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Non-Fiction Writers Workshop
by Carolyn Dekat
You Can Get the Pictures, Too
To give you an idea of how valuable photos can be, consider this example as reported by Marcia Yudkin in Writing Articles About the World Around You (Writer's Digest Books, 1998). A writer/photographer out of Phoenix, Arizona did an article on a vintage speedboat cruise. The article earned him $800. The pictures he took earned him $1,800.
Additionally, he sold only one-time rights, so he was free to resell the photos to other magazines and/or stock photography houses.
You can take good pictures when you know a few basic techniques and are willing to practice. Here are a few basics to get you underway.
By the way, if you really aren't interested in taking your own shots, then stay tuned for the second segment photo sources.
*Equipment
Camera: 35mm camera with removable lenses. Along with standard lens, extra wide-angle (crowds, groups, scenery) and zoom lenses (portraits, sports).
If shooting action/ auto winder.
Auto or programmable exposure with ability to override manually.
Good quality flash unit
Tripod
Camera bag
Plenty of film--
Black & white favorite is T-Max according to Mr. Casey Wilson in his article Photo Tips for Writers (ByLine, April '96) He also suggests Fuji 100 or 200 Superchrome for color pictures. The number is the ASA number, and the general rule of thumb is, the higher the ASA, the less light you need to take the picture. Most recommend 200 if you're going to mix inside and outside shots, since it is most versatile. But if you know the specific lighting conditions under which you will be working, it is best to buy film accordingly. Oftentimes the boxes of film themselves will give directions in this regard.
Go with brand-name, fresh film and keep it away from sunlight, extreme heat, and airport x-rays
If you are working on spec or assignment, discuss with the editor beforehand about the type of picture they would prefer--black & white or color, slides, prints or contact sheets. Contact sheets have all the pictures on them in miniature. High-end magazines generally rely on slides (or transparencies as they are sometimes called in the trade) while magazines produced through desktop publishing will prefer to scan prints. Some editors may even have preferences as to film. For instance according to Marcia Yudkin gardening magazines are standardized on Fujichrome 50 or 100 so that green and blue hues throughout the magazine match. It's best to iron out these details with the editor assigning the piece before you start shooting pictures.
If you are winging it and hope to see the article and pictures later, color slides seem to be the safest bet. Color slides or prints can easily be converted to black-and-white. Color slides duplicate easily and can also be converted to prints.
*Taking pictures:
Lighting:
Never shoot into the light source unless and until you know the special effect you'll get by doing so. Most of the time light source should be behind you and off to left or right to give shadows. Shadows give depth and a richness of tone you don't get when shadows are eliminated. The softer the light source, the more subtle the photo will be.
Photos shot early or late in the day will yield richest colors.
Composition:
Learn to see *everything* in the viewfinder. Common mistakes are too-busy backgrounds, a kid standing beside your subject picking his nose, or plants and poles that appear to be growing out of a subject's head. Mr. Wilson writes that once he took a picture of a newly married couple standing in front of a statue with hundred of large poinsettia plants covering the floor. He says he was caught up in emotion of the scene, didn't see the "men's room" sign directly over the groom's head. See the background as well as your focal point.
Fill the frame. You don't need large amounts of empty space around, above or below the subject of your photo. Hold the camera horizontally for group shots and landscapes. Flip it vertical for individuals and tall things, like trees or buildings. Get in close so that nothing is in the viewfinder you don't want to see in the final product. A common mistake among new photographers is not getting close enough. So move in, and when you think you're close enough, move in some more!
Most photos benefit from height, so think about getting above the subject. Consider as an example a marching band. From street level the only faces you see are in front row. On ladder or second story of a building see all marchers' faces and their instruments. The same applies to a group, though stepladder or small chair will do. Exceptions: when shooting from down low will produce a special effect that grabs the reader--looking up at tall building, or the world from a child's point of view.
Focal point: Make sure your shot has a center of attention. Avoid shots of milling crowds, flat scenes, meaningless interiors.
Vary the plane: Remember that a picture is 2-D. Since 3-D is always more interesting, you need to vary the plane of your shot, and this can't be stressed enough when taking landscape shots. Have a tree close (even if it ends up blurry), something mid-distance from the camera--say a house or other item of interest, and a hill or something in the far distance. This will lead the eye from the front of the picture to the back and lend the illusion of depth, thereby making for a more interesting photograph.
