Best practices and guidelines for shooting photos.
Capture action!
Show people doing what they do. Get action shots to validate the narrative.
Examples:
- A story about a chef is unacceptable without shots of them cooking, along with shots of their finished cooked dishes.
- A story about a football team is unacceptable without shots of them either playing an actual game or practicing.
Shot types & angles
Make sure to alternate shots- wide, medium and close.
- Wide shots: Capture the interview subjects from head to toe.
- Medium shots: Capture subjects from head to waistline.
- Close shots: Capture subjects from head to shoulder.
Don’t forget to compose images from different angles.
- Worm’s eye view: on the ground, looking up
- Low angle: pointing your camera up towards the subject
- Eye-level: what’s in front of you
- High angle: pointing your camera down towards the subject
- Bird’s eye view: from an aerial perspective
Composition
Frame portraits using the rule of thirds. An explanation of this rule can be found here.
Be sure to compose images horizontally and vertically, as some visual subjects work better depending on the orientation.
Image editing
You may add minor toning and contrast adjustments.
Cropping is permitted, as long as the crop does not remove content with journalistic value.
Level photographs that have slightly slanted horizons.
Do not rotate or flip an image upside down.
Avoid manipulating photographs through the use of image filters and third-party presets.
Set-ups / Staging of Pictures
The best news photography occurs when the presence of the camera is not noticeable. The presence of the media can often influence how subjects behave.
Do not stage or re-enact news events. They may not direct the subjects of their images or add, remove or move objects on a news assignment.
Photo captions / Cutlines
First Sentence: the first clause should describe who is in the photograph and what is going on within the photo in the present tense followed by
where the image was made.
Second Sentence: The second sentence of the caption is used to give context to the news event or describes why the photo is significant.
PN Cutline Formula: Identify who + What is going on + Where it took place + (When, if appropriate)
PN Photo Credit Formula: (First + Last Name + /PN)
PN Full Cutline and Credit: Cutline + (Credit)
Example:
- John Smith (left) speaks to the audience during the Iowa State Fair on Sunday. (Saleem Ahmed/PN)
Ethics
Captions should not make assumptions about what a person is thinking or what might have happened. Explain only what you’ve witnessed.