photo op
A shortening of "photo(graph) opportunity," literally, an ideal chance to take photographs, especially of someone famous. The actors all got together for a photo op with fans at the convention. The CEO agreed to a rare photo op for the press.
photo op(portunity)
a time or event designed for taking pictures of a celebrity. All the photographers raced toward a photo op with the president.
photo op
A chance for a photograph, often for publicity purposes. The “op” here is short for “opportunity.” Deborah Eisenberg used it in her story, “Under the 82nd Airborne”: “‘Relax,’ Lewis said. ‘There’s no one here for them to fight with—this is a photo op.’” See also sound bite.