PHOTOGRAPHY PRACTISE: PHOTOGRAPHY FOR PRINT MEDIA

2. PHOTOGRAPHY FOR PRINT MEDIA

CHAPTER 3 :PHOTOGRAPHY FOR PRINT MEDIA

Purpose & Context of Print Photography

Photojournalism & print media: Using images to tell stories in newspapers, magazines, brochures, books, or reports. In print, images must communicate clearly even at smaller scales or limited reproduction quality

Early print photo practices: From staged glass-plate press photography to candid captures, image staging evolved with technology (e.g. telephoto lenses in the Ashes tour era)

2. Composition & Visual Storytelling

Rule of Thirds: Position main elements along gridlines or intersections for dynamic layouts

Leading lines & framing: Use roads, architecture, foliage as visual guides or frames within the shot

Foreground/background elements: Introduce layers and depth by including contextual elements

Perspective & scaling: Shoot from angles (low, high, eye‑level) and include recognizable objects to show scale or enhance impact

3. Exposure, Lighting & Camera Settings

Exposure triangle: Aperture, shutter speed, ISO—balancing depth of field, motion blur, and sensitivity to light.

Lighting styles:

Natural light (golden/blue hour, backlighting)

Side lighting for texture/depth

Diffused lighting to soften contrast

Flash techniques (fill flash, bounced flash) when natural light is insufficient .

4. Equipment & Lenses

Lens choices:

Wide-angle for environmental storytelling

Standard/prime for portraits or mid scenes

Telephoto for distant subjects or compressed perspective .

Accessories: Use tripods/monopods, external lighting, storage/transfer tools for fast field submission

5. Editing & Darkroom Techniques

Digital analogues of darkroom tools:

Dodging & burning to selectively lighten or darken areas, enhancing tonal range or contrast .

Color correction & white balance to ensure accurate reproduction under varied light sources.

Sharpening & noise reduction tailored to print resolution and grain behavior

Traditional manipulation history: Film-based techniques like dodging/burning/masking were analog precedents to today’s digital tools like Photoshop layers and local edits

6. Preparing Files for Print

Color management:

Work in wide-gamut spaces .

Resolution & sharpening: Calculate required DPI relative to print size; add output sharpening for clarity after resizing

7. Editorial Workflow & Contextual Design

Cropping for impact: Tighten images to remove distractions, emphasize subject, enable stronger “poster effect” in newsprint layouts

Cutlines & captions:

Provide brief, present‑tense descriptions.

Identify any recognizable individuals.

8. Print History & Aesthetic Considerations

Evolution from analogue to digital: Techniques like staging, glass‑plate negatives, early long‑lens work shaped modern print conventions

Maintaining photographic craft: Even in digital times, skills rooted in darkroom discipline—cropping instincts, tonal control—remain essential.