If you go to your local supermarket or newsagents, you’ll be able to buy a copy of the August edition of Woman and Home, Feel Good You Magazine. Why you might ask? Well, there you will see some of my own photographs as part of a substantial article which demonstrates the power of excellent professional photography.
If you want a sniff of national media coverage in the modern media then having fantastic and appropriate images is a ‘must have’ these days. Those images must be media friendly, of excellent resolution and composition – and taking them with your smartphone or tablet will – nine times out of ten – not ‘cut it’.
On pages 86- 89 of said magazine, there is an article entitled, ‘Animals are Our Exercise’. With the tag line, ‘meet the women whose beloved pets help them stay healthy and happy’.
The double-spread pages, 86 -87 are all about one woman, Caroline Peyton from Peyton Principles, along with her horse Rolo. Caroline has run her business in Swindon and the Cotswolds for more than a decade. She is a qualified nutritional therapist and she supports people with a range of issues including diabetes, gut issues and dealing with the menopause.
I can hear you thinking – why am I sharing this with you and what has this to do with you Neil?
Because I took those photos of Caroline which appear in the magazine – and it’s not Caroline with supplements, or with a client, or cooking a healthy meal. It’s about another important aspect of her life.
Interestingly, when Caroline’s PR person, (with whom she has been working for the last three years), Fiona Scott saw an appeal for women who exercised with their ‘pets’ or ‘animals’ , she pitched Caroline to the journalist.
The feature writer came back to Fiona telling her that she was sorry, but she was already full and had her case studies all lined up.
Fiona ad Caroline forgot about it. About six weeks later, the feature writer contacted Fiona on Twitter, saying that she now had a last-minute space, because some of the people who had contacted her about the case studies had said they had good images of them with their animals – but they did not.
Pictures taken on your mobile, despite all of the advertising often will not cut it with the national media, especially a glossy magazine. It doesn’t matter how good your camera is, the person taking the photos doesn’t have the skill of a professional photographer.
The feature writer asked Fiona if Caroline had pictures with her horse. Of course, Fiona could say, yes.
Sometime before, I had been working on a series of photos with animals and their owners to refresh my own skills. During this time, I’d taken several of Caroline. Therefore, Fiona was able to respond to the feature writer with confidence, knowing that Caroline had several good photos with her horse.
The feature writer interviewed Caroline on that same day, and the photos were sent over to her on that day.
Fiona, Caroline and I belong to the same networking group, so this was a case where having contacts was also important.
If you want the national press to take notice of you, then you need to talk about yourself in the wider context as a person – sharing your hobbies and passions. They don’t always want to just see the business side of you. Except in talking about you in another context, you are bound to mention WHAT YOU DO.
Owning a horse for Caroline is one of her joys in life, and she competes with him, and he is her exercise in life too.
So, thanks to the relationship between three professionals and having professional images, Caroline appears in a double page spread, with her horse, in a national magazine, which will sit on the shelf for several weeks.
And for Caroline, at the end of the article, it talks about her in her business as a Nutritionist, Naturopath and gut health expert which is a great plug.
This is perfect for me too, because they are my photos, which just underlines how critical good photos are for national press.
If you’d like national magazine standard, professional photos of you, then please get in touch. Info@moore-photographics.com
