Five Things A Photographer Can Do for Marketers & CommunicatorsBy Cheung Tsun, Keith (www.phototsunic.com)
In a visually-driven era, images have become an important communications tool for marketers and communicators. I’m quite sure you must have worked with photographers to capture the essence of your events. But have you ever leveraged on the knowledge of your “visual partners” and maximized the results of your events? Here, I can think of at least Five Things that your commissioned photographer may help (let’s talk only about Event/ PR-related activities this time):
1) Tell your boss to take off her big distracting earringsWe may sometimes come across senior executives who “over” dress themselves when they are preparing for the camera, like a lady boss who wears large dangling earrings. It may be a bit difficult for an in-house communicator to ask her to take them off. But it’s usually very OK for a photographer to give his/her “professional advice” about what looks best on the camera. So, leave the “difficult” task to him/her.
2) Give advice on your event floor plan before you finalize itYou and your event contractor may have an ideal plan of how a stage or exhibition booth may look like. But you need a third-party opinion, especially when there could be some details that might have been overlooked – such as what looks good through the viewfinder, and where the logo should be placed to eye-catching effects in any photo. I’m sure giving your event participants a good experience is your first priority, but I think making your event look great on photos - which you can dispatch through various channels to the press and online media as well as your website and also share pride of place in the headquarters office of your boss’s boss – is equally important. So, it’s worth spending time to get a professional photographer’s opinion before you finalize the floor plan.
3) Suggest “photo opp” ideasYou may be very experienced in organizing events and media activities. However, there may be times that your brain is dry and runs out of ideas for photo opportunities. Don’t forget that your “visual partners”, especially those who happen to be photojournalists, may help. They might have attended numerous events and came across many different kinds of gimmicky “photo opps”. So, do get inspiration and ideas from them, and turn them into your own.
4) Help fine-tune the positioning of loose items during venue set-up.During an event set-up, there are many things you need to fine-tune on the spot. This is when you can ask for your photographer’s opinion. For example, ask if the setup of the press photography corner needs to be adjusted. An experienced photographer can easily help you determine if the photo distance is too short or the stage level which you organize for photojournalists from the press is too low. You would never want to face a bunch of photojournalists whining in front of your guests and executives, complaining they couldn’t take a good shot of them. So, confirming if things are fine and making some necessary adjustments before hand will be crucial.
5) Help make quick decision on best photos for media distribution.Have you ever been overwhelmed by the several hundreds or more photos from your photographer after an event? If you need to dispatch photos to the press right after the event, the short lead time and limited number of photos to be shorlisted (usually not more than 5 photos) make the task doubly challenging.Do seek your photographer’s input. For those who have been a photojournalist before, he/she should understand what photos can make it into the photo editor’s selections for a newspaper or magazine.
In addition, if you are a leader of a communications team and want to enhance your team’s understanding of what makes a good press photo, you can invite a seasoned photographer to give them a short talk or workshop on this topic at your office. There’s never enough to learn.
As images dominate our multi-media age, effective communication through images can give marketers and communicators an extra edge. Leveraging on your photographer’s expertise and somehow viewing him/ her as an extension of your communications team can help optimize the results of your event management efforts.
(This article also published on "The Pitch HK", a blog under "
Marketing Magazine"@
http://pitchhk.blogspot.com/2010/01/chui-sui-central-maximising-your-photos.html )
Photo description:
PR professionals tend to select photos with prominent logo(s) to the media, whereas a photo editor always look for a less commercial but self-explanatory image telling a story.Your photographer should be able to help by finding the middle ground. Do ask for his/her advice when you shortlist event photos for media distribution.In this photo, the image depicts an auction in progress. In terms of composition, it is compact and dynamic. It shows the corporate color, bluish purple, of Sotheby’s. Though the logo is not completely shown, the brand “Sotheby’s” actually has been implicitly communicated well enough through visual elements.
