Photo Journalism Taking excellent pictures for newspapers and magazines

What makes a good picture? Action Reaction Emotion Composition

Tips for Portraits Source: Catherine Karnow, National Geographic Portrait: A photograph of a person. In journalism, we take un-posed photographs most of the time. However, if you want to pose someone, it must be very obvious to the reader. The rule in journalism is not to deceive the reader. Take the time to develop relationships with people and the land. Focus on common experiences—love, family, friends, death, celebration—and appreciate the cultural differences. Keep your camera discreet, always ask permission, and photograph people un-posed, ideally involved in a typical setting.

More tips for portraits Use a plain background, either black or white. OR, photograph the subject in an environment important to the story Help the subject feel comfortable by talking and asking questions. A subject does not need to smile. Ask him to make funny faces, turn her head or sit in an unusual way. Finally, feel free to ask an athlete to play with a ball, a dancer to strike a pose, or a teacher to work at his or her desk.

Landscape "To take a good landscape you have to go about it as if you were taking a portrait," says Macduff Everton, who views sweeping vistas as individual faces, and composes his images with a focus on detail. Everton's steps to building balanced, graphically strong images include: Mastering light: Light is the most important and tricky element. It can make a photo mysterious—or just plain boring. Choosing a good vantage point: With portraits you can often tell how tall the photographer is. It's the same with landscapes. So move around a bit; switch elevations, kneel on the ground, or walk around. Paying attention to everything in the frame: What's in the corner is as important as what's in the center; it's often the difference between an interesting photo and an interesting subject. Be careful not to slip power lines or half a person into the images because you're not paying attention.

Landscape

Composition Fill the frame Rule of Thirds Leading Lines Repetition or Patterns

Fill the Frame Remember that you don’t need to include all of a person’s body. Crop the picture to make it more visually interesting.

Fill the Frame Get close to your subject Edit out dead space Take advantage of foreground or background details

Action We’re always looking for a way to show action. Stagnant photos are boring You need a steady hand and fast shutter speed to take action photos. Change your setting to “sports” on your camera

Action

Reaction What happens after the action?

Emotion Frame is filled Cropped tight on the face Not centered

Rule of Thirds The main image should be at the intersection of two points on a frame of thirds.

Rule of Thirds, cont.

Leading Lines

Leading Lines, cont.

Repetition or Patters

Repetition

Repetition or Patterns, cont.

What’s missing?

What does this tell us?

Interesting angles

Fill the Frame The content should be immediately visible and strategically placed. Beginning photogs often stand too far away. Don’t be scared to get in there! Fill the frame with meaning.

Emotion

The background as the focus

Interesting views

What is this?

How do you feel about this?

You already know this The light should always be BEHIND you Get as close as possible--the fewer people in your pictures the better. Get the spelling of everyone’s name in the picture. Make sure your camera is focused before you start taking pictures Get down to your subject’s level Use a plain background Use your flash outdoors Dusk and dawn offer great light