Lifelong photos

Everyone is into video, but photos are still an essential PR tool in this multimedia environment. We are always looking for ways to add a photo to news because they provide visual information to the audience. For example, they provide reasons for believing the spokesperson’s comments: they look knowledgeable and trustworthy. They can make a dry subject appear interesting.

But media make sure photos last forever. The rictus grin will look guilty in a later legal story. The broad smile will look arrogant in a later profit story. The ribbon-cutting will look ironic in a failed enterprise story.

In clumsy PR hands, these fears shut down use of images. But there are plenty of good photo formats that won’t embarrass you later. The rule of thumb is never to use images that boast or look too “shiny”. That’s probably a good rule for most PR activity.