Everything You Need to Know About Sourcing Photos for Journalists
Everything You Need to Know About Sourcing Photos for Journalists
I will most likely be around a polar bear when you are reading this post.
Hope you had a good Indigenous Peoples Day weekend! I am currently in northern Manitoba, which is home to some of the largest First Nations populations of Canada. More on that once I get back. In the meantime, follow my adventures on Instagram.
Last week, I had an amazing time speaking at the largest attended IMEX America, with over 15.5k attendees. I had the opportunity to do solo sessions on sustainability, culture, food, as well as share the stage with esteemed panelists from Canada & New Zealand. Thank you to everyone who took the time to come & meet me at IMEX!
A BIG THANKS to Stephanie Stauginger from R&R Partners, PR person of the month, who went above & beyond hosting me in Las Vegas. Though I have traveled to the city many times before, I felt like a celebrity on this visit, staying at the luxurious Fontainebleau Hotel, dining at celebrity chef Andres & Ramsey’s restaurants, & checking out brand new shows at The Disco & Sphere. Stephanie took time to learn about my interests, planned a curated itinerary, made herself available to dine with me, modified requests on the go, & even read my book “Beato Goes To Japan” with her 4-year old daughter, Julia. Stephanie is a super creative storyteller herself! Check out her romantic fiction book.
If you are planning a conference, regional meeting or an event where you may find my insights useful, take a look at my speaker profile. As a Keynote Speaker, some of the topics I cover are - cultural etiquettes, how food connects people, marketing to diverse audiences, journalist & media relations, how to plan effortless press trips, trend in multigenerational travel, sustainable travel, solo female travel, and BIPOC stories from the front lines.
All You Need To Know About Sourcing, Sharing and Editing Photos & Assets For Journalists and Editors
I get this question asked a lot on media panel discussions, so let’s talk about it in full detail.
As a PR person, are you required to source photos?
Most of the time, YES, it is super helpful if you have the photos ready before sending a pitch or gather them while a journalist is working on the story. Rarely do magazines have a budget to send out a photographer for a story, but they ALWAYS need supporting photography. Only a couple of them pay journalists extra to get the pictures, and that too, means “turn in all your images, we will pay $$ for if we use any.”
Boone Clemmons, formerly at Bandwagon, is good example of a PR person going above & beyond to source photos. We worked on a story about entrepreneurs in Zuni Pueblo near Gallup, NM. This was a brand new idea so there were no prior photos & it was during the pandemic, so not easy to send photographers to indigenous locked down areas. Boone & his team personally went to the Pueblo & took professional photos prior to my visit & I used them for stories in T+L & Fodor’s.
Recently, I interviewed a chef at a luxury hotel in Atlanta & she did not have an hi-res headshots of herself, but my editor would not publish the story without it. So I invited her to my home & had to take the pictures myself. Phew!
What kind of photos are needed?
Yet, I have to chase down PR every single week for photos.
Pictures tell a thousand words & your pictures should make me feel “Wow! Thats a good shot! It should make me want to eat that or want to go there! For travel destination stories, try to show diverse people having fun in that city or that attraction (but make sure you have their release forms). Who wants to see an inspiring travel story with no one in them?
I often travel with a photographer so he can take photos of me at the destination, for storytelling & digital assets. If you have the budget for a plus one on media hosted trips (in separate rooms as we are not related), I will be more eager to work with you! My photographer, Fred, loves to capture people in their natural elements, so he can mingle around & take pictures from different angles, while I am doing the interviews. And he is happy to share them with the hosts.
Since I write many human interest stories, I want to see the humans in the pictures. Pictures of founders, entrepreneurs, chefs, & bartenders while at their business, in action, interacting with products & customers, etc. We also need headshots, not selfies, really professional headshots (some people that I have interviewed don’t understand what that means).
For food stories, close up shots of the dishes are great as long as you can first describe what the dish is. Try to get some background photos of the restaurant to set the scene too.
