Ten Practical Principles For Photojournalists

TenPracticalPrinciplesforPhotojournalists
Photojournalismisaboutpeopledoingthings.
(ByRossCollins,professorofcommunication,NorthDakotaStateUniversity)
1.Getinclose.
Yourphotoswilloftenbepublishedonlowqualitynewsprintforajadedaudienceeasilydistracted.
Detailgetslost.Photosstrongenoughtobreakthroughthemediacompetitionfocusonasingle,
framefillingcenterofinterest.Generallynomorethantwoorthreepeople.Nomorethanafew
objects.Aclean,contrastingbackground.Sometimesphotojournalistscallthisthe"postereffect."
Thisiswhytelephotoorzoomlensesaretheworkhorsesofphotojournalism:manyphotojournalists
don'tevenuseanormalperspective(3550mm)lens.Ifyoucan'tgetinclose,cropruthlessly.
"Ifyourpicturesaren'tgoodenough,you'renotcloseenough."RobertCapa,oneofthecentury's
topwarphotographers(killedbylandminewhiletryingtogetinclose).
2.Findunusualangles.
Ifyou'resittingorstandinglikeeveryoneelse,you'reprobablygoingtotakebacksomeblah
photos.Kneel.Climbonachair.Crouch.Liedown.Shootdownastairway.Getoffyourbutt.Good
photojournalistsarealwaysmoving.
Corollarytothisrule:Ifforcedtotakephotosof,say,aspeakeratapodium(notanattractive
option,buttoooftennecessary),neversitinthechairswiththerestoftheaudience.Thinkyou'll
betoonoticeable?Everyonealreadyknowsyou'retakingpicturessowhat?Ifyou'retooshyto
movearoundinfrontofanaudience,becomeacopyeditor.
3.Getidentification.
Allsubjectseasilyidentifiablemustbenamed.Journalismisaboutpeople,notabstractart.Most
editorswillrejectphotoswithoutidents,unlesstheyareusedasgenericillustrations.Beginnersare
intimidatedbywalkinguptostrangers,butit'snotreallyveryhard.Simplysaysomevariationof,
"Hi,mynameisIrvingNern,withtheSpectrum.Ijusttookyourpicture,andIwonderifIcanhave
yourname?Canyouspellthat,please?"WritenamesinyourReporters'Notebook.Fewpeoplewill
turnyoudown:Americanslovetobeinpictures.
4.Burnpixels.
Movein,moveout,movehigh,movelow,andkeeponclicking.You'llhavemoretochoosefrom,
andyou'llmorelikelyhaveastrongimage.Unlikestudiophotographers,photojournalistshaveto
nabactionasit'sunfolding,soatleasttosomeextentareforcedtotrustonlucktobringback
goodpictures.Theoldfilmruleusedtobetoshootoneroll(24ex.)minimumatanyeventyou're
askedtocover,evenaspeakeratapodium.Youcaninterpretthisinthedigitalage.Halfafootball
gameshouldbagyou75photosatleast.Howareyougoingtohaveanychoiceatallifyoureturn
totheofficewithamerefourshots?Pixelsarefree!
Onecaution:Anythingworthdoingisnotnecessarilyanythingworthoverdoing.Don'tjustleave
yourcamerainburstmodethinkingyou'lleditthose1,580imageslater.It'sanightmare.Ireada
fewyearsagoaboutaguywhotookmorethan2,000imagesofathunderstorm.TWOTHOUSAND
pictures.Ittheolddays,thatwouldhavecostyouabout$550forthefilmalone.Oneuseful
constraintaboutthoseoldfilmdays:itdidencourageyoutothinkatleastatinybitbefore
snappingtheshutter.
5.Gobeyondthecliche.
Howmanyphotoshaveyouseenshowingpeopletalkingonaphone?Workingatacomputer?Ata
deskwithbooksinthebackground?Inamugshot?Shakinghands("gripn'grin")?Makingalayup
toabasketballhoop?Forgoodness'sake,promiseyourselfNEVERtotakeaphotolikethisagain!
Assignedamugshotofafacultymember?Askthepersontomeetatthelab,engageherinher
researchforaphoto.Supposedtoshootabasketballgame?Dumpthestandard"armpitshot,"look
forinterestingflooraction.Makeyourshotstandoutfromtheruck!
6.Avoidobviousposing.
Okay,sometimesyouhavetoaskpeopletostandsomeplaceordosomething,butthatstilldoesn't
meantheyhavetojustgrinintothecamera.Trytomakethesceneappearnatural,asifthe
subjectwereinvolvedinsomethingandthephotographerjusthappenedtocomeby.
Photojournalismaimstocoverpeopledoingthings,notpeopleposing.That'sforthestudio
photographers.
