Public Relations

The P.R. shot is about promoting an idea, or feeling, rather than a product, place or person. In the case of promoting a retail area, the background is meant to be appealing; the people should put you at ease; the overall feel should make you think it would be a fun place to visit, shop, or dine.

This shot is of the bonfire held during the holidays on the square in Decatur. I chose a rooftop vantage point so I could see the crowd and the fire.
Like so many of these kinds of shots, all of the elements I wanted were never together in the same shot. For instance, the fire was only this visible while the firemen were setting it aflame -- so the crowd had to stand way back. Once the crowd was let close all of the other areas emptied out. Getting all of the elements together meant combining parts of several shots.

The new police station was almost complete and shots were needed for an officer recruitment campaign. Much of the building was not occupied yet, so several windows were dark, traffic cones were still out front -- not the most ideal circumstances. The evening breeze had died down by the time the light was ideal, so the flag was just hung there. Fortunately I'd arrived early and caught some good images of the flag, along with the MARTA train coming into town. I combined those parts with the overall shot of the station, then cloned windows to give every room some light.

This shot of Lenox Square was shot via a drone. The drone gives you a perspective that would otherwise be hard to reach. Above the power lines and heavy traffic along Lenox Rd., but not so high as to be nothing but rooftops.

This image is being used to promote outdoor dining and walk-ability in the City of Decatur. Images like this one find their way into visitor guides, and are also used to court prospective business to move to the nearby office spaces.

This evening shot along East Ponce De Leon Ave is another example of capturing all the elements that make a good p.r. shot. Think of the things you can tell from it:
• Unique restaurants and retail.
• Beautiful landscaping.
• Well lit.
• Safe for pedestrians.
• Minimal traffic.
• Bike and scooter friendly.

To maximize the potential of this image, I pulled parts from a dozen or so shots and combined the elements I liked best.

The first shot shows that there is some open green space that is very pedestrian friendly. I scouted several vantage points overlooking the band stand before selecting the top of a nearby building.

The second shot is meant to show a pleasant and safe, pedestrian friendly environment with retail and evening dining. To get this vantage point, I brought in a scissor lift, to which I could mount my camera.

A retail and dining shot.

Though there are always people around, they are not always where you want them, when you want them. My client would generally try to gather a handful of local residents and city employees to be available for me to place where I needed. Then I'd have the spontaneous, local action fill in the gaps -- usually requiring some composite work before it is done.

Here, we wanted to show a lot of random activity so we chose to shoot on a warm Spring evening when there was live music in the bandstand. The thing about random activity is that it's... well, random -- not always where you want it. Even the mist off the fountain didn't cooperate. I've lost track of how many images I used to composite this one.