1. Editing Photos for Publication
http://www.ted.com/talks/becci_manson_re_to
uching_lives_through_photos.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/erik_johansson_impo
ssible_photography.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/taryn_simon_photog
raphs_secret_sites.html

2. Photoshop
ETHICS PROHIBIT US FROM USING
PHOTOSHOP IN MOST CASES

3. SLIPPERY SLOPE
National Geographic
magazine once moved the
Great Pyramids for a cover.
In this National Geographic
magazine cover story on
Egypt by Gorden Gahen, the
Great Pyramid of Giza was
digitally moved to fit the
magazine’s vertical format.

4. SLIPPERY SLOPE
Time
magazine
manipulated
O.J. Simpson’s
police
mugshot in
such a way
that it made
him look
darker and
more sinister.

5. Let’s remember your job, as a PJ:
1. Document life, capture intimate, storytelling
moments in a subject’s life.
2. Your readers must believe that what they see is
what actually happened. This is based on trust
that you haven’t altered the image in any
substantive way, shape or form. This gives you
power to inform, persuade, and even change
society
3. You do not recreate situations, unless it’s for an
environmental portrait or illustration. You do not
direct, alter, or “touch” existing situations.

6. Before
After
Tone Saturation Color
However, tone, saturation and selective color are tools you
need to know how to use.

7. Before
After
Contrast Brightness Sharpness
Corrections also allow you to change the contrast,
brightness, and sharpness of your images.

8. Focus on the Star of Your Photo
Background Removal allows you to quickly and easily
remove backgrounds to isolate items in your image.

9. Then, by layering multiple objects on a different
background, you can create dynamic layouts

10. Photojournalism
Photoshop offers convenience, speed and reliability to photos.
But Photoshop can destroy the integrity or “believability” of a
photo.
You should err on the side of conservatism.
Don’t change the color of the sky or erase an unsightly beer can.
Don’t remove an offensive sign or gesture.
Once you start, it becomes easier to rationalize a change here,
an addition or subtraction there.
But once you’ve slipped into unethical territory, the trust is
broken and the photojournalism dies a little.
That being said, Photoshop increases the quality of
reproduction and saves time.
The only way to master Photoshop is to practice.

11. Photoshop 101
First, crop the photo so you don’t waste time or effort correcting areas
of the photo that you will crop out later - I use the rectangular marquee
tool and hold down the space bar to fine-tune the crop.
Next, go to Image then Adjustments and check the brightness and/or
contrast.
Check the levels, curves and exposure, color balance. (There are
different schools of thought on which method is best. I like Curves and
Selective Color. More on that in a second.)
Check the histogram and info – make sure the white is white, black is
black, red is red
Check the Image size – must be 300 DPI in the resolution box in order to
print/72 for web
- DPI = dots per inch

12. With Curves, you can use Curves
the Black Eye Dropper to
set the black point.
You do this to make sure
you have the blackest
black you can get.
This black will have no
detail, so don’t use it
when you want a black
with detail.
When you click on the
black eye dropper, the
frame around it turns
black.
Then, click on an area in
the photo. The area will
change to black..
Do this for the white
areas as well where you
want the whitest white.

13. Other tools: Lasso parts of
the picture to select edit
Feather
Dodge and burn
Rubber stamp

14. By including too much in the picture, you risk distracting the reader from
the main subject.
By framing too tightly, you could leave out important elements.
That’s why you have zoom lenses.
MORE ON CROPPING
CUTTING THE FAT
AKA
Crop the excess –There should be a reason for leaving in each area of the
picture. No corner should remain “just because.”
The rule is: Save the meat of the photo by cutting the fat.
That being said, cropping can improve a picture by eliminating irritating
details but mindless cropping can ruin the intent of the picture.
- Sometimes a blank area in the picture balances the action area.
Leaving a little room on the print in front of a runner helps create
the illusion that the athlete is moving across the picture.
- Some blank space in front of a profile portrait keeps the subject from
looking as if he or she is peering off the edge of the print.

15. THE PRICE OF CROPPING
Enlarging only a very small portion of the original photo or
blowing up a part of the final image MAGNIFIES any defect in the
original picture.
Cropping, therefore, involves a tradeoff between poor quality but
better composition. (Taking a one-inch square segment of an
8”x10” photo and printing it on a half-page spread might produce
a perfectly composed picture that is too fuzzy for the viewer to
appreciate.)
Generally, a good photojournalist will opt for a dramatic image at
the expense of some sharpness and grain. It’s better to catch the
reader’s attention with an exciting photo than to lose the reader
with a technically sharp but dull image.

17. SIZING UP FOR IMPACT
Cropping the human body
- don’t drop off parts of the body but, if you must, the crop should
not fall on a joint like an elbow or knee.
- If you crop off the head from the body, you should leave some
of the neck and shoulder so the head will have a platform to sit
on.
- If you crop into the face of a person, don’t leave half an eye or
just part of a mouth.

18. SIZING UP FOR IMPACT
As the size of the photo grows, so does the number of readers
Unless the subject is sexy, then it doesn’t matter: think girls in
bikinis. Picture size is not the only determinant for reader
attention.
When Size is Needed:
- Drama – a one column headshot is so small that it
communicates almost nothing vs. with a four column head
shot, you can see the whiskers on a man’s face or the color in
a woman’s eyes.
- Detail – a long shot such as an aerial from a plan loses bits of
detail if it’s compressed into one column. A large, oversized
photo becomes fresh and exciting when magnified.

19. ACHIEVING CONTRAST WITH SIZE
In a layout, one photo usually dominates the spread.
Dominance is achieved through size.
The dominant picture seems large especially when it is played
alongside considerably smaller images.
If dominant and subordinate images are too close in size, they
compete for the reader’s attention.
Printing some pictures small
and the others big heightens
the contrast between them,
adding to the interest of the
page.
It’s similar to how
journalists decide
what to put in the lead
of a story.

20. PAIRING PICTURES
Sometimes one picture can summarize an event.
Oftentimes, however, you need several photos. Pairing photos
causes readers to look at the photos separately and then mentally
combine them.
Picture sequences are sometimes necessary to tell the whole
story – beginning, middle and end of a person running, tripping
and falling.
Packaging pictures – a story on commuting by train. Don’t just get
a single picture of commuters. Package pictures of the conductor
inspecting the train, of passengers partying or relaxing on the
train while others run to catch the next one. Give a complex
vignette of the commuters’ lifestyle.

21. Some photos, when played together, deliver a strong editorial message
better than either could alone.
PICTURE PAIRS

22. Different words can have different meanings but, with pictures, different
pictures can carry similar messages. This allows the reader to see the
common elements in the different images.
Visual homonyms – some words like “to” “two” “too” sound the same
but carry comcpletely different meanings.
Likewise, photos can look similar but carry dissimilar info: a photo of the
Egyptian pyramids and a pile of oranges. Both are triangle shaped.
Some pairs can be entertaining, but because the pictures share no
editorial relationship, the reader could be confused.
So, be careful when pairing unrelated photos.
UNRELATED PICTURE PAIRING