An insight into the types of editorial pictures you see everyday
1. An insight into the types of editorial pictures you see
everyday
There are some very obvious reasons for using pictures in your sites or articles. On a basic
level, they add variation to an otherwise monochrome page and break up the copy into more
digestible chunks. After all, who wants to read a huge chunk of words of block copy? But, of
course, photos are far more important than that. We are visual animals. Nearly every memory
we have is held as a photo in our minds and pictures have been our primary process of
communication for millennia. By comparison, the written word has been a mere blip.
A picture can be so much more than words. The colors can effect our thoughts, the content can
make us chuckle or gasp, the context can encourage us to trust or disbelieve. Words and
pictures use different mental processes – letters must be mentally constructed into words which
then have to be interpreted before they can be understood, whereas pictures are hot-wired
straight into our understanding.
In fact the best pictures seem to defy words altogether. Our response to them is direct – almost
visceral – rather than intellectual. Little wonder then, that photos are used everywhere to
instantly portray those emotions and feelings that a thousand words could not easily describe.
How many words would you need to reproduce the image of the soldiers raising the flag at Iwo
Jima, Spencer Rowell’s classic image of a bare chested man cradling a vulnerable newborn in
his arms, or that anonymous man, with his shopping bags in hand, standing in the way of the
Chinese tanks just outside Tiananmen Square? And how poor would that description be,
compared to just showing the image?
Pictures that are made for publication often fall into three categories. The first, and most
obvious is that of identyifier. They are there basically to prove that something, or someone really
exists. In newspapers they appear as small headshots, or product pictures. They usually get
hardy any attention from either the supplier or the recipient and have often been shot to a set
formula – blue or green backdrop – and showing a grin something between a conspiritorial smile
and look of terror. This is because PR managers often just want to issue a single image
designed – they imagine – to be used in all eventualities. If you just issue out one image, then it
can’t be too happy, or sad, or indeed anything, just in case. This seems to me to be a complete
waste. If you have hired a photographer, he will have a wide choice of images for you to select
from. Why not choose a few and send them all out? Picture editors appreciate a choice and
aren’t likely to use them inappropriately. The same argument applies to product shots. There
may well be a best angle, but give a selection so that they can change the images around
occasionally or crop them to different shapes.
Shooting these headshots against a plain backdrop also misses an opportunity. Whilst picture
editors will shy away from headshots with obvious logos in the background, or a letter sticking
out of your head, there is no reason why you can’t be photographed in an appropriate place. If
you make widgets, why not be photographed in the factory?, However, general office shots
aren’t successful because one office looks very like another – it does nothing to explain what
your business does or who you are. Standing in an office infront of a logo or banner is
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2. unconvincing. Good pictures can actually effect where the article will appear. Remember an
ordinary piece with good images will usually get a better show than an ordinary article with
ordinary photos.
The second kind of picture is the eyecatcher or dramatic moment. Present in every newspaper
and magazine, these photos enable you, the reader, to witness a precise event. It is a split
second in time which, ironically, if you had been there you might well have missed. As if to
emphasize this, the subjects are usually in off the ground or in mid motion and there is often eye
contact with the the viewer which only enhances the feeling of connectedness and immediacy.
These pictures are designed to suck you in and engage you. In other words, these eye catching
pictures are used by publications to pull you in, past the headlines and the stand-first, to the
content.
In terms of company images, the eyecatchers will always have currency. Movement is always
going to attract attention, but unusual context will also catch the eye. Whether it is a bike in mid
air or a suited gent in high heels on a station platform, you can’t help but notice it. The
abnormal in every day life contains an air of uncertainty that we can’t resist. However,
remember that the image should reflect your corporate values and that what might seem funny
to an inside professional, might mean nothing to your potential clients. Always think about how
the picture is constructed: follow natural perspective by putting the subject at the centre of the
image, surrounded by the supporting elements. Remember that eye contact is attractive and
make the picture engaging by either having the subject coming towards the viewer, or shoot
over a shoulder, to pull the viewer into the image.
The third kind of photo which we are all so used to seeing is the feature picture. The feature
picture is different from the portrait because it aims to place the article or subject in a certain
surrounding or context and it is different from the eyecatcher because there is no doubt that the
photographer (and possibly the subject) have worked to manufacture the context. These images
don’t pretend to be a moment in time, they want to tell their story all by themselves.
In that sense they are reminiscent of some of the portraits by the great masters. When a man
was painted for posterity, he wanted to leave the viewer with a a certain image imprinted in your
mind. It wasn’t a quick snap – it would take sometimes years to complete and hang in pride of
place in his manor house. It wasn’t just an image, it was confirmation of his status. Each
element had been thought out and gave a clear message to the initiated. The content will
depend upon who has the final decision. If the subject is important enough to set the conditions,
it will usually reveal what they think of themselves and their achievements. If the commissioning
editor has influence, then it will tend to fit the story which is written around it.
However the feature picture doesn’t have to have an ego at the center. The essential element
of a feature picture is that it has been imagined beforehand. The photographer has changed the
context or parameters so that he can better tell the story. He has taken the pieces he thinks are
important and arranged them so that the viewer will be led through the image in a specific order
so that the story is revealed in a specific order. In making these decisions, he has also thought
about format, style, lighting and color saturation as well as content. Consequently, feature
images tend to be more artistic in nature and stand up to scrutiny better. Because so much
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3. thought has been put into them, good feature images can be studied just like old masterpieces.
Jim McGrath has worked in the photographic industry forover two decades. He has a particular
interest in digital photography and good cameras. Learn more about the best digital SLRs at his
camerawize website.
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2. Help On Ways to Get Great Looking Photos
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