect their role in our every day lives.
2007 Overall winning photo by John Lane taken in Hyde Park, London
My co-judges were celebrated photographer Mike McCartney and Angela Nicholson, Technical Editor at Amateur Photographer magazine. I was really impressed by the standard of the entries, we all had a very enjoyable morning going through the various categories and most importantly I didn’t fall out with my fellow judges!
It was great to be working with people from very different photography backgrounds and seeing how they look at pictures. But despite our different interests, at the end of the day, we all want to see photos that catch our eye, that excite us and that stand out from the norm.
2008 North East runner up photo by Gillian Lauder taken in Derwent Walk Country Park, Gateshead
I don’t want to give anything away about what pictures won, but collectively they’re a fantastic representation of ‘parklife’ in all it’s forms.
The winning shots will form an exhibition on display at Southwark Park Café Gallery from Sat 5th Sept. 2009 and online.
Post by Tim Kerr.(Director & Picture editor for PA Photocall)
Tags: amateur photographer magazine, angela nicolson, Heritage Lottery Fund, image, judging panel, mike mccartney, PA Photocall, parks, Photographer, photographer techniques, photographic agency, Photography Competition, photography judge, picture desk, picture editor, postcards, Postcards from the Park, Press Association, Press Photography, tim kerr
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My ‘PR Picture Editor’s Knowledge’ post on this site the other week included among other things serious and not so serious;
“10. If you’re doing an aerial shot of people spelling out a brand name or symbol, you need at least twice as many people as you think you do.”
I stand behind that, but if you look at The Daily Telegraph, you can see the advice is hardly new. Arthur Mole and his colleague John Thomas were doing it over 90 years ago.
Arthur’s great nephew Joseph Mole, 70, says: “In the picture of the Statue of Liberty there are 18,000 men: 12,000 of them in the torch alone, but just 17 at the base. The men at the top of the picture are actually half a mile away from the men at the bottom” Picture: Caters News
Using at times up to 30,000 individuals, Mole and Thomas’s so called ‘living photographs’ were aerial shots of US soldiers forming giant symbols of America including Liberty Bell, Uncle Sam, The Statue of Liberty and even Woodrow Wilson. The images were used by the US government to boost public morale and support for US involvement in The First World War.
A collection of the photos been compiled by the Carl Hammer Gallery in Chicago and is well worth a look if you’re pondering an a contemporary version.
Mole and Thomas: The living emblem of the United States Marines, formed by 100 officers and 9,000 enlisted men at the Marine Barracks, Paris Island, South Carolina Picture: Caters News
Apparently Arthur Mole would plan his designs by actually drawing an outline on his lens and then had troops mark out the image with flags. It could take a week to get all the outlines but only 30 minutes on the day to move the soldiers into position & get the shot.
I’m not so sure how photographers would take to drawing on their lenses today, but proof even then that the best PR pictures are always the best planned.
Post by Tim Kerr (Director & Picture Editor of PA Photocall)
Tags: Aerial Photography, army, Arthur Mole, carl hammer gallery, first world war, flags, john Thomas, lens, liberty bell, living photographs, marine, PA Photocall, Photographer, photographer techniques, photographic agency, Photography, photography tips, photography workshop, picture desk, picture editor, PR, PR Photography, Press, Press Association, Press Photography, statue of liberty, The Daily Telegraph, tim kerr, troops, US soldiers, world war, world war one
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Keira Knightley in front of the now infamous enhanced poster for King Arthur. Press Association Images
After reading an article in today’s Independent about the Liberal Democrats’ call to put a curb on airbrushing in advertising it made me think of all the times that we, PA Photocall, get asked to’Photoshop in’ or ‘Photoshop out’, this, that and the other.
However, for newspaper pictures we draw the line at removing flabby waists, bruises and discoloured teeth. There is an un-written rule when it comes to news pictures; ‘No doctoring’. This is simply because once you manipulate the picture removing things in background, adding logos, taking out wrinkles – it no longer represents the news scene as captured, but creates a biased fantasy.
