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6 Tips for Getting Press-Perfect Photos
Take a look at any publication – in print or online – and the first thing that catches your eye is not buried in line 5 of paragraph 2 in the third column. It’s the photo! Good press photos provide the media and other viewers with an important impression of your organization, work or event. Editors are looking for the most compelling shots for their layouts, so quality photos have the power to help you secure more publicity and better placement and page space. Representing your work visually through engaging photos is an important part of any marketing and publicity campaign.
So how can you make sure that your image is the one the media will want to use? Keep these 6 easy guidelines in mind:
1. DO Grab Their Attention: Eye-catching, thought-provoking, engaging, dramatic and playful photos that visually support your work are suitable for press use.
2. DON’T Be Abstract: The shot may look great to you, but what message does it send to someone who isn’t familiar with the work? Press are generally not interested in abstract images, photos of objects or scenes with no people, photos with added text overlaying the images, or logos (unless these things represent your work as a visual artist).
3. DON’T Be a Cliché: We’ve all seen them – the sullen looking band standing against a brick wall, or the over-acting cast mugging in front of a black curtain. If you think your photos look like everyone else’s, it’s probably time to try something new. Get creative – high quality, original photos will be used again and again.
4. DO Have Options: Send a few images so that editors have more layout flexibility. Make sure your options include horizontal and vertical photos to increase your chances of having your photos used.
5. DO Send Ready-to-Use Files: Make sure your press images are high-resolution, at least 300dpi, and a minimum size of 4x6 inches. dpi (dots-per-inch) refers to the print resolution. Generally, if the image is not at least 300dpi, print press can’t use it and busy editors and reporters won’t have time to ask you to go back and fix it. The good news is that you don’t need a fancy digital camera – even a standard point-and-shoot consumer camera can capture hi-res images (although if you can afford it, hire a professional photographer whose work you admire to get the best results).
6. DO Include Captions and Credits: Name your JPEG photo file in a way that makes it easy to identify (like including your name or project in the title). When you submit the image, make sure you include who is pictured from left to right and the photographer’s name for credit.
(Photo credit: Charlie Delarcelle as Oberon, Joanna Liao as Titania in Lantern Theater Company’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Photo by Mark Garvin.)
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 10/20/2011 - 2:13pm
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Comments
1 comments postedI love that our photo from A
Submitted by Anne Shuff @ Lantern Theater Company (not verified) on Wed, 10/26/2011 - 5:24pm.I love that our photo from A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM is included here as an example of a press-perfect photo. Mark Garvin, everyone... he's amazing! http://www.markgarvinphoto.com