Taking Presentation Pictures: ©Al Macphee/MiraclePR
One of the best pieces of advice I can give is to always tell yourself that there are several ways to take a picture. Whether it’s medals, trophies, cheques or a bunch of flowers, we’ve all seen standard presentation pictures in newspapers and online. There is lots of advice out there on how to take boring presentation pictures, but if you want to make a presentation look fun and interesting, here are some tips of my own:
Tip 1: Work that medal
Have the subject do something with their medal. Take a typical podium shot. Don’t just have the winners standing there with their hands hanging by their sides and medals dangling. Once you’ve taken your 1, 2, 3 podium placement shot, you could go for a close up, and have them hold the medal up, smile and ‘work it!’
You could set up a separate shot after the presentation, or an idea may present itself to you. After one event I was covering, the winners came indoors together to get a drink. I said, “I bet you’re hungry.” One said, “Ravenous. I could eat this,” and put his medal in his mouth. Flash, bang, wallop! We got them both eating their medals. There’s more fun and life in an image like that. Some people just naturally act up for the camera, so they’re the easiest to shoot.
Tip 2: Make sure the object’s the right way around
Although you want to get people excited and animated, you must attend to the detail. You can spoil an otherwise great shot by having medals twisted so that the plain back is to the camera. Teams lifting trophies often hold them the wrong way around or, worse still, have the base towards the camera so all you get is an ugly black square block. The organisers and sponsors want to showcase their event, so the trophy or event name must be visible.
Tip 3: Two hands on the trophy
If you’re taking a picture of one person (player or official) lifting a trophy, it’s usually best to get them to use both hands. Otherwise you will get a square image, which is less interesting than a horizontal one.
Tip 4: Spice up cheque presentation pictures
Cheque presentation images are less common than they used to be – I haven’t done one since before COVID – but if you do find yourself hired to take one, the same principles apply. Think of cheques as medals: there is a boring way of shooting them and a more interesting way. An oversized cheque is one solution, but what if the presentation involves a standard sized cheque? Don’t just have them holding it or handing it over. You could have the sponsor writing the cheque, rather than presenting it? Or, you could have them holding it slightly towards the camera, so you get a more interesting perspective, while magnifying the leading edge of the cheque.
You can apply the same principles to book signings. Have both the author and the recipient in the frame, which tells more of a story. Or, hold the book up to the camera so everyone can see the cover artwork.
Tip 5: Take a series of images
Don’t just take a single presentation shot. By taking a series of pictures, you can use the principles I outlined in my blog on selecting photos from a series to choose the most interesting one.
Some Examples
Bonus Presentation Pictures Tip: Sign up to my mailing list
Following the tips above will raise your game when taking presentation pictures, but I have many more subtle snippets of advice that will have people wondering why your presentation shots just seem that much better than other photographers’. I’ll be revealing those in my upcoming So, You Want To Be A Photographer?’ book series. To stay in the loop about release dates, etc. please add your name to the mailing list on the right of this page.
Have a burning photography question you would like Al to write about in his next blog post? Email info@miraclepr.com with your request.