Scouting Photos Worth At Least a Thousand Words

The 2005 Annual Report of the Greater Pittsburgh Council has been completed and features the theme "Scouting Scrapbook Memories," thanks to the inspiration of the team at Brady Communications, our longtime creative partner. It’s filled with stories about the National Scout Jamboree, summer camp at Heritage Reservation, strong membership growth, and news coverage about Scouting in our region.

The Annual Report also contains memorable photographs of area Scouts, especially from the Jamboree. But to be honest, in reviewing this project, we needed even more local photos, and can always use additional pictures—to consider for future publications, the council web site, www.gpc-bsa.org, and especially for the news media.

A picture is a great way to share the Story of Scouting. It puts us in the scene, evokes powerful memories, and as the saying goes, is worth (at least) a thousand words.

With that in mind, here are some ideas on how to get Scout photographs published and posted online:

• Become familiar with the local news sections of your daily and weekly newspapers. Many have "Community News" features that are a perfect fit for your unit events.
• Call up the news and photo editors and ask if they would be willing to consider running photos (and stories) about Scouting activities. Learn their deadlines.
• Make sure your photos are in focus, show faces, and aren’t "posed." If you’re shooting a Pinewood Derby, look for an action photo of cars racing as Scouts watch intently.
• Be accurate and complete, providing information about the photo, such as the event name, date, location, and names of individuals (left to right). Obtain a photo/web release form if you plan to have the photo published on the web.
• Invite reporters and photographers to your activities so they can experience Scouting firsthand, and take their own pictures as well. Brief your Scouts on the basic questions they can expect so they can answer with confidence.
• Don’t forget to email photos to non-traditional outlets such as schools, religious institutions, community groups and corporations to consider for their newsletters.
• When pitching a photo, SELL your story. Remind editors of the large number of Scouts, leaders and parents who are involved and would be interested in seeing Scouting covered in their paper.
• Remember to say "Thank You." Many editors and reporters don’t get much positive feedback from readers, and most enjoy hearing that their work was noticed and appreciated.

If you have interesting digital photos, especially higher-resolution pictures taken with a 10x or 12x optical zoom camera, please consider emailing them to me at bdewitt@bsamail.org. And also feel free to copy me in on any story and photo that you send to the media. Together, we can put Scouting in the picture.