SELECTING AND USING THE BEST PHOTOS

BY: Nick Ratzloff

Using the best photos

The photographer, design editor, and page section editor picks the best photos from the contact sheet.

Contact Sheet: Sheet of photos printed in a negative size. Good photojournalism is about people which means the

photos should include people. Ex: When you look for pictures you look for you and your

friends not random people. Next, those people should be doing something constructive. The best photograph is when people are not looking. Action should be unusual The more unusual the more attention you will get.

Working with the Layout

Make sure that the photo fits with the layout of the story. Design the article around the strongest photos. Horizontal photos wont fit in vertical spaces. Redesigning the page is always easier than retaking a photo. Photo editors always lobby, the better the photo fits with the

story the harder he needs to lobby.

Cropping a Photo

Cropping: Removing unnecessary elements from the photo. Two purposes: One: Removing unneeded elements from the photo (Draws

more attention to center) Two: (BAD) Forcing a photograph to fit into a layout. Ex: Vertical picture into a horizontal hole. Maintain rule of thirds = don’t crop too close to the persons

head or joints (ankles, knees, waist, wrist) Rectangle = best photo shape 3 by 5

Preparing photos for the printer Printing actual size of photo is time consuming so crop it. Good photographers will crop the picture right after the photo

is taken. Proportion wheels and cropping devices make the process

easier. Before printed must be in halftone. Halftone: Series of black-and-white (Color) dots so that it can

be printed solely in black ink and still pick up more than 200 shaded of gray in the average photo.

Halftone can be done on the computer or marked on a photo.

Always good to use a checklist!

THE END!!!!!