One challenge of covering campaigns is finding decent photos. But apparently, candidates haven’t gotten the message that visual communications matter.
Why is this a problem? Well, for one thing, every post on this site (except for the PubBlog) is supposed to have at least one featured image. Other photos are nice to have within the story, as well.
But, when you look at campaign sites, they either have almost zero photos, or they have ones taken by someone with a cell phone. Or, a selfie by the candidate themselves as one of their main photos. (Really?)
It doesn’t take much money or time to have one or two professional head shots made and posted. And, you can probably find a volunteer who is pretty good with a camera who would be thrilled to shoot some candid shots at events.
Here’s an example of a campaign that is doing it right: Josie Raymond. Not only is her website excellent, she has a great photo on the front page that was obviously taken by someone who knows what they are doing. And even better, she provided a separate web site for the press with oodles of excellent photos. Want to see the results? Check out our profile story — we included a bunch of pix from that site.
We are blessed at Forward Kentucky to have Berry Craig on staff. Berry does great work with both the pen and the camera, and his candids are often a highlight of the story. But, a candidate shouldn’t count on someone else to provide their image – they should take care of it themselves. Then the candids are just icing on the cake.
So take a moment, candidates, and get some pix made that show you know how to pay attention to the details. Then make them available to us media people. You’ll be glad you did – especially when the story comes out.
