Major formsSingle picture, picture groups, picture sequences, picture series and photo essays or picture stories- give photographers an opportunity to explore in depth the “why” in a story as well as the “what” and “where”
The single picture
Make sure that you have one image that sums things up – that tells what happened in one picture
The basic unit of U.S. newspapers is STILL the single storytelling photograph with accompanying captions.
How to get it: PJ’s are always scan scenes, particularly news scenes,
with a keen and inquiring eye. Look at what first appears to be the most important
aspect of the scene. Then look elsewhere to make sure it is what it appears to be.
The picture group
Picture groups – two or more pictures about the same subject published together – can communicate more information than individual pictures can.
Require less space than a photo essays and picture stories
The distant view anchors the group and puts it in geographic perspective, a medium view sums up details and a close view shows important aspects lots in distant images.
Sometimes, picture groups convey information to readers more effectively than if the pictures were published separately.
Picture sequences
A series of pictures about the same subject taken from the same position within a few seconds of each other.
Taken in about one second
You can take multiple pictures per second
Picture series
Series are taken sequentially over a longer period of time than picture sequences and without regard to the photographer’s position.
Tell the broader story than a picture sequence but more restricted story than a picture group.
Photo essays and picture stories
More in-depth typically than other forms More than 10 pictures Usually taken over a longer period of time:
weeks, months, years Depict concepts of themes: truth, poverty,
pollution Include the photographer’s personal view as an
integral past of the essay You must develop a keen sense of what is going
on, its importance, and the ability to relate each image to the others accompanying it.
Picture stories
At least 4 photos, used together with text blocks or longer word stories* One advantage is that you can write the text for the picture story
Tell about a single subject or some aspect of it –usually done in relatively short period of time: days or hours
Can appear in the newspaper and in special sections
All the photos must relate to each other
Ideas come from: Personal knowledge Minor and major stories in newspapers and magazines Press releases TV, online and radio Friends, relatives and acquaintances
How to prepare for picture stories:
Be familiar with the subject before you leave the house
Set aside a day or half a day to shoot: complete coverage demands time to do things right
If the subject is inherently visually exciting, you may only need a short text block of captions
If not, a longer story to accompany the pictures if best
Arriving to your scene:
Your job is to remove the mask by making the subject feel comfortable.
A laid-back attitude of “you’re important and I am here to listen to you, find out about you and what you do” can help.
A rushed photograph stands little chance of making a subject feel comfortable and getting through to who they really are
So, genuine interest in people is essential
At the scene:
When you first arrive, the walk-around is essential, so forget about taking pictures for now.
Let people talk about themselves and show you – you can use your recorder now if you ask permission.
Walk-around allows the subject to become familiar with you.
Get your “color” here: what the subject and place look like, smell, act.. Find specific picture situations here.
After the walk-around
Suggest a break. Don’t ask for anything other than water.
Talk in-depth with the subject during the break. Always be alert for little tidbits that will allow you to tell a story that readers can become involved in.
Readers need to see what you saw, feel what you felt, learn what you learned.
You’re almost ready to take pictures!
Shoot!
Shoot horizontals and verticals of the same scene
Record at least one establishing image
Include long, medium, close up images
Record small details with close ups
Cropping should be done BEFORE you shoot
Do not spend so much time on one situation that you cannot cover others adequately.
Allow time for caption gathering – complete and in-depth caption information is a must!
Don’t be afraid to interrupt your shooting if the subject says something that would make a good quote.
How to digest after shooting picture stories:
Choosing a lede: every picture story needs an “eye burner” or anchor that brings the reader into the page.
Three different photo story types: news, sports and feature News – lede photo is informational and includes strong
dramatic or emotional aspects Sports – image of a turning point or includes powerful
emotions Feature – more creative lede photo but usually person is
not recognizable – very few faces are so interesting to tell a subject’s whole story - so the selection of the lede is critically important Go for the most storytelling photo available, which ideally
contains an emotion-provoking element Portraits work best in picture stories as complementary
photos
Selection process
Complementary photos are 3-5 images that are not the lede but help tell the story.
Picture stories must have a beginning, a middle and an end, varied depths and content.
The geographical placement of photos on the page can add to the readers’ perception of “beginning and end”
The lede most often serves as the middle photo
Selection process
The beginning photo is informational and straightforward. The purpose is to add information not included in the eye burner lede photo.
The middle photos make up the meat of the story and can contain any type of image known in PJ. The only rule is that they must add dimension to the story.
The ender should make the reader feel a sense of completion or the end of a cycle or event. Try to stay away from the obvious – sunsets, stop signs, etc. – Go for thought provoking
Selection process
The more detail an image has – the more size it needs to visually communicate its information
You will have likely end up with a bunch of photographs that don’t have any more news value than the other.
So, try to consider the images from the reader’s POV and try to give them something that they have not seen before
Designing
The reader should be able to follow the story without interference from the design – it’s impossible to get more than 6 photos attractively on a page Never have two pictures on the same page that “say” the same
thing
Typically: one main image, played large and toward the middle of the page, with other pictures played smaller. A detail shot – tight close up of an object or a body part, such
as face or hands, is required
Captions appear beneath each picture or in one or more groups near the related images.
White space, which is an area of the page without design elements, is a design element itself.
See
http://www.storiestoldbythecamera.com/?p=2593
http://www.patrickfallonphoto.com/2011/02/06/picture-story-design-layout-exercise/
http://blogs.ngm.com/blog_central/photography/
http://photobyeve.blogspot.com/2011/02/picture-story-3-editing-practice.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5114929/ns/multimedia-news_photos/
Photo essays
Eugene W. Smith published a photo book about mercury pollution in a Japanese fishing village (1975) http
://www.magnumphotos.com/Catalogue/W-Eugene--Smith/1971/JAPAN-Minamata-Mercury-poisoning-1971-1975-NN144972.html
Donna Ferratos’ 1991 book about domestic violence against women
http://emuseum.icp.org/view/objects/aslist/People$0040934;jsessionid=C27D2CED3866859F3F96D104817775B4?t:state:flow=4c6cf058-2117-4f91-8470-a22e683890fb