7.Addlight,butdon'tmakeitobvious.
Availablelightisideal,butusuallyitsqualityishardlythat.Especiallywhenyou'reshootingcolor,
youneedtocontrolthecolorbalanceofgarishgreenflorescent,ordifficultcombinationsofartificial
andnaturallight.Insomecases,lightcomesfromuglyangles(suchasnearlyeverystandard
classroomoroffice),orissoweakyoucan'tevengetclosetostoppingtheaction.
Thenormalapproachistocarryaportableelectronicflash,butNEVERtomerelyattachittothe
hotshoeandblastaway.Thatlooks'waytooartificial.Solution:bounce.Aimyourelectronicflash
straightup.Tapeapieceofwhitecardboardatananglesothelightbouncesupandoffthe
cardboard.Adjustforyouravailablelightexposure,perhapsunderexposingastop.Theaddedflash
willfillintheuglyshadows,butstillmaintainafeelingofnaturallight.
Thisisharderifyourlightisprimarilyflorescent,asyourbluishflashwillclashwiththegreenish
ambientlight,butyoushouldbeabletoadjustmostcolorcastproblemsfairlyeasilyinPhotoshop.
Whenallelsefails,atleasttakeyourflashoffyourcamera,holditafewinchesaway,andshoot
directly.
Asanaddednote,goodphotojournalistscarefullyanalyzethelightfallingontheirsubject,andfind
ananglewhichbestenhancesthescene.Forinstance,ifasubjectisbendingover,thefacemaybe
inshadow.Waituntilhestands.Ifasubjectisseatednexttoawindow,waituntilsheturnstoward
thisattractivelightsource.
8.Focusfaithfully,staysteady.
Youjustcannotuseablurryphotoinapublication:anyslightfuzzinesswillbeenhancedbypoor
qualitypaperandfastreproduction.Mostfuzzyphotoscanbeblamedoncameramovement.If
you'renaturallyjittery,gethelp:buyaminitripodandleanitonyourchest,orbuyamonopodand
leanitontheground.Inapinch,leanagainstatreeorwall.Ruleofthumb:anyshutterspeed
morethanonestoplowerthanthesizeofyourlenswillproduceafuzzypicture,unlessyouusea
mechanicalaid.ThismeansIfyou'reshootingatabout50mmorequivalent,youcan'thandhold
anythingslowerthan1/30second.Ifyou'reshootingwithazoomsetat200mm,1/125isthe
limit.Andthisreallyisthelimit:youmustmakelikearocktogetsharpimagesevenatthisspeed.
(Theolderyougettheharderthatgets,bytheway.Iusedtohandhold1/15second.Not
anymore....)Photoshop'sblurfiltercansharpenpixels,butcandoonlysomuch(orusuallynotso
much)withpicturesthatwereoriginallyblurry.
Imagestabilizationinsomemodernlensesmayhelpsteadyyourcameraforslowerexposures.But
don'tforgettopayattentiontoyourautofocus.Isitactuallyfocusingonthecenterofinterest?I
havefoundautofocustogivemethewrongsettingatleastaquarterofthetime,andithardly
worksatallinlowlight.
Conclusion:automaticcamerasarewonderfuldevices,butyouneedtobeawareofyoursettings,
shutterspeed,f/stopandfocus.
9.Dumppoorlyexposedphotos.
Gotagreatshot,buttheguy'sfaceisindeepshadow?Gotagreatexpressiononthatcutekid,but
atelephonepoleisgrowingoutofherhead?Whataboutthatnicelittleblurryphotoofthesorority
sisters'carwash?DONOTsubmitpoorlyexposedphotosforpublication,nomatterhowmuchyou
liketheimage.Ontheotherhand,BECAREFULtoexposecorrectly.Automaticcamerasareusually
smarterthanweare,butnotalways.Studyprinciplesofproperexposure.It'sstillhardtofixup
poorlyexposedimages,evenwithPhotoshopsoftware:youcan'tadddetailwhennothing'sthereto
beginwith.
10.Haveguts.
Walkupto10peopleonthestreet,snaptheirpicture,askfortheirname,writeitdown.Getafloor
passtoarockconcert(andwearearplugs!).Walkasclosetothesportsactionasyoudaregeta
presspassifyouneedone.Lookforinterestingexpressionsaftertheposedshotsaredone.Getout
thereandshoot!Photojournalistsaretoapersonnottobecountedamongthetimid.Sure,youcan
overdothisharassingpaparazzispringtomindbutacourteous,assertivedemeanorisnothingto
beashamedof.
Copyright2012byRossF.Collins<www.ndsu.edu/communication/collins>

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