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\viewkind4\uc1\pard\f0\fs2 The Artistic Skills The Commercial Skills Shooting for the Print Media OVERVIEW THE MISSION VITAL PHOTO STATISTICS TYPES OF SHOTS GET IT IN CONTEXT SHOOTING FOR THE PRINT MEDIA SOME TECHNICAL ASPECTS COMPOSITION TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY SUBJECTS LIGHT - THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S PALETTE EQUIPMENT AN INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL IMAGING IMAGE SCANNING & MANIPULATION IN ADOBE PHOTOSHOP (THE MOST USEFUL TOOLS) A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND - DOLLARS? ON ASSIGNMENT BIG SUBMISSIONS - BOOK PUBLISHERS GET YOUR PHOTOS OUT OF THE CUPBOARD Shooting for the Print Media IS IT A VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL SHOT? Consider whether a vertical or horizontal frame would best suit the shot. SHOOT WITH THE PUBLICATION IN MIND Consider your markets and their demands before taking any shots. TARGETING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY TO PARTICULAR MAGAZINE SECTIONS Research the precise needs of the magazine, from the cover shots to its inside layout and panel shots. MAKE YOUR SUBJECT COME TO LIFE Present your subject creatively; 'set up' the shots if you have to. FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS! What your eye 'sees', and what the camera will record on celluloid in reality may be quite different, so consider elements that will make the shot work. Pic below: A cover shot by Stephen Rothwell, 2001. Note how the subject is positioned to allow for the magazine's masthead (its title) as well as the cover text bursts. Shooting for cover should not be a hit-and-miss affair - it's a matter of knowing each publication's style and format preferences. In this case, the image of a young couple (the girl being of Asian descent by design) going wild outdoors is eminently suitable for a title like Action Asia, whose audience is predominantly adventurous expat males. Action Asia has also been known to feature posed 'cover girls', but perhaps this image is a better fit, as it maintains the context of an adventurous life outdoors. IS IT A VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL SHOT? The very first thing you will need to consider before taking a photograph is whether to frame your picture vertically (portrait format) or horizontally (landscape format). In the former case, your picture might end up as a cover shot, so do yourself a favour and think the shot through beforehand. There should be enough room at the top, bottom and sides of the picture for a masthead (the publication's title and/or logo) and some text, while the composition should be striking, appealing, but above all, strongly tailored to the needs of the magazine. The same holds true for horizontal (landscape) shots. If you consistently make your images too 'distant', i.e. with subjects too small in the frame, such pictures will not only leave editors cold, but also make the inherent 'grain' problem of 35mm slides even worse, as you will be zooming further in to that grain to get an image large enough to fill the pages. So don't be afraid to fill your frame with action, but try to avoid crowding out the frame too much. Leave some room for text and when shooting for a particular publication, consider where they usually place that text! (Of course, if you don't have a ready market in mind for your shots, take both horizontal and vertical shots, but it is always best to think which orientation is the most appropriate. For instance, portraits of people are usually best handled with a vertical shot, whereas landscapes are best depicted horizontally). OFFBEATIP #1: Think before you shoot! Is a vertical or a horizontal frame more suitable for the shot? SHOOT WITH THE PUBLICATION IN MIND! Every shot you take should be carefully considered. Who do you want to sell that image to? Is it the kind of image that your projected marketplace would publish? Let's say you're into fishing and you want to shoot cover shots for an offshore angling magazine. Upon studying several back issues of the magazine in question, you determine that (as expected) the covers always depict ecstatic-looking men and women clutching giant pelagic fish, with an appealing blue-water backdrop. This may well be the magazine's format and as formulaic as it may seem, nobody is going to change that. The magazine won't be featuring pics of fishermen cradling Barramundi or Mangrove Jack, nor will it generally take kindly to featuring great shots centred on mangroves or shorelines. Also, as a rule the magazine won't be featuring shots of small fish! You may further determine that said cover shots are typically taken in the morning or evening, (when blue water fish are on the bite) when the light is kind, soft and perhaps even slightly yellow; a perfect time to capture the sun's reflection in the silvery fish, and to 'fill in' features with sunlight from low on the horizon. If that kind of photographic opportunity does not present itself, you may have to use 'fill in' flash to illuminate grinning features (always at the risk of 'blowing out' the flanks of the fish) that are cast into shadow by a high sun. Shooting such cover shots is never as easy as it may seem. It demands focus and a cool head, especially when your fishing buddy is struggling with a squirming swordfish! You will have a hard time trying to explain to your fish-wrestling subject that several shots need to be taken, that he or she should try to rotate the flanks of the fish back and forth to avoid 'dazzling' the camera with reflected sunlight and that (contrary to what he/she may believe), the job of shooting a fishy cover does require a certain amount of experimentation and discipline. It may seem premature to talk about cover shots when one's focus is on learning the photographic ropes but unless you are truly thinking about your photography, the chances of getting any images published at all is slim. Contrary to popular belief, shooting good shots consistently is not a lottery, nor is it rocket science. However, if you grasp and implement a handful of essential factors, the path to getting your images published will be clarified and streamlined. Shooting For Cover: Always aim your photography at target markets. Think specific print media titles! Just take the example of this shot of an entwined couple at the bow of the 'Star Flyer' charter yacht - the demographics of the pic are a very snug fit with the expat lifestyle, so it's no surprise that the image ended up on the cover of Singapore's 'Expat Living' magazine, below. Occasionally though, a publication will surprise you, and make a vertical cover from one of your horizontal shots, as in the