Funworld April 2010

by Jennifer J. Salopek

Image is everything, the saying goes. For your park or attraction, images—whether moving or still—are key to capturing people’s attention and persuading them to visit your property. As theme-park photographer Chuck Fishbein says, “Photos show that the park is full of life, action, color, light. We strive to capture the pure fun.” Advance planning and some helpful tips can help you get the most out of your park photography budget.

First, it’s critical to understand the difference between editorial and promotional photography. As the examples from Hersheypark show (see p. 47), there is a visible difference between the images you might produce for your web site or brochure, and the images a visiting magazine photographer might take. Promotional photos tend to feature park, attraction, or ride names prominently, for example. Editorial photographs tend to have a more candid feel. Look for photographers who can do both. “We try not to let our promotional shots look contrived or artificial, and encourage our freelance photographers to shoot in a journalistic style while helping them to understand our public relations and marketing needs,” says Mindy Bianca, public relations director for Hershey Entertainment and Resorts. “However, promotional images must accurately reflect our brand.”

Pete Owens, public relations manager at Dollywood, notes most freelance photographers are former editorial photographers. Due to the high level of action on rides and coasters, he looks for freelancers with sports photography experience.

Model Releases: Meticulous but Necessary
Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury, Connecticut, is fortunate to have Ron Gustafson as its public relations director. Gustafson worked as a photojournalist for 35 years before joining the park’s staff; he takes all of the promotional photos at Quassy. He has a standing rule that any photograph used for promotional or advertising purposes should have a written model release from anyone who can be identified. This might require some effort:

“When I’m doing candid photography in the park, sometimes I don’t realize until a photo is downloaded to the computer that I’ve got a great shot,” he says. Such was the case with Gustafson’s photo of a father and son riding Quassy’s “Monster” roller coaster. After he saw the photo on his computer screen, Gustafson knew it was a keeper; he spent two hours tracking down the pair to get a signed photo release.

At Dollywood, tickets state a paid admission is implied consent to participate in any kind of photo or video production going on in the park that day. Even so, Owens makes sure to get signed model releases from visitors captured during a photo shoot.

It’s important to have one or more public relations or marketing people accompany any photographers working in your attraction. Not only can they keep track of the “hit list,” or list of desired images for that day, but they ensure credibility and can help with obtaining signed releases. Bianca always secures the releases after the photos are taken, noting that people tend to freeze up if they know they’re being photographed. Hershey Entertainment’s legal department has provided a standard corporate release that guests are asked to sign. Liseberg also is cautious about obtaining permission. Staff photographer Stefan Karlberg says: We use waivers, so all the people in our pictures have to sign a model contract. In some cases we apply motion blur to people in the background to make them anonymous.

Photojournalists visiting Quassy must check in at Gustafson’s office before entering the park, and he keeps a careful eye on adult visitors with large, sophisticated cameras.

“Naturally, we are concerned about adults who are in the park alone, taking pictures,” he says, noting that these visitors are often reported by other guests.

Plan Ahead
When hiring a professional photographer to take shots at your facility, you can make the most of your budget by doing some advance planning. Based on requests from the media, compile a list of shots that are most popular or are missing from your photo library. Certainly, new rides, attractions, or shows should be captured. And, advises Gustafson, don’t forget the scenic stuff: “Be creative in presenting your property in photos. Sure, we all like to see people having fun on rides and attractions in our photography, but scenic shots can also add some great value to newspaper and magazine editors.” (These shots will usually have a more editorial feel.)

All of these experts advise one way to get great photos without encountering all of these other issues is to use employees and their family members as models for photo shoots. As Fishbein reports, you can then fill a ride car to your desired specifications and can ensure participants observe ride safety rules.

IAAPA’s official position is riders should keep their hands and arms inside ride cars at all times. Through its photographs, Bianca says, Hersheypark attempts to model this ride safety behavior. “If you’re using employees and their families, you can control the situation a little more,” she says.

Now … Get Them Published!
How do you encourage editors to use images from your park or attraction? Having a complete and current photo library is key; make access to photos easy. Gustafson maintains a library of high-resolution images on Quassy’s web site (www.quassy. com/about-press-gallery.htm). Owens posts low-res images online (www.dollywood.com/ press-room), requiring journalists to log in to the Dollywood site to download the highresolution version.

Although it’s a good idea to post photo credit, attribution, and copyright information on your site and make sure it accompanies each image, don’t be too concerned about enforcement, experts say. Tim O’Brien, who oversees a content management system containing millions of images in his role as vice president of communications for Ripley Entertainment, says, “The concept of photography is for publicity. We want our company to be mentioned and are happy to have our photos published. We don’t really care whether we get credit.”

Being accessible and responsive, Gustafson agrees, helps you keep your property “on top of the media heap—the objective is to get your park’s name out there.”

Dollywood’s registration and login system does allow Owens to know who is downloading images and when, enabling him to track them in case of inappropriate use. Even so, he says, he is much less concerned about credit and usage for attraction images than for those of Dolly Parton herself. “She is an entertainment icon, so we have very strict guidelines about the use of those photographs,” he explains.

The more accessible your photos, however, the greater the possibility they will be misused. Gustafson, O’Brien, and Owens all report they spend a couple of hours per week searching the Internet to see how their attractions are represented by others. “I have never come across anything derogatory, but this is a necessary addition to my job,” Gustafson says.

Following these simple steps can help you get the most out of your photo shoot. But flexibility is key, too: As Bianca notes, “The coolest shot of the day is often the one you didn’t plan for.”

Jennifer J. Salopek is a freelance writer in McLean, Virginia. She can be reached at jjsalopek@cox.net.