What Makes a Good Press Photograph?

A good press shot has to be nice and clean, and doesn’t always necessarily need to have the client’s brand in shot, as some of the following images demonstrate. 

Over years of experience I’ve learned that some pictures just happen right in front of you, while some need to be created. Sometimes I only have a few minutes to ‘see’ or create a shot, for instance if I’m photographing Prince Charles I can’t very well ask him to repeat a certain handshake. Part of getting good press pictures is being able to think quickly – I’m sometimes moving between two or three jobs in the same couple of hours so spending more than 20 years as first a press photographer and then a commercial photographer was good basic training.

When I photographed the Santa Run at Central Square in Middlesbrough I was high above the crowd and asked them to come forward so I could crop in tight and create a close shot with lots of cheery red and white making the picture very appealing to the media, particularly at Christmas.

When Redcar and Cleveland Council asked me to photograph County Durham artist and former steel fabricator Ray Lonsdale at the official unveiling of his weathered steel installation at the new £3.5m South Bank Eco Village I was pleased to see a great picture opportunity as the ‘Blank Canvas’ piece was in the form of two men holding a slab of steel between them. The artwork made an ideal bench that, shot from low down, created a very pleasing shape against the sky. The picture had much more punch than a group of dignitaries lined up and obviously appealed to press including the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette and Darlington's Northern Echo, and also appeared across online media such as Flickr and Pinterest and even on Ray Lonsdale’s own Facebook page.  If you haven’t seen Ray’s work do look him up – he is receiving increasing artistic acclaim and he’s also the creator of the now iconic WWI ‘Tommy’ statue that stands in Seaham, County Durham.

The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge over the River Tees is the longest working transporter bridge in the world, and this picture was taken at the opening of the new Tees Transporter Bridge Visitor Experience Project in November 2015. Artist Mackenzie Thorpe is very engaging subject, and usually attracts lots of interest from the media. First job was go up in the new glass viewing lift to get some shots of Mackenzie against some panoramic views, before descending to cover the official opening of the car barrier. My suggestion that he stood in front of the barrier and appeared to push it to form a frame for the picture worked well shot with a wide angle lens, and fitted with the ‘opening’ theme and the forward-thinking approach of Middlesbrough Council.

You might recognise Jason Bradbury from his time on the Channel 5 Gadget Show, and I took this cool photograph of him for the Tees Valley ‘Get your head into digital’ campaign launch in Middlesbrough. To create a fresh, original shot I asked Jason to take a selfie with his iPad and turn the screen towards me, so I could create a shot of the two halves of his face, one real and one on the screen.  Jason declared the results to be ‘awesome’ and liked my tweet about the picture, which was retweeted loads of times. 

To sum up what makes a good press picture I’d say it must tell a story in one shot, be different, get creative, and include some real energy. Sounds simple? I’ve been doing this job for two decades and I’m always learning something new every day!  

Press Passes Giving You Access To All Areas.

In my years as a photographer with the Middlesbrough Gazette and then as a North East freelance commercial and PR photographer I must have amassed hundreds of press passes. These are the keys to the kingdom in terms of having unique access at sporting grounds, royal visits, arts events and music gigs where security is a key factor.

As you would expect, top of the tree when it comes to event security are those involving royal visits and I’ve probably photographed 20 royal visits to the region between Dumfries and Galloway down to Teesside in the last few years, including photographing the Duchess of Cambridge when she visited the Crime Reduction Initiative’s Recovery Service centre on William Street in Stockton on Tees. As well as capturing the Duchess talking to assembled guests this job involved moving into another area of the building to take some pictures of her chatting with service users in a private meeting away from the rest of the assembled guests, which was quite a privilege – it’s not very often that it’s just me and a senior member of the royal family in a room together but luckily having done this job for years I’m not over-awed by VIPs.

To get my press pass for a royal visit usually involves several conversations and meetings with various Kensington Palace staff, who require references, my passport and a host of other details before we even start planning the photoshoot.

It’s not just the royal visit organisers who prefer to have ‘invitation-only’ photographers covering their events. In 2005 I was really pleased to be selected by world famous news agency Reuters when they wanted a North East photographer to take pictures of the American artist Spencer Tunick and his naked people installation on the Newcastle and Gateshead banks of the Tyne. A chilly 3am start saw around 1700 volunteers stripping off for the camera and strolling around the streets in various poses directed by the artist. This was one of those occasions when the fewer photographers and bystanders around, the better.

At a celebrity or music event I’m often surrounded by other photographers of course, whether they are professionals or amateurs armed with camera phones, but my press pass gives me privileged access to all areas. I’ve covered gigs where I’ve looked out on audiences of around 10,000 people that are just a sea of camera flashes, most of which would generate grainy pictures of tiny figures on a dark stage, while I’ve been able to get close enough to the performers to get shots that have been used by all the major newspapers and news outlets the following day.   

Whether I need a specific press pass or not I always carry my British Press Photography Association card and my driving licence around. Together these make up some useful ID for a variety of occasions, particularly when I’m doing school photography or in environments where there are vulnerable people for instance.

Even though I’ve been doing this job for years I still get a real buzz from slinging my press pass round my neck and setting out to get something different, whether that’s a set of pictures covering a four-hour VIP visit or a handful of key shots that perfectly sum up an event and its atmosphere for my client.