SELECTION OF NEWS PICTURES

Disclaimer: These articles are written by students as a part of their assignment exercise during the period of COVID-19. Views expressed are their personal. Blog owner does not take any responsibility for their authenticity, correctness or appropriateness and shall not be responsible for any matter arising out of their interpretation.

Most print media use a combination of words and pictures to tell the news, but some only use words. If you have ever seen a newspaper with no pictures, you will know that it does not look attractive; it does not make you want to read it. It looks as though it will be hard work, and readers are therefore put off. It is also limited in its ability to tell the news accurately. When we talk about "pictures", we are usually talking about photographs, but there are other kinds of pictures, too. Good drawings, paintings and other graphic work also work well as news pictures.

Why do we need news pictures?

There are three main reasons why newspapers need news pictures.

1. To brighten the page

A page without a picture is just a slab of grey text. It looks boring and many people will not bother to read what is written on it.
That is a pity if some of those stories are well researched and well written, but it is true. The readers who pay money for a newspaper expect their job to be made easy for them. They expect the news to have been sorted out into big stories and little stories, to have been written clearly, and to be presented in a way which is easy to read.

2. To tell the news

What is news?, news is something which is new, unusual, interesting, significant and about people. It is obvious that new, unusual, interesting and significant things about people can be communicated by pictures as well as by words.
There is an old saying in English that "one picture is worth a thousand words". That can be true, but only if it is the kind of story which is suitable to be told by a picture, and only if it is a good picture.

3. To show what it looks like

Only a very gifted writer can use words in a way which lets the reader visualize exactly what a scene is like. Not every reporter can write as well as that.
In societies which do not have television, newspaper photographs are probably the only way that most people can know what these things look like. They may be the only way that people outside the capital city will know what their own leaders look like.

What makes a strong news picture?

A strong news picture has to be about the news. That is, it has to be about something which is new, unusual, interesting, and significant about people. To that extent, it is no different from a news story. However, news pictures also need three other qualities:

1. Life

To the photographer, a picture assignment may seem dull. It may just seem like yet another cheque presentation, or yet another graduation day, or yet another retirement.
To the people involved in the story, though, each of these is a big event - the culmination of months of fund-raising, the fruit of years of study or the end of a lifetime's service.

2. Relevant context

Man behind desk a photograph of a man behind a desk tells us nothing, and no newspaper should ever publish such a picture. Some people sit behind desks because they are business people, running companies which produce soft drinks - photograph them in the factory, surrounded by bottles of soft drink.
People sit behind desks for many reasons, and it is the reason which matters, not the desk. Also, it has to be a very unusual desk for the picture to have any interest for the reader. A desk with a phone and some papers on it is very boring.

3. Meaning

Every news picture must earn its space on the page. That means that it must tell the story clearly, without needing people to read the story first in order to understand what the picture is all about. In other words, every news picture must have meaning.
A picture of a man pointing at a broken window means nothing. If this is a man whose house has been broken into, by the thieves breaking a window and climbing in, then the story is about the way he feels, as well as the damage done.

Types of News Picture

It is not possible to give a complete list of types of news picture, any more than it is possible to give a complete list of types of people. People come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and characters; so do news pictures. The list which follows is just a guide to the most common types.
Some news pictures will fit into more than one category - a portrait of a person may well be humorous, for example. And there will always be good photographers who can produce good pictures which book authors cannot fit into any category at all. That is what makes journalism so interesting.

1. The Epitome

An epitome is something which shows, on a small scale, exactly what something larger is like. For example, a photograph of one student with her head  buried  in  a book  might  epitomize  all the studies being done by all students, and could be a strong news picture as the time of national examinations comes near.
Epitomes are important to news pictures. It is impossible for the human mind to imagine 10,000 people starving to death, or 500 refugees being turned back at a border, or 30,000 miners on strike. These numbers are too vast, and our minds cannot cope.

2. People

News is about people. It is about things which people do, and things which happen to people. To tell the news, we need to let the readers know who those people are and what they are like.
A picture can do this, if it shows the person's character and the person's context. If the news story is about a man's house being burned down, then we do not want a picture of him smiling: he needs to look sad.

3. Humor

A newspaper without a sense of humor is missing out on an important part of life. People enjoy a joke, and they will like a newspaper more if it can see the funny side of life as well as the serious side.
Pictures can often be funny by bringing together things which are not usually seen together, or by using contrasts of extreme sizes.

4. Pretty Pictures

People do like to look at pictures of pretty scenes or attractive people, and newspapers need to recognise that. But a picture of a pretty scene or a pretty girl which has no news value should not be used in a newspaper as if it was a news picture.
That does not mean that we cannot use these pictures. Pictures of attractive young people, in particular, can find their way into the paper in connection with any artistic or cultural activity, such as dancing, or using the youngsters as models wearing clothes which have been designed or manufactured locally.
Sequences
A sequence of pictures can show a story unfolding, and therefore tell that story better than a single image can do. Very often, the editor will want to use the last picture like the punch line of a joke, using it bigger than the rest, so that the early pictures give the background to the main news, which is shown in the final climax picture. Be prepared when news is happening in front of you to keep taking one picture after another, in rapid succession, so that you may have a good sequence.

Phone Journalism

Phone journalism is a relatively new and even controversial means of photojournalism, which involves the use of pictures taken and edited on phones by professional or non-professional photographers.
In recent years, as social media has become major platform on which people receive news and share events, Phone photography is gaining popularity as the primary tool for online visual communication. A phone is easy to carry and always accessible in a pocket, and the immediacy in taking pictures can reduce the intervention of the scene and subjects to a minimum.

Advantages of photojournalism

As we know best images/photographs captured are able to summarize what is being written in the article. Increasing number of people does not have the time to see or read all the content. In comparison to written news story photographs are unbiased as it captures what is happening, whereas words have the ability of carrying the biases of the writer or reporter. Photographs help to summarize what is being written in the article. It makes reading and watching newspaper more effective also helps to relate with the real life situations. Photos also possess an objective quality.

Impact on society

Photographs are something which can be easily portable. It helps to spread social awareness by illustrating problems associated with the society. Also it creates an impact by advertising and promotion. Photojournalism was the first medium to depict social problems throughout the world to mass audience.

Traditional and Contemporary photojournalism

Content remains the most important element of photojournalism, but the ability to extend deadlines with rapid gathering and editing of images has brought significant changes. As recently as 15 years ago, nearly 30 minutes were needed to scan and transmit a single color photograph from a remote location to a news office for printing. Now, equipped with a digital camera, a mobile phone, and a laptop, computer, a photojournalist can send a high-quality image in minutes, even seconds after an event occurs.

Summary:

All newspapers should use pictures:
* to make pages more attractive
* to tell the news more clearly
* to let readers know what people, places and things look like

Good news pictures need three qualities:

* to look alive and exciting
* to have a relevant context
* to be meaningful
Bring big stories down to the scale of the individual whenever possible
Point the camera at things which people choose not to see
Keep your sense of humor

Take a variety of pictures of each story:

* more than one picture idea
* a choice of horizontal and vertical for each idea
* several shutter speed and aperture settings for each shot
* try not to use flash; always try at least one shot with available light

Reference:  

www.thenewsmannual.net