For products, it is annoying to see so many images that look like advertisements & no photos of the people behind the company. Think of an editorial vs an advertisement. When you send me product samples, I can also capture fun action shots.
Also, don’t send the same photos that already posted on 10 other publications.
Should you send photos & videos with your pitch?
It is not necessary to send digital assets with pitches. Absolutely do not send attachments but links are fine. In any case, keep them handy for when requested.
Also, sending a pitch with just photos & blurbs, expecting me to publish a story based on that, is unreasonable. You need to understand my work style, which tends to be personal, experiential & storytelling, which is not based off press kits.
What are preferred Photo Formats and Transfers?
Please make sure all photos are in high-resolution, crisp, in sharp colors, free from shadows, & edited as you would want to be seen in a print magazine.
Label any photos you send me in this format: What is the photo of? Which restaurant/chef? Who is the photographer? For example: Fried chicken plate at Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles in Columbia, SC. Credit Chris Aaron Photography. Change the name of each photo file in this format. It is really easy. Click on file name, enter your text. But you can’t do this if you are sending photos from a phone.
In your captions, describe the dishes & drinks; don’t assume someone will know it. If there are multiple people in the photo, such as at an event, each one’s full name & title should be mentioned.
Send a few pictures (mostly 4-6) for the editor to choose from. Please don’t ask me to pick from hundreds of pictures first, then you will edit or caption them. I am a journalist, not a visual editor, & honestly don’t have the time to guide you through the photo editing process.
I will just refer you back to this Substack :)
Publications worry about copyright infringement. It is very important to name the photographer or source, provide their name & email to the editor, & for you to get their written permission to print & modify the photos if needed.
Here’s a fun story. I did a story about a celebrity I was invited to go on a cruise with. Her assistant sent me her photos from the cruise, that I published with my story, with credits (the photographer was also hosted & we became good friends). But then this photographer sent a threatening email to MY editor saying that the publication had violated use of her pictures. My editor reached out to me, since I had provided the sourced photos, then I went back to the celebrity chef, her PR back to the photographer, & it was a mess sorting it out! Bottom line - get photographer’s permissions in print.
This happens more times than I care to speak of. Do not email me 1 photo at a time. In fact, do not email me any photos! We have several great file sharing tools like Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer, etc. Use any one of them. Make sure the sharable link does not expire for 30 days or requires additional permissions. I may need to share the link with my editor & web design team, so they should be able to access it quickly.
Lastly, it is best if you do not ask me to change the photos on a published article. As a freelance writer, I have almost no control over how the story is visually presented & it’s not my place to ask the editors to change the photos because the client would like it.
Got any other questions about photo assets for freelance journalists? Feel free to send a DM or start a chat & I’ll be happy to answer your questions.
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Here is what I am looking for at the moment…rolling deadline unless mentioned.
STILL NEED Gifts that give back. Travel, home, and lifestyle holiday gifts that are great for not only giving, but the companies stand for the betterment of specific causes - communities, environment, education, wildlife, etc. (Must be available to purchase online, No food items, Deadline EXTENDED to Oct 19)
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South Asian (Indian) culinary trends, cookbooks, and products appealing to Indian-American community. See example of a good pitch I ended up writing into a story.
I publish ~ 20-30 culinary stories from around GA each year. Always looking for new restaurants (not new menus or list of openings), new businesses (chocolate factory, ice cream store, etc), culinary festivals, human interest stories, cookbooks & fresh ideas.
Press Trip Requests
I am interested in visiting in 2025 in case you are planning any media visits or can arrange for an individual visit. Please pitch only if you are open to hosting.
Hotels in Tokyo
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Easter Island, Chile
Ghana
The 5 Stans/ Silk Road
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BONUS
Next month, travel writer Jodi Sweet & I are hosting a session on everything you need to know for planning effective press trips in 2025. Only paid subscribers will be invited, so upgrade now!