Stand For Council: Leaflets and Photos

Leaflets and Photos

How to plan your brochure and campaign photos

Many candidates use brochures as a vehicle for providing information to voters. They can be used when door knocking, handed out at community events or distributed in letterboxes.

Brochures may include:

A candidate slogan;
Introduction about yourself;
Photos of yourself, including action shots;
Your hopes and aspirations if elected;
Third party positive endorsements from prominent people or community leaders such as past and present local politicians, church leaders, service club leaders, sporting association leaders, migrant associations, progress associations, chambers of commerce etc;
Surveys to obtain important feedback from voters on issues;
An open letter to voters;
Voter information about the election such as when it is anticipated that postal ballots will arrive and when they must be returned, or if attendance voting where the polling places will be located and when they are open;
Information about pre poll voting or postal voting;
Your suggested ‘How to Vote’ card.

Some important details:

Never use the official council logo;
Never use photos of other people without permission;
Any written material promoting your campaign, including electoral advertisements, handbills, pamphlets, notices etc, must have the name and address of the person who has authorised the material at the end. There is a penalty for non-compliance (See Section 55 of the Local Government Act);
If producing a ‘How to Vote’ Card within your pamphlet, make sure it has been approved by the Returning Officer;
When in doubt always ask the Electoral Commission Returning Officer;
Always proof read and check your pamphlet before production. A spelling mistake makes you look unprofessional and has the potential to cost votes
Ensure your information is accurate and does not contain offensive material or language;
Make sure that your election material does not contain anything that is likely to mislead or deceive an elector in relation to their vote. There is a penalty for printing, publishing of distributing any election material that is misleading or deceptive.

Posters have proven to be a great way of building the profile of a candidate.

Many candidates rely on A4 or A3 size posters of themselves displayed around the ward, for example in bakeries and butchers’ shops. Again, always make sure that the name and address of the person who has authorised the poster is at the end of the poster.

Remember the old maxim – a picture tells a thousand words?

Well, in a campaign, you get to decide the thousand words.

Photographs are one of the most essential tools for getting your campaign message across.

People are becoming less willing to read printed material. They prefer to scan printed material, taking in parts that appear interesting.

Good photos are a valuable investment for your campaign. They can ensure that your printed material is both interesting and informative.

However, like every aspect of your campaign, good photos will not happen without planning.

Photos act as entry points. A voter gets more information in a shorter space of time from a photo or several photos than they do from the written word.

Good photos draw the reader in. Poor quality or boring photos just turn the reader away.

In most campaigns where television and radio are not viable options, photos will form the basis of nearly every aspect of the campaign including newspaper advertisements, postal vote card, pamphlets, letterhead, posters and how-to-vote cards.

A good campaigning photo must meet two tests:

Is it arresting enough to grab the reader’s attention and lure them into reading the copy?
Does it deliver your campaign message?

For example, a photograph of the candidate listening to local residents depicts someone who is in touch.

Work out roughly how many photos you think you will need. A simple door-knocking card probably only requires a head and shoulders photo but a pamphlet may require four or five photos.

If you are producing several pamphlets, you may require many photos. You may also decide that you require photos in different situations that depict your stand on various issues.

A professional photographer is necessary when relying on photos to get your message across to voters. The photographer must be able to work as a photojournalist i.e. captures you ‘on the run’. If you do not know anyone, check advertisements in local papers, or the yellow pages and start interviewing.

Think about:

The number of different photos needed
Whether the photos will be black and white or colour? Many brochures are printed in black and white and you may have difficulty converting colour photos into black and white
Always request proof sheets. Proof sheets show entire rolls of film on one page. They are an easy and less expensive way of picking good photos
Your budget for photography i.e. what is the hourly or daily rate? What are the costs for film and proof sheets?
Turn around time for producing proof sheets and final prints
Time needed to complete the shoot.

When discussing your requirements with photographers, get an estimate of the time needed for the shoot and the total costs. Assume the photographer will want payment for their time and expenses when they deliver the proof sheets.

Points to remember when planning your photo shoot:

Get your photos done as soon as possible, don’t wait until just before the election
Plan your photo shoot in detail – where will you take the photos, what will you be doing in the photos, what messages do you want to convey, do you need to involve other people?
You can never have too many photographs.
Plan what you will wear and what props you may need. Completing the photo shoot in one block of time will save costs but a change of clothes is advisable to ensure the photos look more natural and props such as a clipboard may be useful in depicting door knocking.
When taking photos of people, try to be spontaneous. Let people carry on a conversation about whatever the subject matter of the photo is. This will help get real emotions and facial expressions and suitable body language
Keep in mind that the light in the middle of the day is hard for outdoor shots. Early morning or late afternoon gives the best lighting
Always remember to get the permission of the people you are using in your photos.

Head and shoulders are one of the most basic photos that no campaign can do without. Watch out for photographs that are too dark or too light. The photos ideally would be taken with a plain background.

Always attempt to take the shot keeping your full upper body in the frame, avoid cutting off shoulders and upper arms.

Photos should always look facing into the text. Left-facing photos should be positioned on the right hand side of the text and vice-versa.

Although nothing can replace a professional photographer, few candidates can afford to have a full time-photographer following them around all the time.

It is worthwhile always carrying a camera and taking photos if the opportunity arises. Do not just take one shot and hope it will be all right.

Once you have the photos you need, you have to know how to use them. If you are designing and producing your own pamphlets or newsletters, you will have to have your photos made into bromides.

Generally, your local printer can do this for you. They may also be able to crop and size the photos for you so that you can directly place the bromide on the newsletter or pamphlet exactly where you want it.

Alternatively, you can place the scan of your photo into the document electronically, then bromide the entire document. Bromides give the best quality when you are photocopying.

The availability of digital camera technology at an affordable price has made taking photographs quicker and easier. Shots can be taken with a digital camera and downloaded directly to your desktop computer. Keep in mind that generally, apart from very expensive technology, the images produced by digital cameras can be of lower quality.

Print Version PDF