Portrait Photographer Press Release Example, 6 Easy Wins

Most of these case studies come from emails my readers send me. With their permission, I share them with the names changed. I do this so that others can learn from what worked and what didn't. Have a story of your own? Share it with me.

0 to 3releases printed
0 to 11inquiries from press
6sessions booked from press

“Is this an ad?”

That was the editor’s whole reply to Wendell’s first press release.

Wendell photographs portraits in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with no staff and no publicist.

Wendell sent four releases in six months, and none of them were printed.

Then he changed what he told the editor, and three stories ran in a row.

The problem

Wendell wrote his releases the way he thought they should sound. Big words, big claims and a call to book now.

His headlines read “Award-Winning Studio Announces Amazing Summer Specials.” Nothing in them was news.

He kept a log, so he knew exactly how it went.

What he tracked	Result
Releases sent	4
Printed or posted	0
Replies from editors	1
Inquiries from press	0

Headlines that sounded like ads

“Amazing” and “award-winning” are words editors cross out. They tell readers to buy, and a news page isn’t a shop window.

The one reply he got came from the paper’s editor, and it was three words long.

Wendell read it twice. He had spent three hours on that release, and the reply took the editor three seconds.

He was ready to quit sending them. He told a friend that press was for big companies with a publicist.

No person in the story

Every release was about the studio. None had a name, a face or a quote that sounded like a human being.

Editors print stories about people. A studio with big claims is just a sign on a wall.

He also noticed something about his own writing. Every sentence started with the studio name, as if the studio were the hero.

Sent to nobody in particular

Wendell sent each release to a general info address. No editor’s name and no short hello.

It landed in a box where many such emails go to wait.

The solution

Wendell asked a friend at the local radio station what makes a story. Her answer was short. A person, a place and a reason to care.

He looked at his year and found one.

Every November, he photographed local veterans for free as a thank-you, with a small print to take home.

Nobody outside his studio knew. It was the best story he had, and it wasn’t in a single release.

He wrote one release about it, in five short parts, with a real quote and a clear photo.

He wrote the quote last and read it aloud.

The first draft sounded like a brochure, so he rewrote it until it sounded like him talking to a neighbor.

Local Photographer Offers Free Portraits for Veterans on Nov. 8
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Oct. 14, 2026 – Wendell Brooks will photograph local veterans for free at his Fourth Street studio on Nov. 8.
“They gave us years of their lives,” Brooks said. “A portrait and a small print is the least I can do.”

He called the paper first, asked who handled community news and wrote to her by name.

He also kept the email short. One hello line, one photo and the release pasted below, nothing else.

The process that worked

The change took four months. Wendell sent the same story to three places, each with a slightly different shape.

The weekly paper

He pasted the release into the email body and added one photo with a caption. The subject line said what the story was.

The paper printed it on the community page, two weeks before the event. A week later, the editor asked for a short feature with photos.

The radio station

His friend at the station passed the release to the morning host. Wendell was invited for a five-minute chat.

He talked about the veterans, not his prices. The host asked about his own first photo, and the two laughed for a minute.

After the show, three listeners called the studio to ask if the offer was real. It was, and he was glad he’d said the date twice.

He sent a 100-word version to the local chamber of commerce. It ran in the next monthly newsletter.

Two business owners wrote to ask about portraits for their teams. That was the first booking from a release he’d ever had.

He kept notes on every send in a simple log. Date, outlet, editor’s name, what he sent and what happened.

The log showed him which editors liked photos and which wanted words. He used it for the next release.

After four months, he counted again.

Measure	Before	After 4 months
Releases printed	0 of 4	3 of 3
Inquiries from press	0	11
Sessions booked from press	0	6
Time per release	3 hours	1 hour

What we learned from here

What happened to Wendell’s releases shows that editors print stories, not sales pitches.

Why Wendell’s portrait photographer press release worked

Wendell stopped announcing his studio and started sharing something kind. The veterans’ day gave editors a person, a place and a date.

He also wrote to a named editor. A short, friendly hello made it easy for her to say yes.

The story didn’t mention prices, and it still brought customers. People who read it remembered his name, so they searched for him later.

He also thanked everyone. A short note after each story ran made editors remember him as the easy one.

Finally, he kept it simple. Five short parts and one good photo were all the paper needed.

The veterans’ day itself went well. Twenty-three veterans came, and several brought their grandchildren for a second photo.

The table below shows what got printed and what got passed over.

Got printed	Got passed over
A story about a person and a date	Award-winning studio announces specials
A quote that sounded like him	Words like amazing and best
An email to a named editor	A general info address
One clear photo with a caption	A big folder of unlabeled files
A thank-you after printing	Silence and no follow-up

If you run a small business, look for the kindest thing you already do. That’s usually the story.

Get written permission before you share anyone’s photo.

The Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics is a handy guide to careful, honest writing.

Many small owners find their first printed story in their own press releases, once they write about a person instead of a product.