14.01.10
Tim Kerr - Director of Operations, PA Photocall
The right advice and inside track on how to get commissioned.
What is your definition of PR photography?
Pictures can tell a story better than words. Photography is an essential element in public relations and can potentially achieve national coverage on the strength of the picture alone. PR photography can cover many areas, from product launches and celebrity endorsements to public PR stunts and awards evenings – anything that PRs would want national press coverage for. When PRs commission a professional photographer, they want to make sure they are using a photographer with ‘Fleet Street’ experience; someone who is used to seeing their work in newspapers and who has the contacts on picture desks to get that work seen.
How does PR photography differ from reportage photography?
Our aim at PA Photocall is to keep the end results as close to regular reportage or news photography as possible. We’re trying to produce PR material that will work in the newspapers. The difference probably is that we work with the clients beforehand and on site to identify the most newsworthy picture opportunities from their campaign or event.
What are picture editors looking for from PR photography?
Ultimately, they’re looking for good, newsworthy photos. I’m a great believer that people working on picture desks don’t get into it to read press releases. They’re not interested in the background story or the survey statistics; they just want to see good photos that can sit in their paper well. Keep it simple and fun and you won’t go far wrong.
What are the biggest mistakes that are made when taking PR photographs?
The obvious mistake is having too much branding in the pictures, so it just becomes an advert rather than a photo. The other common mistake is making the picture too complicated; forcing too many elements of the campaign into the photo, so it just turns into a mess.
What image from your agency has received the most coverage and why?
I think it’s probably a shot taken by our hotographer Geoff Caddick for the National Lottery, featuring 18 ballerinas from English National Ballet on the Millennium Bridge. It was for its June 2007 Love UK campaign to celebrate Lottery funding for good causes. English National Ballet had been supported with Lottery money and the Millennium Bridge was built with Lottery funding. So it’s a PR picture featuring a great subject, where what’s actually photographed is inherently branded. That’s really the ideal scenario as far as PR branding is concerned; make it subtle and integral to the shot rather than resort to the dreaded logo T-shirts, placards and big cheques.
Is PR photography a feasible career choice for photographers?
Nowadays, I would say it’s an essential career choice, at least in part, for the majority of photographers. Newspapers are cutting back not just on their staff photographer resources but also their freelance budgets, too. For photographers to survive, they need to be open to PR work as well.
How can photographers get into this field?
A lot of work comes from PR companies rather than the final client, so it’s worth approaching PRs directly to make them aware of your work and build up contacts. The other option is to work with a specialist PR photo agency such as ourselves.
How does a photographer get on your books?
We’re looking for people that have good editorial experience and a track record for producing good news coverage, but who also have the ability to transfer those skills across to PR. We have a core team of photographers working for us regularly, and a wider regional team who come on board, as and when the opportunities arise. In both cases, we only tend to work with new people who have been recommended to us by photographers we already know. That’s important, because when photographers are on jobs, they’re representing us and the Press Association in general, so we need to feel that they understand the culture of our service and the name of the Press Association.
You’re developing a new photography and video package next year. What has created the demand for this?
Primarily, the growth in online and social media. Many of our clients commission video on every project they do. A lot of PR photography jobs, especially celebrity photo calls or stunts, lend themselves to accompanying short viral videos; film of the set-up, the actual photo call and short interviews with the celebrity or client. That can then be edited on site, uploaded to YouTube and other file sharing servers and made available to newspaper websites. The photography remains the main activity, but by videoing the event, you create another platform for the campaign.
Do you see video being a bigger part of a photographer’s requirements in the future, and if so, how?
Yes, I think it’s inevitable. As I’ve mentioned, the demand is there. Developments in cost, portability and speed mean video is much more accessible. The area for photographers to focus on is online virals rather than big budget corporate video. It’s online that people from a photographic background, with the right training, can really add value. A lot of online videos are still too long and boring. Photographers are familiar with condensing lots of complex information into a visual frame, working quickly and editing on site. There’s no reason why those skills can’t be transferred to moving footage.
What tips would you give to a photographer trying to get commissioned?
I think it’s the same as succeeding in any profession: be good, be nice, be on time. Beyond that, get as much experience as possible, but always remember everyone is only as good as their last picture, so be consistent. I actually learn more about a photographer’s ability and attitude from a routine job, where there might not be much to work with, than I do from how they cover a big newsworthy photo call. So always try to come away from every job knowing you took the best pictures you could.
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