Cutlines

Photojournalism

OUCH!: Lou Scott, an elementary Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) officer, winces from receiving a Hepatitis B immunization shot from Paula Patton, a public health nurse of North Little Rock's Health Department. Sgt. Butch Swaim holds Scott's hand during the free clinic for the city's police officers.

According to Dr. Dorothy Bowles of the University of Tennessee, good picture stories or picture essays must both be planned. Great picture stories require a theme or central idea before the photographer starts working. A good picture story (or yearbook spread) is usually created by

choosing a dominant picture
avoiding cluttered look by using white space
facing pictures toward the text
avoiding "rivers of gray" caused by captions meeting irregularly near the same level
using a caption with each picture and a headline overall
arranging similar captions to have the same width, type and number of lines
focusing simultaneously on a subject or personality as well as a theme or mood.

When writing copy for yearbook, focus on both the individual pictures and continuity from photograph to photograph. Continuity can be achieved with a central block of copy that relates to all the pictures and echoes the spirit of the pictures as a group.

AP captions follow a simple formula:

The first sentence describes what the photo shows, in the present tense, and states where and when the photo was made.
The second sentence gives background on the news event or describes why the photo is significant.
Whenever possible, try to keep captions to no more than two concise sentences, while including the relevant information. Try to anticipate what information a reader will need.

Steady ... Employees of Lowell North Construction and Paramax lower a dome cover for the WSR-88D radar used by North Little Rock's division of the National Weather Service. The Doppler radar's dome measures 11 meters (35 feet) in diameter.

A caption should fully explain the moment in time in relation to the events preceding or following the image. It never leaves the reader wondering about ambiguous meanings. A good caption doesn't duplicate the photo, but explains it. ALWAYS look at the picture before writing the caption. Count the number of names to make sure it corresponds to the number of people included. Use active voice. Eliminate references like is shown, is pictured and pictured above. Avoid editorializing in a caption. Let the reader make the judgment from the picture and AVOID LIBEL. Above all, be honest with the reader.

While captions under one- and two-column photos usually are set the width of a photo, photos wider than two columns often have captions set in two columns. Try to have an equal number of lines in each column. Stay within the same family of typefaces and point sizes when providing captions. Try to include a credit line for the source of the photo whenever possible.

Dr. Sitton took the following pictures while working for the North Little Rock Times. Note how the cutlines describe what's happening in the picture. A brief lead-in, also called a tagline or legend, typically begins a caption in boldface or in capital letters. Think of it as the headline for the caption.

Leading the Parade: North Little Rock citizens took to the streets by the hundreds to support the National Night Out on Crime program. Sherman Park residents, accompanied by city leaders and police, march in protest of drugs and crime.

Even when you have to pose a picture (not the best circumstances), make it look interesting by having people do something. In this example on the left, the candidate just wanted publicity. By having him talk with another employee, it wasn't so obvious that it was a staged shot.

Election Eve 1993: Tom McRae (left), a Democratic candidate in the most-watched lieutenant governor's race in Arkansas history, discusses issues with North Little Rock Community Relations Director Joe Smith. McRae lost to Rep. Mike Huckabee, who would later become governor of the state.

Piggy-back: Mayor Pat Hays gives a Sherman Park resident a lift during the National Night Out festivities.

According to Bradley Wilson of North Carolina State, people want to see pictures of themselves when they open a yearbook. Then they'll look for pictures of their friends and acquaintances. The more people we include in a publication, the more readers we'll have. Focusing on including people in your photos is a formula for success.

Environmentalists: Dr. Doug Stevens and his wife Joy point to a 5.2-acre tract they purchased overlooking Lakewood Lake No. 1. The Stevens said they plan to preserve the land in its natural state.

Photographers observe action rather than participate in it. Let people get comfortable with you being there, then start documenting the action. If you're not comfortable behind the camera, your subjects will not be comfortable in front of it.
Capture the emotion of people by telling their story through photos. It's more than just shooting party pics or mug shots.
Capture action and reaction, e.g. people riding bicycles on campus, the homecoming queen reacting to her coronation, the player who struck out to end the game.
Move up close and fill the frame, but don't crop out relevant background material that would add meaning to the photo.
Keeping the background clean will focus attention on the people.
Get the person OUT of the CENTER of the frame. Follow the rule of thirds to give your photo a less formal look, which gives the subject room to look or move into.
Play with light - avoid backlighting - sidelighting provides texture
To set a scene or provide context, some building pictures help. But does anyone pay for a yearbook or newspaper to see another picture of the music building?

If you don't understand something in this Web note, please e-mail Dr. Sitton.