Why good photos make great stories irresistible

When it comes to announcing B2B news a picture is the difference between being seen and getting missed.

There are two main subjects when it comes to B2B PR photography: a person and assets and having one or both included in a story can get your announcement prime coverage.

Who is talking?

Readers want to know who is speaking in a story and journalists want to know who they are quoting, so show them. If someone is quoted, make sure a high-resolution professional and clear colour portrait photo is provided – not black and white snap with the person sipping wine at an industry event. Are there multiple people quoted? Give multiple portraits. Perhaps a friendly group photo can be arranged if it is the announcement of two businesses coming together.

What are we reading about?

If you have a new product, have moved interesting cargo, or are opening a new facility, show the reader. It is one thing to write about a new cold chain robot, but another completely to provide some exciting photos of the robot in action. Have you moved the biggest single piece of cargo ever for your business? See if you can get someone in the picture (safely) for scale.

Lights, Camera, Motionless

There are three very simple rules to taking a great PR picture. The first is to check the lighting. Natural lighting looks best, but sometimes this is not possible at an indoor event. Check for shadows, see if you can play around with the intensity of lighting, and have the subject facing into the source of light.

Secondly, use a good quality camera. Fortunately, modern mobile phones have good cameras built in. Spend time learning the settings on your camera and you will be greatly rewarded. Does it have a low light setting? What are the pre-made settings designed for?

Finally, make sure everything is perfectly still! The last thing you want is to rush and blur an image. A blurry image will be ignored. Take multiple shots of people (particularly groups) as you will be surprised how frequently people move or close eyes in them. When it comes to assets, take pictures of them when they are stationary if possible.

Logos

As tempting as it can be to add in a logo or a watermark in your picture, please do not do it. Many publications will refuse to publish images that prominently display the logo of a business without advertising and, honestly, it can irritate readers.

Of course, if the company logo is on the side of a new asset like a warehouse or vehicle, that is fine, but editing in a logo for the sake of it (and it never looks good) is a sure-fire way to get your picture and news ignored.

Clarity and Size

There is a big difference when it comes to posting a picture for social media, for a website, and for print. A smaller resolution image will be fine for Instagram or LinkedIn, but when it comes to print media, the publication will need a high-resolution image. Make sure you provide a high-resolution version of your images to ensure you grab all coverage opportunities.

If you follow these rules, your photos may be used time and time again by different publications as they tick all the boxes and shine above the competition.

There is plenty more to know about what it takes to get your news noticed. If you want to be in the know, get in touch with Meantime Communications at hello@meantime.global or call + 44 (0) 20 8853 5554.