Picture Editing For newspapers
Picture shape and orientation Most pleasing shape is golden section (1.61803…) ie 5:3 or 3:5 Squares boring Landscape orientation connotes order, peace, organisation Portrait orientation connotes strength, power, movement
Picture content Each image should encompass object doing something cf active verb Avoid clichés (eg ‘line-up’ or ‘firing squad’, ‘grip and grin’, non-shot eg exterior of building with no people) Photographs should have energy (eg information < graphic appeal < emotion < intimacy)
‘Grip and grin’ cliché
Key moments (or not)
Avoiding the cliché - life
Showing relationships
Showing relationships
Digital manipulation In general, crop severely Crop to head and shoulders to avoid ‘firing squad’ Reasons for cropping (content, emotion, conflict, context, shape, size, new focus of interest)
Cropping
Cropping
Cropping
Which is the killer?
Which is the killer?
Why are photographs so powerful? Freeze the moment Symbolise era Mug shots symbolise the moment/character Black and white connotes ‘reality’ and captures mood better than colour Images can tell a story Images can see what human eye cannot
Symbolism - connotations
Symbolising an event
Symbolising an event
Power of close-ups
Power of close-up
Power of black and white 1
Power of black and white 2
Power of colour
Seeing what human eye cannot
Seeing what human eye cannot
Criteria for selection photos 1 Animation ie life Depth of meaning Decisive moment Action (eg meaning, movement, aesthetics, focus, key moment) Composition (angle, lines of force - these may be used to ‘point’ to headlines))
Life
Decisive moment
Decisive moment
Decisive moment
Decisive moment
Selecting decisive moment
Decisive moment
Lines of force
Power of low/high angle
Criteria for selection photos 2 Contrast Repetition Energy eg in diagonals Beauty People eg character revealed, positive/ negative rather than neutral, people in context
Repetition
Repetition and contrast
Repetition and contrast
Drama of the diagonal
People in context
Combining photos Narrative sequence Contrasting images Two pictures can collide or coalesce to give ‘third’ meaning
Combining pictures
Ethics Is it ethical to digitally manipulate photo? OK to remove flaw Not OK to fake photo What content is unacceptable to readership? eg distressing photo, nudity, invasion of privacy
Ethics - to show or not to show?
Citizen Photographers
Text and pictures Headlines and captions can anchor a picture’s meaning ie reduce its polysemy Try to be interesting - give more than is in the picture Dull picture can be made interesting by intelligent cropping and bright caption Can you express the emotion in the image or be creative?
Anchorage through headline THE PICKET LINE VICTIM
Anchorage through headline
Caption types label eg in single column picture of person (give name and something extra - eg Joe Bloggs, lottery winner) explain significance of picture and bring it to life (eg Jane Bloggs shows she is a match for the men) explain the story in the picture (who, what, where, why, when)
Other visuals Visuals can simplify complex material eg charts logos drawings cartoons maps diagrams
Charts Line graphs show trends Bar charts allow comparisons Pie charts show proportions of a whole Pictographs may include relevant icons
Logos Logos can be used to identify the newspaper to identify section as button to link to section
Cartoons, drawings, maps, diagrams Cartoons draw eye in to page Drawings reduce possibility of offence or defamation Maps useful if readership not familiar with location Diagrams useful to show plans e.g. town redevelopment