Posing: Avoid it when you can. Natural shots are best. Shoot while the subject is talking. Take candid shots as an event unfolds, (family reunion, wedding reception.)
Aperture: On the lens barrel of your camera, you'll find a ring with a typical range of numbers from f1.4 to f22. This is the F-stop settings or aperture settings. The f-stop controls the amount of light you let into the camera and is useful for creating special effects.
Rule of thumb: The higher the f-stop, the less light the aperture lets into the camera. To compensate for less light, slow the shutter speed. Generally, if you double the f-stop you cut shutter speed in half.
F-stop also has another interesting feature. Have you ever wondered how they get that beautiful shot of a rose bush and everything else in the background is blurry? F-stop has direct effect of the depth-of-field. The larger the f-stop, the deeper the field. Depth-of-field is referring to the distance from the camera where the image is sharp. The front of the depth of field may be three feet from the camera and the back five feet--meaning everything in front of three feet and behind five feet will be blurry. There are lots of ways to use depth-of-field, our example of the rose being one. However if you are taking a picture of a field of tulips in Holland, you'd prefer the deepest possible image so that all the flowers are in sharp focus. So you would choose a larger F-stop. The larger the f-stop, the deeper the field.
One good way to get a feel for this is to use your camera on the automatic setting to take a shot (it will generally say which f-stop the camera chose for the shot). Then do the same shot again, one with a smaller f-stop and one with a larger f-stop and then compare the difference to come to a better understanding of what changing the f-stop will do. This is often a good rule of thumb to follow when you are taking pictures, so that you can offer the editor a variety of shots to choose from.
Take many, many more pictures than you need. One professional photographer claims that if you get one useable photo from each roll, you've done well.
Practice: Shoot often-photographed scenes in your area and compare them with what you see in the newspaper, guidebooks and magazines. Or study how published professionals have photographed the site and try to replicate those. Gives you a good feel for composition, lighting, aperture settings, angles, shadows, etc.
An important business aspect of photography is a release from the person whose image or possessions appear in your photograph. The First Amendment gives photographers a right to use an image of a person or his possessions when the story is related to news. However, if you take a picture of someone for use in an article, that is construed to be entertainment or commercialization, so a model release is necessary. If the subject is a minor, you must get release from the parent or guardian. Model releases basically state that the subject of the picture authorizes the photographer to use the picture, without further compensation to the subject, and that the negatives and prints become the property of the photographer. If you plan to resell photos to stock houses, the release will be required as well. You can find samples of the model release form in the photography section of any library.
Mailing:
Most writer/photographers won't submit photos in any form except when an assigning editor has requested them. Slides are best presented in 81/2 x 11 acetate sleeves, purchasable at any good camera store. Stamp or write your name and telephone number on each slide, along with a number keyed to a legend on a caption sheet. When submitting prints, likewise label with a felt tip (no ball point pens!) or stamp each one on the back with your contact information and key them to a caption sheet as well.
Put the best pictures at the top.
Another successful approach is to do a montage sampler of photos and captions on a legal size page and duplicate this on a color copier.
Don't be haphazard about captions. Make them a dynamic part of your storytelling. You can also study the captions in target publications for guidance as to what sort of information and style are favored.
Protect your prints by placing them between heavy sheets of cardboard and tape the cardboard securely together. For added protection you can use a padded mailing envelope as well. Camera stores will supply special photo mailer envelopes. Label both the mailing envelope and the SASE envelope with PHOTOS--DO NOT BEND
Getting freebies
If you don't have the time or interest in pursuing photography, you can still reap the benefits of photographs that accompany your work.
Manufacturers, trade associations, public relations offices and firms will often give free pictures of their products, considering the publicity generated as payment enough.
Tourist bureaus and local chambers of commerce are also good sources of free pictures because their goal is to attract visitors to their areas.
Some large organizations have press kits available with pictures you are free to use in your article.
Many other organizations will supply pictures if you ask.
One of the best sources of free pictures: U.S. Government
Both National Archives and Library of Congress have huge collections of pictures.
Most government departments and agencies, such as the Department of Defense, NASA, the National Weather Service and the National Parks Service to name a few, also have photo libraries.
For other sources, Lisa Collier Cool suggests consulting Picture Sources by the Special Libraries Association and other photographic reference books.
Check within your network of writers/photographers for someone who may have just the shots to illustrate your story.
Team up with someone who loves to take the pictures!
Happy writing!
© 1998 Carolyn Dekat
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