We’ve found there are six main
reasons why PR practitioners and
businesses avoid using images as part
of their communications.
We thought we'd suggest solutions to
these problems so you can start
creating more vibrantly eye-catching
and interesting content.
“Our product is boring. I don’t think
it would be a good subject for an
interesting picture.”
All the more reason you should use
creative images to enliven your
communications. Think of Innocent
Drinks. Their product is not unique,
but their social media content is
awash with images that are unrelated
to their product but fit with the
quirky image they’re trying to give
their brand’s personality.
However, if you don’t think this would
work for your brand then you should
consider thinking about how you can
create an emotive or humorous image
in some way connected to your
product. Look at this humorous
example for Webroot Internet
Security.
Another tip is to write down your
headline. What first comes to your
mind when you read it? Have you used
a metaphor? It's often easier to
match a picture to a headline than the
whole story.
“Professional photographers are too
expensive; I can't afford to pay for
photographs to accompany every press
release I send out.”
Professional photographers might not
be as expensive as you think. If you
plan wisely, you can get a lot for your
money.
Rather than hiring a photographer on
an individual campaign basis, consider
making a list of all the campaign
activities you will have in upcoming
months so you can think about the
images you might like to accompany
your documents.
It is much cheaper to hire a
photographer for a whole day and take
a wide range of shots to build your
photo library. This collection of
photographs can then be shared with
your whole team so they can have easy
access to photographs when they’re
creating documents and
presentations.
“We’re a small company we can’t
afford fancy digital cameras, never
mind a photographer.”
Don’t underestimate the power of
your smartphone or tablet. The number
of megapixels on these devices is
equivalent to the digital cameras
people were investing in only a few
years ago. Also the quality of apps,
such as Instagram, is continually
improving.
Though the images these devices
produce might not be of high enough
quality for printed materials, they can
certainly be used across social media
and in blog posts.
“I take terrible photographs; they
really wouldn’t be publishable.”
There are two websites worth
checking out if you would like to
improve your photography.
Writer and designer Adam Dachis has
put together a comprehensive guide
on Lifehacker that includes a number
of lessons for use with digital
cameras.
Expert Photography provides a
thorough Beginner’s Guide to
Photography and more than 250 other
articles to help you improve your skills
whether you are shooting with a
camera or a phone. It’s definitely
worth a read.
“I can never get my photographs the
way I like them. I would have to buy
expensive and complicated editing
software or pay someone to edit them
for me.”
Photoshop is the undisputed king of
photo editing. However, it's
notoriously complicated and expensive.
If you don’t want to fork out a whole
heap of cash there are great free
alternatives.
The best options we’ve come across
are getpaint.net and gimp.org .
According to PCMag.com : “Paint.net
lives in an interesting space between
very basic image manipulation
applications like Microsoft Paint and
robust big guys like Photoshop.”
Gimp.org is a credible competitor to
Photoshop, and it’s free. You can
combine it with Photoshop plug-ins
should you feel the package is not
extensive enough. Read
Brighthub.com’s review for details.
If you'd still rather use Photoshop but
don't want to pay for the full
package, try Photoshop Elements. It's
a basic version of the full package at
a fraction of the price.
“I am unsure of copyright laws so I
would rather avoid using other
people’s images.”
The Copyright, Designs, and Patents
Act of 1988 is notoriously complicated
and extends to more than 300
sections. Therefore, you should avoid
using other people’s photographs
unless you are absolutely certain you
are not infringing any copyrights.
When you need an image in a hurry,
it’s tempting to jump onto Google
Images, do a few searches, and see
what catches your eye. Of course,
many images will be copyrighted. To
find images you can freely use, use
the advanced search and tick the use
rights option that says, “free to use
or share, even commercially.” Even
then, please credit the original
photographer.
The same applies with Flickr, the
world’s largest photo-sharing site. Go
to the advanced search and select
“Creative Commons: find content to
use commercially.”
"I find the photographs on these
online stock sites are often very
cheesy."
Generally, it’s worth paying for stock
photography, although it's true you
have to look hard to find shots that
aren't bland, generic, or cheesy.
There's a knack to searching on these
sites. Try to think of conceptual
search terms that go beyond the
obvious. You might, for instance, look
for metaphors from nature or perhaps
the arts.
[RELATED: Learn the art of the
visual story at this November
video summit.
]
As with most things, you tend to get
what you pay for. Take a look at sites
such as Alamy, Shutterstock,
iStockphoto, and 123RF, and find the
cost/quality ratio you are comfortable
with. If you want to buy photos and
use them without restrictions, make
sure you search for “royalty free.”
So, these are just some solutions.
What do you think? Perhaps you have
some of your own tricks to add. Please
let us know in the comments below.
Adam Cranfield is the CMO of digital PR
firm Mynewsdesk. A version of this
story first appeared on the company's
blog.
reasons why PR practitioners and
businesses avoid using images as part
of their communications.