Newspapers rely on the integrity of their content and pictures are at the forefront of that. Glossy magazines might be able to have retouched cover stars but papers have to walk a tighter line.
This is something that is surprisingly not widely known outside the newsroom. Quite often, when a client has booked a ‘celeb’ to front a campaign pictures of which are to be used for editorial purposes – it can quickly materialise that the ‘celeb’ is not so perfect after all.
Post by Nicola Charalambous (Picture Editor of PA Photocall)
Tags: headshots, image, keira knightley, king arthur movie, Media, PA Photocall, photo, Photographer, photographer techniques, photographic agency, Photography, photography tips, photography workshop, photoshop, picture desk, picture editor, PR, PR Camapign, PR Photography, Press, Press Association, Press Photography, press picture, public relations, public relations photography, the independent
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Mahomed-Abraar Khatri, 18 and Vargo, the first guide dog in the UK to enter a mosque, are welcomed into the Bilal Jamia mosque in Leicester by Head Imam Hafiz Rehman.
PA Photocall client The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association has won an award for their campaign on ‘Vargo, the first guide dog to enter a Mosque’ which aimed to tackle the misunderstanding of the work of guide dogs.
The organisation picked up the 2009 Excellence award from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, beating seven other finalists in the category of Best Campaign £10k and under.
With the support of his local mosque, a visually impaired teenager from Leicester applied for a guide dog and his story was used to highlight the fact that guide dogs are working animals enhancing a person’s independence. To allow Mohamed to take his dog Vargo into the mosque for worship, a historic fatwa was issued, changing ancient Shari’ah law. ‘A strong, well planned and managed piece of co-operative work which achieved enormous press coverage and is now being used as an example around the world. Profound cultural change achieved for just over £1,000.
PA Photocall were commissioned by Guide Dogs for the photography for the campaign. As a result PA Photocall’s pictures were central to the success of the launch, with coverage including The Times, The Daily Star Online, MSN, AOL Online and This is Grimsby to name but a few. It is a good example to the fact that there is no glass ceiling for PR.
Post by Penny Joyner (Marketing Executive for PA Photocall)
Tags: AOL, Charity, CIPR, CIPR Excellence award, Guide Dogs, Leicester, Media, mosque, MSN, PA Photocall, Photographer, photographic agency, Photography, picture desk, picture editor, PR, PR Camapign, PR Photography, Press Association, Press Photography, public relations, public relations photography, The Daily Star, The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, This is Grimsby, vargo
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There’s an interesting Thought Leader Series supplement in last week’s PR Week on ‘Consumer PR’. Amid all the talk of PR’s response to the changing PR environment & multiple media platforms there was a good bread and butter question thrown at the contributors; ‘Has your attitude to the use of celebrities in campaigns changed over the past year?’
The general consensus was that celebrities remained very powerful promotional tools whatever the economic climate, but the connection with the client and the project needed to be right.
Speaking specifically from a photography point of view that’s something I’d agree with. Celebrities work in PR photos because they instantly give the picture something identifiable. Photographers and PR’s might sit around in client meetings and seminars mulling over the possible death of celebrity culture and how we’re all much more interested in growing vegetables, or knitting our own shoes or whatever. But then we’ll go for lunch & read Heat Magazine or talk about Peter & Katie like everyone else.
Diarmuid Gavin tend to tomato plants at Cooks Farm Allotment in south London for the launch of Morrisons' Let's Grow campaign which encourages children to grow their own fresh fruit and veg at school. Geoff Caddick/PA Photocall
It’s a fact in our world that we connect with celebrities. We associate them with certain lifestyles, with certain characteristics that we aspire to. Celebrities are in effect ‘brands’ themselves and the best PR photos come when the brand values of the celebrity and the brand value of the client fit. Then you have a picture that works, that catches a Picture Editor’s eye and stands up.
Melinda Messenger launches Ultimo's latest in-shop boutique within Debenhams at Westfield Shopping Centre, London.
