Photo calls
Photo calls sometimes take place after news conferences, though they may
happen as part of other events or independently. For a successful photo call you
will need to think up, and create, a strong visual image — think of activities,
people and symbols. Here are some pointers for your planning:
- It can be effective to organise an activity (such as a march or picket)
with an important national landmark in the background eg. The national
parliament buildings, defence headquarters or a well-known monument.
- Think of powerful visual symbols that you can use (possibly symbols that
have a special meaning in your country or region) eg. shoes, prosthetic
limbs, death masks, balloons, flowers and candles.
- Colours are another important part of the visual message: steer clear of
party political colours and choose colours that will have a visual impact by
limiting yourself to one or two strong colours. You may decide to use
colours with a symbolic meaning such as white for peace, black for death
etc.
- It can be useful to involve local artists in staging a happening or open
air exhibition, such as the broken chair sculpture built by Handicap
International, and find ways to use and illustrate local craft such as batik
paintings, beadwork, baskets and so on.
- Consider involving a well-known public figure, such as a singer, sports
player, religious leader, politician or ICBL ambassador. It is important
that this celebrity takes part in an action or activity, as this will
inspire television crews as well as still photographers (working for
newspapers or magazines). The celebrity could lay a wreath, walk through an
artificial minefield or meet landmine survivors in a hospital, for example.
- At the event, make sure that you have lots of ICBL props: posters,
banners, stickers, postcards and T-shirts.
Examples of successful photo opportunities include: children painting banners
in a park in Geneva, the shoe pyramid in front of the Eiffel Tour in Paris,
landmine survivors removing their prosthetic limbs outside the White House in
Washington DC and a candlelight vigil for mine victims in a cathedral in Maputo.
Once you have planned your photo call you will need to alert picture editors
giving them details of the time and place of the event (see the section about
Media Advisories). At the event, hand out press packs and be prepared to give
the full names of anybody who will appear in the photograph and other details to
the photographers. Also, invite your own photographer to take pics for use in
future campaign brochures or exhibitions. Their photographs can also be offered
to members of the media who did not show up at the event.
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