Business name: PR4Photos
Office location: Threemilestone, Truro
Business founded: 2009
Number of employees: 1
Business Cornwall: How is the business best described?
Paul Richards: I’ve always presented PR4Photos as a company that specialises in capturing the moment and telling visual stories for Cornish business, charities and local government organisations. My background in press photography means that I have an ability to read and understand briefs quickly and take telling shots that will turn heads on the newsstand or stand out on social media.
The addition of professional, licensed dronework means I can now offer a complete service to suit every occasion, including promotional work for business, immortalising precious personal moments and telling major local and regional events to print and digital audiences.
Business Cornwall: Why was the business founded?
PR: They say a picture tells a thousand words and 10 years’ experience as a press photographer has really helped me to bridge the gap between the commercial sector and the media, advising on how best to portray each story and event to gain maximum exposure and create the response required for each brief. This media experience and professionalism is what makes PR4Photos stand out from the crowd, and it was really my desire to support clients to achieve the best outcomes for themselves that led to the founding of the business.
Business Cornwall: How does the business compare to competitors in the industry?
PR: While there are quite a few commercial photographers in Cornwall, there are very few PR photographers – I can count them on one hand. As already stated, a background in press photography is a massive help when it comes to getting the right shots for any occasion, as I know what editors are looking for (especially for those precious front covers) and I have the necessary skills (and patience) to understand what the client is looking for and getting the images quickly and without fuss for both internal business comms use and external media channels.
Business Cornwall: What are the business’s plans both short-term and long-term?
PR: Covid has had a devasting effect on Cornwall, especially the creative industry, and many photographers are still unable to undertake photography because of Covid risks. One of the benefits of having a drone licence means that I have been able to adapt my work to include more socially distanced coverage. There aren’t many outfits that combine both land and drone-based imagery in this way, so I am hoping to build a recovery from the dark days of Covid using both of these outlets for the short term and in the longer term, continue to help Cornish businesses recover from Covid by telling their new stories and capturing their important moments for sharing with local and wider audiences.
Business Cornwall: How does the business define success?
PR: Success for me has always been about getting it right for the customer. Sometimes, customers have a very definite idea of what it is that they want and that can work for many different avenues. My job is to advise them on how their idea will work visually throughout the many different media channels that they might want to target. Giving professional advice like this means the responsibility is on my shoulders to get it right, but that’s what I’m here for and that’s what over 20 years of commercial photographic experience allows me to do. As a result, when the customer sees it working for them, that’s what gives me personal satisfaction and that’s what I call business success.
