News Photos
The right picture is worth a thousand words
News pictures show people. Even if it’s a story about a church restoration, a picture of the building alone won’t do. It needs people in the foreground.
Props and visual aids help. Having someone hold an item connected with the story can give a good focus. Release balloons, use outsize cheques if you must.
Appropriate dress helps. Choir wear robes, football teams their shirts and shorts, Brownies wear uniforms.
A good crowd helps. Crowds show popular concern about issues. A photo of an entire class sells newspapers as Granny wants the picture.
Expressions must be appropriate. Don’t smile for the camera if the story is about destruction caused by a fire. Don’t scowl if the news is good.
Direct people whom you are photographing. Only the photographer knows what will be in the picture.
Smarten up the subjects. Comb hair, button jackets, straighten collars, clear desks
Try lots of angles. Check the background. You don’t want a drainpipe growing out of someone’s head, or a poster which is irrelevant to the story. Move chairs, curtains, etc. for best effect.
Get in close to the subject. If the picture needs to be cropped later, quality will be reduced.
Try unusual angles. For example, using a step ladder to look down on a crowd may make photographing a large group of faces easier.
Take loads of pictures before choosing the best one. Press photographers used to use one film per story. With digital images, even more pictures can be taken. Even after you have a great picture, try to get a better one.
Keep talking to the people you are photographing, to maintain their interest in getting a really great shot of the event.
Get names of everyone, spelt correctly, and identified left to right. Get ages if relevant.
Check that parents are happy to have pictures of their children in the paper.
What the newspaper wants
Email the story to the paper
Include full contact details and information about who is sending the news release.
Send the picture as an attachment to the story.
Phone the newspaper with the news, and to make sure the email has been received. Talking to both the picture editor and the news editor helps.
Technicalities
Digital images are needed. 4 megapixels and fine quality should be a minimum. Don’t compress the image to reduce file size.
Don’t alter the image. Avoid manipulating the digital image if at all possible. The newspaper can do that far more expertly. The picture shouldn’t need to be cropped – this will reduce quality.
Wide angle lenses work best. News photographers use a wide angle lens in order to put the people concerned into their setting. This keeps everything in focus, whilst allowing close up views of people and small items. “Wide” means at least the equivalent of 28mm on a 35mm camera. Journalists often use 20 mm and wider lenses. Some compact cameras accept wide angle converters.
Using a fill in flash can help to draw attention to foreground items and people. Practice using different amounts of flash so that you can do this quickly. Choose the best result later.
Related Links
- Promote Your Church
- Designing a Leaflet
- Improving your News Photos
- Local Newspapers
- Mind your language
- Radio & Television Interviews
- Radio & Television Stations
- Spelling out words
- What is newsworthy?
- Writing a Press Release