To often we’ll see PR photos where you can tell straight away the client just went for the cheapest Big Brother reject available and there’s no obvious link & the picture feels clunky because of it. Picture Editors like PR photos to be simple. A good celeb with a good connection intuitively does that. If you have to explain too hard why the celeb is being used it’s probably not going to work, so always look for the fit.
Post by Tim Kerr (Director & Picture Editor for PA Photocall)
Tags: Anthony Upton, celebrity, celebrity photos, diarmuid gavin, Geoff Caddick, headshots, image, Media, melinda messenger, morrisons, PA Photocall, Photographer, photographer techniques, photographic agency, Photography, photography tips, photography workshop, picture desk, picture editor, PR, PR Camapign, PR Photography, pr week, Press Association, Press Photography, public relations, public relations photography, tim kerr, ultima
Posted in PR Photography | 2 Comments »
There’s a fantastic website www.theplaceswelive.com showcasing photographer Norwegian Jonas Bendiksen‘s ‘The Places We Live Project’ which exists as a book and multimedia touring exhibition. For 3 years Bendiksen documented life in the ghettos of Nairobi, Mumbai, Jakarta and Caracas. His images & sound recordings capture the slums and the lives of the people he met.
I have family in Brazil, a country with well documented slums, or ‘favelas’ of it’s own, and I’m always a little bit wary of photography projects like this. However well meaning there’s a tendency for them to feel a little superficial. Either wallowing in other people’s misery or even worse coming across like some sort of poverty chic fashion shoot.
But Bendiksen’s pictures show you to these places literally in the round. As a photographer he can’t help find beauty in what he finds, and there is kinship and community there too, often way beyond what we have in the west, but he also shows the squalor, and desperation in equal measure.
The multimedia facet of Bendiksen’s work is also very interesting. His sound recordings and monologues are woven into the slideshows. It creates a third place between stills and video that maybe we’re too quick to pass over. In our rush to cover a story with pictures, sound and film we can be in danger of forgetting that sometimes the best things fall somewhere in between.
Post by Tim Kerr (Director & Picture Editor for PA Photocall)
Tags: caracas, environmental artist, Film, headshots, images, jakarta, jonas bendiksen, life in the ghettos, nairobi, PA Photocall, Photographer, photographer techniques, photographic agency, Photography, picture desk, picture editor, pictures, Press Association, Press Photography, slideshow, sound recordings, stills, the guardian, the places we live, Video
Posted in Photography | 1 Comment »
‘Silly Season’ is upon us - the time of the year when everything slows down and the media world lowers the bar on what it considers news, Parliament are on holiday and real news seems thinner on the ground. This is a great chance to take full advantage and achieve press coverage for your brand or service whether in print or online.
There is no doubt that the press will still be covering stories on Michael Jackson’s death and the rapid increase in swine flu cases, but throughout the long summer months all the media will be looking to cover more wacky and to some extent frivolous stories than usual.
Last year during ‘Silly Season’ the story of abducted gnome Murphy who travelled around 12 countries in 7 months went across the headlines in The Independent, The Telegraph and the Mirror to name but a few.
Undated handout photo of Eve Stuart-Kelso's garden gnome Murphy in New Zealand, who was returned to her after a 7 month disappearance, accompanied by a photo album showing him in the 12 countries he visited with his abductor.
From cows with local accents, to the bank holiday cheese chasers of Coopers Hill, there is no end to the wonderful and down right crazy stories that dominate the press at this time of year.
The ladies race gets underway during the annual cheese rolling race at Cooper's Hill, Gloucestershire.
This does not mean we have to abandon the rules of respected journalism, more that you should look at your everyday activities from a light hearted point of view. Consider potential news worthy stories that may be a little on the quirky side for your clients or business, with the recession keeping us firmly grounded, the chance to make light of any situation will always be welcomed by editors, especially now.
Look to utilise popular and regularly occurring events for example the cricket, the hottest day of the year, music festivals with some relevance to your brand, as they will always be topics in demand from editors. Generic shots will always have their place in the news but if you can add a little creativity and a wacky slant then all the better.
