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How To Create Biographical Archives for
Childhood Photo Media Requests to Your Mom, Siblings, and Best Friends
by Randi Reed
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Who should have your
biographical photo collection, and how should you approach them?
Create different collections for: your mom (or parent/guardian you’re
closest to), most trusted best friend, childhood best friend or
friend from the neighborhood, and performing arts teachers or a
teacher or other community role model that helped you. (We don’t include
spouses/significant others on this list because they’re likely to have the
same photos you do, and because best policy is usually to keep significant
others and the media far apart.)
After combing through your own photos, check with each of them to see if
they have photos in their photo albums (or on their computers) that would
work. Before you have copies made, scan each one for the electronic
archives. Then take them to be professionally printed, at your cost. (Even
the most well-meaning people sometimes never get around to it, so handle it
yourself, in a timely manner.)
What to do if anyone on the suggested photo collection list is likely to
bring you bad publicity or talk too much about things you’d rather not have
public:
verbally inform your manager (and publicist) of this, tell him/her the
current state of the relationship, state your wishes, and ask their advice.
Experienced reps and publicists know how to discreetly work around it, and
they’ve seen and heard pretty much everything.
How to approach people you haven’t seen in a while:
If you haven’t seen someone for a while, it can be awkward to suddenly show
up giving them photos. If you feel they’ll be supportive of your dreams:
Be up front: “Things are going really well for the band, and I was wondering
if it would be OK to give you some scrapbook photos on the off-chance
someone from the media contacts you.” If you have a manager (or publicist)
and need a little extra persuasion, after saying the above, add, “Our
manager really wants us to be ready for anything.”
If you don’t feel they’d be supportive of your dreams:
Try something like, “I was going through some photos and found some really
great ones from when we were kids. I was making copies for our photo archive
and thought you might want them too…”
Invite them for coffee or lunch to bring them the photos, and then ease into
the subject in person. Make it more about them than your career, but get
across that these are some of your all-time favorite photos of the two of
you and that “if we’re lucky enough to get media coverage, these are great!”
Add “Knowing you has been really important to me, you were a really
important part of my life so this would really help.”
If you have a manager (or publicist) and need a little extra persuasion,
after saying the above, add, “Our manager wants us to be ready for anything,
and it’s really important.”
If they’re still not receptive or supportive, give them the collection as a
gesture of good will, saying how much the photos and the past relationship
mean to you, and make your exit.
Inform your manager (and publicist, if you’re working with one) of any
resistance and the current status of the relationship so they can steer
media requests toward someone.
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