How to get (more) space in a newspaper

I was impressed with Damien giving away some of his marketing stuff online the other day. In a similar spirit, I thought the following advice might be of some use to Irish companies, especially start-ups.

If there is one element that increases your company’s chance of getting space in a newspaper, it is the supply of a good picture. I don’t mean an amazing picture or a novelty picture (like Richard Branson, Michael O’Leary or Brody Sweeney), but just a competent image. It is amazing:

a) how few competent (supplied) images newspapers have to deal with

b) how few of the images sent in by PR companies -- that are ultimately billed to their client -- are of decent publishable quality

Many PR companies seem to send in the same, tired corporate shots: the headshot, the arms-crossed pose, the looking-up-from-the-bottom-of-the-stairs pose. In a situation where there is a choice of photography available to the editor, these will always be pushed down to the bottom of the pile. And that is a shame for you, the company: it was a good chance of getting some decent, prominent, publicity.

So what kind of shots will push you up the list?

As editor of an IT magazine and a consumer tech section in the SBP, here are the photos that automatically hit the bin (unless I’m desperate):

-- Shots where you’re receiving an award from some dipshit Minister of State

-- Shots in black-tie (unless you own a casino)

-- Shots where you’re looking up into the camera with your arms folded

-- Shots where you’re looking sideways toward the camera with your arms folded

-- Any shot with your arms folded

-- A studio headshot

-- An amateur headshot

-- Any headshot

-- Any picture at all taken with your compact digital camera or digital SLR you got for Christmas. (It doesn’t matter how many megapixels it has -- you take crap pictures, that’s the point. And they’re usually indoors, with a big shadow behind you.)

-- Shots with your entire management team in them

-- Shots with you, your customer and your head of operations in them

-- Any shot with more than two people in it (it’s almost always better to have just one person per shot)

-- Shots that are really low-resolution (under 150k of a jpeg, in our case)

-- Images that have been cut and scanned from some publication -- the quality is usually brutal

-- Shots where the logo or branding overshadows the person in the shot: it doesn’t matter if the logo is simply visible somewhere

-- Shots where you’re a speck in the landscape, such as shots attempting to show off how big your facility is

And the shots that are considered ‘competent’? They are:

--Full or half body shots that avoid the faux-pas listed above

-- Shots on location (provided you are a good visible size in them and not a million miles away in at the bottom of some quarry)

-- Shots in context: if the interview or article is about what your company does, have a selection of shots with your equipment.

-- Multiple shots. Always, always, commission (and provide) a selection of shots. Sending one in because YOU have decided it is ‘the nicest’ lessens your chances

-- Shots which show the subject to be fairly relaxed: photo editors see thousands of shots weekly and look carefully at the humans in them. This is generalising -- and there are exceptions -- but a relaxed-looking pose generally beats a stiff one

--- Shots with proper lighting. If it’s an indoor shot, it’s vital that the lighting is correct. It’s the biggest issue with ‘home-made’ PR shots

To sum up, in a recession, when cutbacks will result in papers trying to restrict the amount of photography they commission, there is a real opportunity for companies to get easy coverage by simply producing a competent photograph. So why not take advantage of it? I guarantee you’ll steal a march on your competitors.

(Note that I deal mostly in photos for feature articles: there can be slightly different rules for news articles. For example, headshots can be sometimes acceptable for news pieces.)

Comments

[Orlaith]

"Shots where you’re looking up into the camera with your arms folded"

Ha ha, point noted! Had to send this around the office - your observations are so spot on! I've been guilty of crossing my fingers and hoping for the best at times, but of course the dodgy pics rarely land anywhere. Corporate press photographers (aided no doubt by PR execs) often rely on standard, formulaic shots like you've described. But yes the really good photos that stand out tend to break that mould.

[Ciara Crossan]

Many thanks for the tips. I was always afraid to send in my own photos to the papers as I feared they only used their own professional photographers.
Great advice!

[Lee Munroe]

Nice tips, good to know how someone in the industry thinks

[Neil O'Gorman]

Some good stuff there Adrian. Also worth noting that often photos will not be strong enough on their own to carry a piece, so a strong news angle helps (and that's a whole other blog post there!). Another point is that PR agencies need to put more thought into briefing photographers as this process can become quite mechanical and can let a story down. Photographers also could take your points on board as many of the top photo agencies continue to set up the sorts of shots you refer to.

[Keith]

Good advice. I normally brief photographers by saying I want the same as the Sunday Business Post features, so here's the actual guide!

[Eoin Kennedy]

Thanks Adrian. Always good to have a dust down on the basics. Interestingly at the PPAI awards it was reported that there was a huge drop in the number of photos being submitted by PR companies to the different photo desks. Recession already biting budgets.

[John Smyth]

Including a dolly bird or two in the picture seems to work too, particularly if she is in a bikini...

[Adrian]

Ha ha!

[conor]

Thanks Adrian

Great article - I'll send you a nice photo when I have some news.

http://www.connector.ie/2009/04/15/connector-canon-consumer-imaging-mashup/

Be good
Conor

[Emma Kytzia]

Thanks Adrian. Found this piece really helpful. Have just come to your blog through Damien Mulley's and will be a regular reader now. I work for a college and we are trying to use our own internal photographers to cut costs. I am going to share this with them as they'll find your advice invaluable. Thanks again.

[Joe Scanlon]

LMAO "Shots where you’re receiving an award from some dipshit Minister of State"

Great advice (and plenty reading!) in you entire media-advice category, thanks.

http://www.yourtechstuff.com/techwire/media-advice/

[Catherine Wall]

Great advice Adrian. Also what about sbots of people looking at a computer or holding a laptop. it@cork runs a huge amt of tech events and invariably the phtographer goes to take the laptop shot!

[Irene]

What if you don't have a photo what if it is a graphic? High res I would presume but is it something that is considered. For example an irish company have started designing funky digital lottery games with great creative would a sample of the creative work too? Hate the arms folded shots btw and so guilty sorry Adrian. Brilliant advice.......

[Adrian]

Irene,

For us, we rarely use graphics. I know it sounds harsh, but, to us, graphics (/creative work) are rarely that interesting. Photos work better 99% of the time.

Not saying creative isn't skillful, just our particular editorial call on that; think other broadsheets follow the same instinct.

[PA Photocall]

There really has never been a better time for third parties to sending in images to the press. With the financial strain, newspapers are laying off their own in house photographers and looking more and more to towards third party suppliers like PR's. So I would definately agree get those creative prees pictures seen and make that national leap.

[Margaret]

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Margaret

http://lotterymegamillions.net