Thinking pictures

Reporting & Writing1

Thinking pictures Why pictures? How pictures are used What makes a bad picture? Visual hooks The picture is the story Where do news pictures come from? What makes a good picture?

STRIKING: Images are what stick in readers’ minds.

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A little quiz…What is the news story?

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A little quiz…What is the news story?

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A little quiz…What is the news story?

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Why think about pictures? The right picture tells your story for you And it is the thing your readers will

remember the most Finding the right picture is a job shared

between photographers, news editors and page designers.

But reporters are expected to have ideas – and will often be involved in briefing snappers and sourcing images.

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New York’s iconic taxi cabs after Hurricane Sandy

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Where pictures come fromProfessional sources Staff photographers Agency photographers Other newspapers Freelancers In-house graphic artists PR agencies or departmentsLibraries Stock image databases Galleries, museums, archivesAmateur sources Readers Social media

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A stock picture of a man taking a stock picture…

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Diary pictures

Diary stories will often include a picture opportunity.

Reporters will be expected to assess the quality of the picture, and arrange for one to be taken if it is worth it.

Usually, that will involve sending the photographer a brief for the job.

Look at the press release from Newshire Council. Would you sent a photographer? What is the brief?

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What a picture brief looks like

Date: Thursday, January 17Time: 10amPlace: Newsroom, Centre for JournalismJob: Lecture on news picturesContact: Rob Bailey 01634 888848Slug: CFJ LECTURERequirements: One group shot of students, all with their thumbs up, grinning madly, while someone digs a hole with a spade for some reason.

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Pics can be clichés, too…Certain types of pics should be avoided at all costs.

Ribbon cuttings Ground-breaking ceremonies (i.e.

someone in a suit with a shovel) Thumbs-up

Papers are generally wary of mayors, councillors etc being pictured too often. We want our readers’ faces, not these suits.

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The opening of a bus shelter

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Thumbs up!A lovely picture of smiling readers…Except that this group of pensioners had been ripped off for thousands of pounds in a holiday scam. The photographer had been briefed – and should have been shot.

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PR photos: on the rise Staff photographers are becoming a

luxury to cash-strapped local papers So more pictures than ever are being

supplied by PR officers And that means more posed pictures like

this one – fake and horrible.

Do a Google image search for “groundbreaking ceremony” now…

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It is not dirt that these people are shovelling…

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Diary pictures: advice Be ruthless: Is the picture of value to

readers? If not, bin it. Supplied pics don’t have to be used. Having the same face on every page looks

ridiculous. But being inventive with pictures can

make familiar faces interesting.

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Maidstone’s Mayor gets a pie in the face

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Visual hooks for storiesIf you see this picture on a newspaper page, what is the story likely to be about?What is the tone of the story likely to be?

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Visual hooks for stories Headshots Company logos Some scene-setter pictures

E.g. Exterior pics of magistrates’ courts, crown courts, council offices, police stations etc.

Campaign logos Stock pictures Byline pictures

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The Daily Mail uses this logo to mark up campaign stories

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Stock pictures as a hookIf a story is hard to illustrate, stock pictures are usefulA picture is better than no pictureBut a “real” picture is always better than a stock picture

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Visual hooks: advice An image will make any story stand out

better on the page – and make it more memorable

Use graphics to explain facts and figures Use logos to tie related stories together Think laterally: there is always something

you can do to illustrate your story The driest stories – e.g. council meetings

– sometimes need images the most.

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The Guardian’s award-winning government spending graphic

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Pictures for story-tellingUse pictures to describe the details of your stories. If your story is about a place then book a

scene-setter picture so you don’t have to describe it in words.

If it involves key people, get head shots of them.

If the people are doing something in your story, then arrange to get a picture of them in action.

This is what Q2 of the NCTJ exam is testing.

