I’ve stayed silent for too long, I don’t think I can actually take much more.  While I find the informative and nigh on daily go-to site of “Arlene Foster Holding Things” it does graphically show what’s wrong with PR photos in Northern Ireland, they are boring as ****.

A quick look at SyncNI and it’s ream upon ream of folk staring at camera while holding an iPad/Bit(s) of cardboard or worse still, Polystyrene letters. As the first port of call it shows a complete lack of creativity and this is projected out to the world (and yes I mean the world, this is the internet after all).

Now I understand the photographer’s need to be in and out in fifteen minutes and the pay scale is rubbish but there seriously needs some imagination from the organisation who’s getting photographed, the photographer and the marketing company.  I’ll go as far as saying that there aren’t many that can do it well. It’s a rare talent to tell a cohesive story through a photograph.  NI creatives, is copy/story/photograph well it’s time to your games.

To companies

So companies, have a really good think about the message you want to convey. The photographer is there to take photograph and not to be your marketing and creative department.

To photographers

And photographers, the straight in and straight out photograph no longer applies. You’re only letting yourselves down shooting on program mode with no thought for light.

An example….

Give me narrative, give me a story and a picture to remember….. here’s your starter for 10. Go study Wired.