Photo assignment

Planning A Photo Assignment

AUG. 15, 2014

PHOTO ASSIGNMENTS THE ASSIGNMENT There are three ways you can get assignments.

• Actively taking a written assignment from an editor, writer, reporter or other staff member • Verbally (or otherwise) agreeing to take a photo • Finding good action shots to take without being “told” to take them Your best photos will probably come from just being in the right place at the right time with a camera ready to go. That’s how you get pictures full of action and emotion.

SHOOT THE PHOTOS Regardless of how you get the assignment, it is then your responsibility to get quality photos – action photos full of emotion that are good in technical quality, that have some composition to them (i.e. are more than snapshots) and that have some meaning. Accepting an assignment is a contract between the publication and the photographer.

When you shoot an assignment, it is your responsibility to have the camera and all necessary equipment (film, batteries, note pad, etc.). It is not acceptable to say that you couldn’t complete an assignment because your camera didn’t work. Plan ahead. Have a backup plan.

DOWNLOAD DIGITAL FILES NEVER erase images off the card in the computer. When you first get a card, format it. When you get back from an assignment, put the card in the card reader and dump ALL the images into an “Originals” folder either on a local computer (preferred) or the server. Do your editing from there.

EDIT At this point, the editing process is the same regardless of whether you shot film or shot digital.

(1) CUT THE CRAP. Look at the negatives and determine which ones are useless. Look at the digital files and make the same determination. Delete any out-of-focus, extremely under- or over-exposed images, etc. from the computer. That way no one has to waste their time looking at them again.

(2) CULL. With a partner, decide on what are the best images. It may be the best one, or it may be the best 10 or 20. These are the ones you’re going to save on the server, so they should be usable pictures. It’s better to save too many than not enough. You never know how valuable the images might be when the person you shot pictures of decides to run for president.

(3) EDIT. Now, working only with the selected pictures, do some basic cropping (leaving designers some room to crop) and basic toning. Don’t worry about color correction. And do NOT resize or resample the images. Leave them in RGB, JPEG. Since this original file contains the most data it’s ever going to contain, the designer will resize/resample A COPY of this image so we always have the original to go back to.

(4) CAPTION. All edited pictures need captions (including photo credits) in the Photoshop File Info fields. Without complete captions and credits, (a) your pictures are unusable; (b) you won’t get paid — $10/photo; (c) you won’t get credit. For historical purposes, even if the pictures aren’t used, the captions are invaluable. Be sure to put your name in the photo caption as well as in: “Photo by name.”

(5) COPY TO SERVER. Copy all the edited pictures to the PHOTO SERVER. It’s from the server that designers will look to get their pictures. It’s the server that’s backed up. No unedited files should be stored on the server. Files should be named using the description.IN.ext format where “description” is a one- or two-word description of the contents of the photo. Be specific. “IN” is the photographer’s initials. “ext” is the appropriate file format assigned by Photoshop.

(6) BACKUP UNEDITED IMAGES. Just like photographers used to maintain their own negatives, you should burn a copy of all of your images, raw and edited, to a CD for your own purposes.

(7) DELETE RAW IMAGES. Now, you can delete any unedited or uncaptioned images from the host computer. DO NOT leave any files on local computers. They will be erased and will not be backed up.

Planning A Photo Assignment

AUG. 15, 2014

POOL EQUIPMENT Student Media equipment is state property. Student Media equipment may NOT be used for personal assignments or assignments for other entities. The pool equipment has to be shared by all of the staff photographers. You are responsible for it when you are using it, including, potentially, the costs of any damages beyond any normal wear and tear.

DETAILS • All digital cameras are in their own lockers appropriately labeled. Lenses and flashes are stored in the tall gear cabinet. Because this equipment are extremely valuable and easily marketed if stolen, security is a high priority.

• You can check out equipment by contacting one of the photo editors or, in a pinch, one of the full-time professional staff members. Be sure to print your name legibly for each piece of equipment you check out. And make sure your e-mail and telephone number are current on the roster in case the photo editors need to contact you regarding the equipment. People who are not trained on equipment should not be checked out equipment.

• Equipment should be check out for no more than 24 hours except under special circumstances when all of the photo editors and photo staff are notified.

• Checking out a camera includes checking out a battery and SD or CompactFlash card. Be sure those items are present when you check out the gear as you will be responsible for them if they are not returned.

• Return equipment to the appropriate locker or shelf. The gear cabinet and lockers containing cameras should be locked at all times.

NAMING FILES To get your pictures published, people have to be able to find them. Quickly.

To make this easy, we’ve developed a file directory structure and naming convention that will help designers find images not only now but a year from now when they need an image for the annual year in review or whatever. The date and other information are contained in the system’s file information.

description_IN.ext • “description” is a one- or two-word description of the contents of the photo. Be specific. Don’t just say “band.” Give a name or a section or an instrument or something. Be sure to include “Photo by <YOUR NAME>.”

• “IN” is the photographer’s initials.

• “ext” is the appropriate file format assignmed by Photoshop — .PSD or .JPG. Do NOT change the extension.

The equipment check out form includes a place for whomever is checking out equipment to fill in their name, telephone number, equipment checked out, date out, initials, date in, initials.

PRINT neatly.