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The French village that would survive ‘the apocalypse’

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Off-diary pictures Unexpected Reactive Often staff photographers will not be the

first on the scene Events may even have finished by the

time a reporter or photographer can get there

These pictures are the hardest to get – but also the most valuable. The right picture tells the story by itself.

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Warehouse fire in Paddock Wood

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Getting the picture Your first priority will be pictures The first picture is what you want for your website The best picture is what you want in the end.

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Citizen photo-journalism Everyone is potentially a news

photographer now. When you get to the scene of a major

incident you are not only looking for the people in charge for the police, fire, or paramedics

You’re also looking for anyone holding a mobile phone, tablet, or camera…

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Supplied pictures can give you the best shot

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A new phenomenon?November 22, 1963The best images of Kennedy’s assassination were taken by Abraham Zapruder, who sold them to Life Magazine.

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Rodney King beatingFilmed in 1991 by George HollidayHe gave his footage to a local TV station, KTLA.When aired, it triggered a race riot in Los Angeles.

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World Trade CentreThe iconic images of the first place hitting the WTC in 2001 were taken by amateur photographers.Getting photos from readers is nothing new. The difference now is that the pictures can still go across the world without us.

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Journalists need citizens Borrowing a picture is the same as

borrowing a quote – use your sources to help you tell the story vividly in any way you can.

And like quotes, the first one might not always be the best. Keep looking until you find the right picture.

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A picture of a cannonball stunt death, taken by onlookers

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Off diary pictures: advice Your first thought when an incident

happens should be: how do I get a picture?

Your first call should be to a photographer.

But be prepared for a search for the perfect picture.

Reporters at the scene should speak to anyone who is taking pictures and get a copy.

And think creatively about how might get pics – or be able to get them.

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The KM convinced a helicopter pilot to take this picture.

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Pictures & social media Journalists rely on the internet for

pictures now. If a major incident or event happens, it’s a

safe bet that pictures will turn up on Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr or other sites

When someone dies, pictures are often taken from social media profiles.

These pictures come with several health warnings, though – both legal and ethical

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Facebook: a major supplier of mugshots for newspapers

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Pictures from Facebook When reporting on deaths, pictures are

an essential part of a profile / tribute story.

Ideally, the family will agree to be interviewed and provide pictures.

When that doesn’t quite work out, reporters and editors will turn to social media profiles.

Only use material if it is on a page which is available to the public – anything private or “friends only” is out of bounds unless using the picture is in the public interest.

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Express was criticised for use of Facebook pictures

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Pictures from Facebook Things get easier if a public “tributes”

page is set up on Facebook. Quotes and pictures posted there are

accessible for journalists. This picture, of PC Nicola Hughes, killed

in Manchester last year, was used by the Daily Mail and others after it was posted on Facebook.

Note: some families will not understand this material can be used without permission.

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Pictures taken from Facebook are common in tributes

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Make no assumptions On Friday, April 1, 2011, the Kent

Messenger’s front page carried the story of Chelsea fan Graham Wallace, who took part in a fight with Cardiff fans and was banned from football stadiums for 8 years.

It ran a picture taken from his Facebook profile under the headline “Still Crazy”.

The picture was of his brother. The defamation claim cost the KM £2,000.

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Don’t make assumptions about pictures on Facebook

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Photoshopping & hoaxes Social media does not just distort the

facts: sometimes it makes them up. This picture of Hurricane Sandy

approaching New York did the rounds in 2012.

Except it was a complete fabrication, created on Photoshop.

Never use anything without being sure it is accurate – and that counts for pictures too.

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This Photoshopped image did the rounds in 2012

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CopyrightYou also must be aware of who owns images on Flickr and other sharing sites.This image, for example, is open to the public but is owned by the Flickr user Free Syria. You cannot reproduce it without permission.

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What makes a good pic? Faces Filling frame with subject Matches tone of story

Draws readers’ eyes Adds detail to your text

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What makes a good pic? It’s not all about megapixels and clarity Some pics put you in the moment They have immense news value, even if they are low quality

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