We thought we'd suggest solutions to
these problems so you can start
creating more vibrantly eye-catching
and interesting content.
“Our product is boring. I don’t think
it would be a good subject for an
interesting picture.”
All the more reason you should use
creative images to enliven your
communications. Think of Innocent
Drinks. Their product is not unique,
but their social media content is
awash with images that are unrelated
to their product but fit with the
quirky image they’re trying to give
their brand’s personality.
However, if you don’t think this would
work for your brand then you should
consider thinking about how you can
create an emotive or humorous image
in some way connected to your
product. Look at this humorous
example for Webroot Internet
Security.
Another tip is to write down your
headline. What first comes to your
mind when you read it? Have you used
a metaphor? It's often easier to
match a picture to a headline than the
whole story.
“Professional photographers are too
expensive; I can't afford to pay for
photographs to accompany every press
release I send out.”
Professional photographers might not
be as expensive as you think. If you
plan wisely, you can get a lot for your
money.
Rather than hiring a photographer on
an individual campaign basis, consider
making a list of all the campaign
activities you will have in upcoming
months so you can think about the
images you might like to accompany
your documents.
It is much cheaper to hire a
photographer for a whole day and take
a wide range of shots to build your
photo library. This collection of
photographs can then be shared with
your whole team so they can have easy
access to photographs when they’re
creating documents and
presentations.
“We’re a small company we can’t
afford fancy digital cameras, never
mind a photographer.”
Don’t underestimate the power of
your smartphone or tablet. The number
of megapixels on these devices is
equivalent to the digital cameras
people were investing in only a few
years ago. Also the quality of apps,
such as Instagram, is continually
improving.
Though the images these devices
produce might not be of high enough
quality for printed materials, they can
certainly be used across social media
and in blog posts.
“I take terrible photographs; they
really wouldn’t be publishable.”
There are two websites worth
checking out if you would like to
improve your photography.
Writer and designer Adam Dachis has
put together a comprehensive guide
on Lifehacker that includes a number
of lessons for use with digital
cameras.
Expert Photography provides a
thorough Beginner’s Guide to
Photography and more than 250 other
articles to help you improve your skills
whether you are shooting with a
camera or a phone. It’s definitely
worth a read.
“I can never get my photographs the
way I like them. I would have to buy
expensive and complicated editing
software or pay someone to edit them
for me.”
Photoshop is the undisputed king of
photo editing. However, it's
notoriously complicated and expensive.
If you don’t want to fork out a whole
heap of cash there are great free
alternatives.
The best options we’ve come across
are getpaint.net and gimp.org .
According to PCMag.com : “Paint.net
lives in an interesting space between
very basic image manipulation
applications like Microsoft Paint and
robust big guys like Photoshop.”
Gimp.org is a credible competitor to
Photoshop, and it’s free. You can
combine it with Photoshop plug-ins
should you feel the package is not
extensive enough. Read
Brighthub.com’s review for details.
If you'd still rather use Photoshop but
don't want to pay for the full
package, try Photoshop Elements. It's
a basic version of the full package at
a fraction of the price.
“I am unsure of copyright laws so I
would rather avoid using other
people’s images.”
The Copyright, Designs, and Patents
Act of 1988 is notoriously complicated
and extends to more than 300
sections. Therefore, you should avoid
using other people’s photographs
unless you are absolutely certain you
are not infringing any copyrights.
When you need an image in a hurry,
it’s tempting to jump onto Google
Images, do a few searches, and see
what catches your eye. Of course,
many images will be copyrighted. To
find images you can freely use, use
the advanced search and tick the use
rights option that says, “free to use
or share, even commercially.” Even
then, please credit the original
photographer.
The same applies with Flickr, the
world’s largest photo-sharing site. Go
to the advanced search and select
“Creative Commons: find content to
use commercially.”
"I find the photographs on these
online stock sites are often very
cheesy."
Generally, it’s worth paying for stock
photography, although it's true you
have to look hard to find shots that
aren't bland, generic, or cheesy.
There's a knack to searching on these
sites. Try to think of conceptual
search terms that go beyond the
obvious. You might, for instance, look
for metaphors from nature or perhaps
the arts.
[RELATED: Learn the art of the
visual story at this November
video summit.
]
As with most things, you tend to get
what you pay for. Take a look at sites
such as Alamy, Shutterstock,
iStockphoto, and 123RF, and find the
cost/quality ratio you are comfortable
with. If you want to buy photos and
use them without restrictions, make
sure you search for “royalty free.”
So, these are just some solutions.
What do you think? Perhaps you have
some of your own tricks to add. Please
let us know in the comments below.
Adam Cranfield is the CMO of digital PR
firm Mynewsdesk. A version of this
story first appeared on the company's
blog.
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