images below. All you can do in this situation is rub your hands with glee, and pocket the cover shot fee with a broad grin. OFFBEATIP #2: Analyse the publication's needs before the trip, and break down the elements of the photography in the magazine. Then, emulate these shots when you're ready. TARGETING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY TO PARTICULAR MAGAZINE SECTIONS When you are shooting on an assignment (whether on a sponsored trip or a self-generated trip) you ought to have a clear idea of the sort of images you will be shooting. Let's say you are travelling through Mongolia and covering stories for three Australian newspapers, an equestrian magazine, and a men's lifestyle magazine. Clearly you will need to supply images that are tailored for each publication. Study their style and try to emulate that style with your photography. Pictures for the equestrian magazine can afford to be specialist; close-ups of saddles, stirrups, reins etc while the needs of the newspaper are more general. Think about the precise needs of the particular section you are writing for. It may be that the column for the men's magazine takes a humorous, even flippant, look at life and so they would appreciate quirky, unusual shots, maybe even pics that aren't terribly politically correct. So you are shooting for widely different needs, and often all on the same roll of film. After a while, specific shots will leap out and literally 'beg' to be taken. You should always be on the lookout for other, unusual/impromptu photographic subjects though, for these can be the icing on the cake or even the strongest and best-selling images from the whole trip. Just one unusual, exclusive pic can end up being published in several magazines as well as being a popular seller in your stock photography portfolio. OFFBEATIP #3: Every frame you shoot should, ideally, be publishable, and it can only be publishable if it meets the requirements of the publication(s). So research, research and research the publication before the trip. MAKE YOUR SUBJECT COME TO LIFE You have an opportunity to make a statement, to capture your subject in whatever way you visualise. Sometimes your subject might think your ideas a little odd, but persist with such creative ideas because just as with writing, your photography needs to develop a 'voice', a way of breaking through the typically 'flat' format of so many holiday snaps. Also like writing, you need to be able to bring your subjects to life and to take the reader with you on your travels. This is where you have to be careful in assessing the needs of your readership, because if your idea of a shot is too typical, too everyday, too 'scenic lookout' then your readers and editors will 'switch off' and look for more interesting material. Try to sum up the essence of a place with a few signature shots, rather than spreading your photography too thin. It just isn't possible to capture every face of a city or all the moods of a mountain, so in the interests of quality (and dwindling film stocks!) try to seek out the most powerful elements of any place, activity, journey and present them in a thoughtful, appealing way. Photography is very much a qualitative pursuit rather than quantitative, and so it follows that you should take more time to compose a promising shot and less time shooting images which seem "ok, but not great". OFFBEATIP #4: Every frame you shoot must communicate a message to the reader, so shoot with quality in mind rather than quantity. This approach will save you from wasting film and help sell more pictures in the long run. FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS! With photography as with writing you need to focus, focus, and focus. If you have a 'vague' feeling about what you are trying to say with a picture, then think it through. Don't just press the shutter because you think you ought to. Just because you took the trouble to pull over at a scenic drive or to climb a peak doesn't mean to say the resulting picture will be worth publishing. This is where you have to be careful; the actual scene that unravels before you may well be endlessly appealing but that's no good to you if it doesn't pan out on celluloid. This can be hard to take but it is no less true. You have to 'let go' of your personal feelings and concentrate on what your camera can and cannot capture. Sometimes you cannot effectively convey a mountain ridge without a panoramic camera (a format that is incompatible with magazine layouts) or you may need a 1200mm lens to zoom in on your subject (once again, typically an unavailable option). So find other ways to make the picture work; put some people into the frame; use a tree to frame the scene or bring another element into the frame that 'leads' the eyes into the scene. Make the picture 'work!' One thing is for sure; wishful thinking will not make a picture. You will have to justify that favourite 'spectacular view' and perhaps rethink what you once thought would make a good picture. Walk around a lot with your camera and observe the difference between what you see and what the camera is able to perceive. Pretty soon you will become fully aware of the limitations of any camera, even if equipped with an impressive arsenal of lenses. You are in the business of framing pictures, and pictures that will hopefully say something. You should have something interesting expressed across your celluloid canvas; an unusual scene, an interesting pattern, a well-framed vista, an animated discussion\'85 something with life and soul in it. OFFBEATIP #5: Consider what the camera actually 'sees' before clicking that shutter! Although you may see an appealing vista, you must consider how to make it 'work' for the camera. IN A SNAPSHOT:
\par * Consider whether a vertical or horizontal frame would best suit the shot.
\par * Research the publication and its photographic requirements and keep these in mind when on the trip.
\par * Make every frame you work pay for itself by ensuring you shoot to the needs of the publication.
\par * Make every shot a powerful testimony to what you're seeing and feeling; photography is all about quality, not quantity!
\par * What a camera 'sees' may not be the same as what you see, so look to add elements that will enhance the camera's viewpoint. BACK (GET IT IN CONTEXT) NEXT (SOME TECHNICAL ASPECTS) BACK TO TOP BACK TO INDEX SCREEN Offbeatrips Travel and Tourism Journalism
\par 9 Compass Close Edge Hill, Cairns 4870 Far North Queensland Australia Email: info@offbeatrips.com Web: http://www.offbeatrips.com Tel: (In Australia): (07) 4032 1708 Mob (In Australia): (040) 1135 372 Tel: (Outside Australia): (617) 4032 1708 Mob (Outside Australia): (6140) 1135 372
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