When I first started working at Hood River News (11 years ago, but who’s counting?), I had this idea that being a reporter was just about words. So that is what I concentrated on when I was assigned my first story: I researched, I interviewed, I wrote, and I filed the finished article.
I was ready to cross it off the list and start on my next project when I was asked a confounding question: “Do you have art to go with this?”
Wait … what?
So that’s how I learned that “art” refers to any visual image that accompanies a story. And that those images are just as important as the story itself. “Art” can be a photograph or headshot, graph or illustration — well, you get the picture (see what I did there? Words are fun).
I could get into how I learned how to take a decent photograph — although that’s a never-ending quest on my part — but let’s keep it to one early experience I had at the Odell Farmer’s Market during its first season. I got a lovely shot of a vendor and their produce-laden table … only to have it pointed out to me later that there was a port-a-potty visible next to the grower’s head in back. And that’s how I learned to be aware of both the foreground and background.
We like to include art whenever possible, be it a story or press release or wild shot (also known as a stand-alone photo with a short-ish cutline) because that helps to tell the story — it’s one thing to say, “There was a parade down Oak Street in Hood River” and quite another to have a photograph of people waving from floats. And if a picture is worth 1,000 words (in case anyone is curious, 300 words equals approximately nine column inches), then it’s another way to add more bang for our story buck.
Also, photographs break up block after block of boring gray text. Oh, my stories might be riveting, but who wants to look at something that’s visually displeasing? Fun fact, old editions of our newspapers were just columns upon columns of text — I look through those books to gather interesting tidbits to use in our Yesteryears column — and it’s really difficult to distinguish one element from another. All of the stories are smashed together.
The physical edition of the newspaper doesn’t have space to include art with every story — or all that is available — but unused images go online on our website. I recently created a slide show of photos that I took of “Theory of Relativity,” the musical showing at Hood River Valley High School earlier this month, to complement the story and pictures that ran in the Feb. 23 edition. This is a fairly common occurrence, especially with sports photos; it’s an added perk for everyone who visits our website.
Extra photos are also great to have on hand to use later, be that next week or next year. I use a lot of what we call “file shots” in our Gift Guide publication’s annual event listing because I can’t include a current photo of, say, Cookies with Santa before the event has taken place. But any photo can be kept as a file shot: Those from monthly or annual events, sports contests, concerts, even nature shots. Photos are extremely useful in that way — they don’t have to be current to add context to a story. I mean, look at the history page in today’s paper (B4); those photos are decades old, but they give us a glimpse into what life was like back then.
Although our staff thinks in both words and photos, oftentimes when we are sent press releases, no image are included. Usually when this happens, I will reach out to the sender and ask if there’s a photo or some other illustration that can be used in addition to the release. Art doesn’t have to be complicated — it could be as simple as sending a headshot (also known as a mugshot) to accompany a story on a speaking event, or a map to illustrate a bus route. Such images draw the eye to its associated story and give the reader a quick overview of what that story is about.
We also accept reader submitted photographs — anything from nature shots to events. Closeups work best, as they reproduce well in print, and we prefer those to crowd shots — although if that’s all you have, send it anyway. Be sure to include all pertinent information, including the most important piece: The names of those pictured. Names are crucial in a community newspaper — especially in photos of five or fewer people — because those names and faces are what gives the photograph its meaning and context.
Other information to include with your photo submission: When and where the photo was taken, and the name of the photographer so we can give proper credit. And if you have a story to go along with it, send that too — the what, why and how, if applicable — to photos@gorgenews.com or directly to me, trishaw@gorgenews.com.
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