TAKING CAMPAIGN PHOTOS

General (see the samples that follow)

• Take outdoor photos in early morning or later afternoon, unless the day is overcast. Midday sunlight provides too much contrast, which results in “hotspots” and deep shadows.
• Be aware of what is behind the heads of your subjects (for instance, trees,
  window frames, door jams, text from a sign, or pictures).
• Remove name tags (if at an event for instance).
• It’s preferable to not include drinks in the photo — especially alcohol.
• Shots taken on the same day necessitate clothing changes: change the blazer, add a scarf, change shirt/blouse; alter the look of the candidates hair, when possible. (Do not wear a hat; it creates shadows).
• If the background is private property, unless you have explicit approval, do not include it, recognizable signage or other clear identifying features.
• Clothes should be neat, unwrinkled. The level of formality should reflect the office being sought and the community ethic, but should always reflect the air of professionalism and competence.
• It’s preferable that the candidate be listening, not talking.
• If you are already elected to office, do not use taxpayer funded (government) “props” in campaign photos. This includes settings (sitting on a dias for instance), clothing, name tags, badges, etc.

Group Photos

• Encourage people in the photo cluster be closer together than they are likely to feel comfortable (samples attached)
• If you take photos where participants are under-age, you must get parental consent in written form (a form can be supplied when necessary)

Photo Quality

• Minimum size for printable image is 1mb (for a jpg)
• Photos should not be dark or blurry
• If bright and/or dark sections are “blown out” (seem to have no detail), please re-shoot; detail is time-consuming to manually add after-the-fact.

Be aware of the background, especially what’s behind the subject’s head and how it will impact a cropped photo. Outside, be mindful of signage, power lines, and tree branches.

Watch out for high contrast and shadows.
Schedule outdoor photos earlier
in the morning, or later in the day.

Interacting subjects will need to be closer
together than might feel natural. Taking
photos from an angle will also help.
The photo on the top was digitally modified
to remove the unwanted distance between
the two subjects. After, the subjects are 1/3
larger than originally.

A note on attire:
The candidate does not necessarily need to
be “formally” dressed (depending on office
and region).
But they should present “professionally,”
and dress the part of the office they seek.

Keep subjects in a group close together.
The farther away the subjects are from each
other, the smaller the candidate will be to
accommodate the image.
Please keep the background simple.
A background can help provide context,
but should not distract from the client
themselves.

• PLEASE NOTE:If photo participants are minors you must have a permission form, signed by the parent or other legal guardian, giving the specific campaign legal approval to use that minor’s image for any purpose. There is no exception; this is the law. (Forms can be found online.)

Family photos are a great way to emotionally connect with your voters. These are good examples of photos that feel personal, accessible, and relatable. Since they’re often taken outside, be aware of the potential for contrast issues.

Consider how photos will be used, and what you want to express when you use them. In this case the candidate had a female opponent, so highlighting strong female endorsements was a key tactic and we planned ahead.

Advance photos were taken during the kickoff press announcement. We knew were going to do a “women-focused” mail piece, highlighting the only other women ever elected to the Council.

Overlapping images, blurring, and lightening/darkening the image. In the example here, we used it all, and the intention of the image still comes through.

• PLEASE NOTE: Minors must have a release, signed by a legal guardian, specific to the photo’s use, or they must be blurred out. There are lots of ways to do that…

Consider how you can visually connect the candidate to the office they are seeking, an issue they care about or a successful project you intend to highlight during the campaign.