I arrived at the Programmed
Burswood office at around 7am and then went with Communications Officer, Kate
Sossi, as well as three other employees to the studio in City Beach.
When we arrived at the shoot we all
had our make up and hair done (including the men!) and put on our Programmed
and Fremantle Dockers gear.
We were photographed in groups,
with my group being the second shot. The studio was sectioned off and so there
was no visibility of what was happening with the first group, but we could hear
yelling, cheering and rock music.
As the time approached for our
shoot we were all a little nervous, however, we were briefed on the idea behind
the shoot and were shown images as to what it would look like. We were asked by
the photographer to scream and shout as if we “were in a pub watching the grand
final and the Dockers just won.”
After numerous shots at different
angles and in different positions the photographer was finally happy and it was
“a wrap!”
It was a really cool experience to
be involved in a photo shoot, especially because it was a full page spread in
the West Australian.
Despite the little time, Kate
pulled the massive shoot together and got it done overnight. This efficiency
just goes to show that as a public relations practitioner, you need to be quick
on your feet and very assertive – regardless of what might get thrown at you.
This also reinforced what I’ve learnt in my PR units at uni i.e. that public
relations practitioners need to be good problem solvers and must not panic when
they are thrown in the deep end. It also reinforced that having a contingency
plan is a must – e.g. in the case of the photo shoot, if something was to
happen to the photographer, who would take the shot that was required by Saturday,
or who would be in the shot if someone backed out. All these things need to be
considered. Kate was also really great
at helping those being photographed relax and be less nervous as she was just
lightening the situation by making jokes and being silly. This also goes to
show that you need to be a good people person to be in public relations. This also
reinforced what I learnt in my PR units that your communications skills and
people skills are of utmost importance as this is really a key part of the job –
to communicate.
I have attached the photo (me far left) from the
Saturdays West Australian below. Sadly the Fremantle Dockers were not
victorious over the weekend, but there’s always next year!
