Locate a photo spread in a recent edition of your local newspaper.
Refer to the guidelines on page 110 to evaluate each photograph in the
spread.
How are the photographs used together? Do they tell a story? Do they
inform the viewer? Is there something missing?
Cut a large photograph out of your local paper, preferably a photograph
with substantial background and a central image. Use a pencil and a ruler
to experiment with different ways of cropping the photograph. Have your different
crops changed the emphasis of the image? Have you included all the necessary
elements of the image in each one?
If you have access to a scanner and computer, scan the main image on page
121 and experiment with cropping, scaling, and scanning at different resolutions.
Compare your results with the different versions of the image on pages 121-123.
Suppose you need to illustrate the following articles with studio shots.
What images might you request from the photographer? What guidelines would
you give him or her?
A feature story on home security
A brief profile of a local pianist
A story on campaign finance reform
Now imagine that you need to illustrate the same three stories, but all
you can use is clip art. If you have access to a CD-Rom such as Art Explosion,
find art there; otherwise, you can visit web sites such as www.clipart.com.
Remember that you are enacting a worst-case scenario!
