Whats the Big Idea - Projects don’t have to highly complicated or involve large budgets to succeed, granted a larger budget will increase the options available to you but crucially won’t always guarantee success. The best picture lead projects are those that are visually striking but additionally tie in with news agendas or topics trending on social media. If you are considering bringing in talent to support a project, the same rules apply, do they ‘fit’ the brand, do they appeal to your target demographic and most significantly how regularly do they feature in editorial publications? A strong celebrity can add weight to your project but choose badly and they will be nothing more than a sizable addition to your projects budget.
Press releases & Shot list - Ahead of the shoot itself, compile a shot list outlining what you are looking for. Do you want a particular style of photography? Reportage, Candid? Or do you want a particular look to your imagery, high key, dramatic etc. Add in timings, don’t try and cram too much into too smaller space of time, allowing a reasonable amount of time for slippage. A well structured press release outlining the story behind your images, is also an essential, make it short and concise, and don’t flood with unnecessary brand referencing. Two or three paragraphs is usually sufficient to cover everything you need.
During the shoot, you may wish to modify, or deviate away from the shot list altogether as some of the best shot happen organically as the shoot unfolds or as opportunities present themselves. Check regularly on the progress of the shoot, what content have you captured, what remains, what are you prepared to forfeit if time is against you.
Editing & Distribution - Once the shoot is over, go through the images with you photographer and make a small edit of what you intent to distribute to press. Most shoots require an edit of between 6-12 images, any more and you risk downing your strongest images, any less and risk lacking variety for online gallery sites. Be mindful of your target media and the kind of images they are likely to use. Reality TV stars attending a launch party may not necessarily appeal to the broad sheet publications for example. Ensure Images are captioned (embedded within the Image IPTC data is best) and supplied in JPEG format
Its really then down to getting the right images to the right people, an experienced editorial photographer will be able to assist with this, some, like ourselves, may even be able to help with the physical distribution. And the results we think speak for themselves.
© Jonathan Hordle - INhouse images is a trading name of Jonathan Hordle Photography. All rights Reserved
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Creating Brand content for editorial release can be tricky. Over branding, weak imagery or an under developed supporting narrative, can kill a picture story in its track. But Executed correctly, ‘Media jacks’ as they are sometimes refered, are capable of delivering a Return on Investment (R.O.I) in a class of its Own.
Whether planning a photocall, a stunt or picture lead story, INhouse is on hand to make the whole process as simple as possible. Our aim is to help improve the quality of your images from an aesthetic perspective whilst maximising their appeal to media.
Capable of assisting at any point within your project, from the earliest stages of planning right through to distribution of content to press, Inhouse is equipped to deliver across the board. [Read on and discover our guide to getting results]