There has never been a better time to communicate to your audience about your product or service. A simple quote or a by-lined article in a national newspaper doesn’t automatically translate into sales, but positive media coverage no matter what form it takes can strengthen the value and position of the brand or service. Effective media relations, not only attracts new clients but can reassure existing ones.
Post by Penny Joyner (Marketing Executive for PA Photocall)
Tags: brand photography, cheese race, cow, gnome, Media, media relations, news strories, newspaper, Online News, PA Photocall, Photographer, photographer techniques, photographic agency, Photography, photography tips, picture desk, picture editor, PR, PR Camapign, PR Photography, Press, Press Association, press coverage, Press Photography, public relations, public relations photography, silly season, the daily mail, the independent, the mirror, the telegraph
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I’ve been enjoying following AFP photographer Leon Neal’s ‘Tabascokid’ blog http://www.leonneal.com/blog/
His London photographer knowledge lists make for fantastic reading for a humorous insight into the life & struggles of press photographers in the capital.
For a photographer, he’s reasonably kind to picture editors. His belief that anyone on any picture desk “automatically has their sense of time/distance awareness removed” is probably fair comment..
It got me thinking about what a PR Picture Editors knowledge list might look like. So with apologies to Leon, in no particular order & for what it’s worth…
The PR Picture Editor’s Knowledge:
1. Keep it simple.
2. Picture Editors don’t care about the PR story, it’s all about the picture.
3. Photographers will always send their best shots in last.
4. In product shots, men holding things just doesn’t look right. Even if they have nice hands.
5. Big cheques are evil
6. The Irish Photocall staple of ‘M+M’s’ (Models and Ministers) is the PR photo equilivant of E=MC2.
7. Myleen Klass/Monkeys/Midgets
8. One good celeb = at least 1000 real people.
9. Tight, bright, landscape, portrait, then clever.
10. If you’re doing an aerial shot of people spelling out a brand name or symbol, you need at least twice as many people as you think you do.
11. The quickest way to find a Community Police Officer in central London is to hold an unlicensed photocall.
12. People outside London need pictures too. Don’t forget Scotland!
13. The more Z list the celeb the more trouble their agent will be with approving shots.
14. The more confidential something is meant to be the more people already know about it.
15. Stunts don’t necessarily make good photos and vice versa.
16. Captions: Who, What, Where, When, Why.
17. If you don’t understand the embargo details, no one else will.
18. No line ups, no handshakes, no town mayors.
19. If you can’t draw the picture idea on the back of a press release using matchstick men, it’ll probably be rubbish.
20. Remember it’s meant to be fun.
Post by Tim Kerr (Director & Picture Editor of PA Photocall)
Tags: headshots, PA Photocall, Photographer, photographer techniques, photographic agency, Photography, photography tips, photography workshop, picture desk, picture editor, PR, PR Camapign, PR Photography, Press Association, Press Photography, public relations, public relations photography
Posted in PR Photography | 8 Comments »
There’s a picture on the cover of the Metro today which did what all great photos do – it made me stop & look again.
The Saturdays at T4 on the Beach 2009
It’s a shot, taken by Karwai Tang for Alpha, of girl band The Saturdays performing at T4 on the Beach at Weston Super Mare, but the interesting thing is that they’re photographed from behind. Instead of the usual image of Vanessa, Frankie & the rest, dazzling us with their choreography & push up bras, we see five sets of long legs and hot pants.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say The Saturdays look better from the back, they obviously have the charms to impress picture editors from various angles.
But what the Metro cover gives us, is a classic unexpected angle that completely changes the dynamic and the impact of the picture.
You’ll see it all the time in the papers. Scenes photographed from above, from below, from the side using reflections.. Usually it’s photographers doing whatever they can to make a dull story vaguely interesting.
Here it works perfectly. We suddenly see something we didn’t expect & by showing us something less obvious, we actually see a lot more.
post by: Tim Kerr (Director & Picture Editor of PA Photocall)
Tags: celebrity photos, fashion photography, music festival, PA Photocall, Photographer, photographer techniques, photographic agency, Photography, photography tips, picture desk, picture editor, PR, PR Camapign, public relations, public relations photography, T4, The Saturdays
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