WORKING WITH PHOTOS
How to say what the camera can t
Every photo has a story inside, but it needs your help to get it out.
Make the most of each photo:
You had to be there
DELETE NONCONTRIBUTING OBJECTS
A recorder of the physical scene and nothing
At a busy meeting, photos are taken catch-
more, a camera can t see what we see. As with
as-catch-can; in this case, the lectern and
most meetings, the real action here was mainly
wall paneling just happened to be there;
cerebral. To bring the stories home, designer
they really have nothing to do with the honor
and editor have three good tools: cropping,
being bestowed and so should be deleted.
page layout and English all will be needed.
How to lay out the annual meeting:
We tend to think of a big meeting as a single to tell, it is critical that you take the text seri- conveyed in the voice-over. In most cases the
event, but it is more accurately many mini- ously; if you don t you will fail. The reason why voice-over would succeed without the film, but
events, each with activity of its own. is best illustrated by television news: While you rarely would it work the other way around! Here
Because you have stories watch the picture, note that the actual story is are three approaches to design:
Friday s presentation on
scholarships and grants
A N N U A L M E E T I N G H I G H L I G H T S helped me to
be a better
counselor for
LOREM IPSUM dolor sit amet, consectetur adipscing elit, diam my students.
CREATE NEWS KIOSKS
Williard Smith Keynote Speaker  Hope Estes
nonnumy eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolore magna
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur
This approach opens
adipscing elit, diam nonnumy eiusmod tempor
aliquam erat volupat. Ut enim ad minimim veniami quis nostrud
incidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquam erat The seminar on
the page with an intro-
exercitation ullamcorper suscipit laboris nisl ut aliquip ex ea
volupat. Ut enim ad minimim veniami quis
scholarships and grants
ductory overview, then nostrud exercitation ullamcorper suscipit
commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum irure dolor in reprehen-
helped me to
laboris nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo
breaks the activity into derit in voluptate velit esse molestaie son consequat, vel illum consequat. Duis autem vel eum irure dolor in be a better
reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse molestaie
VARY THE PACE
counselor for
a half-dozen or more dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. At vero eos et accusam et justo
son consequat, vel illum dolore eu fugiat nulla
my students.
Readers fare better
kiosks, each contain- odio dignissim qui blandit praesent lupatum dele.
 Hope Estes
with here,
ing a complete story.
Salisbury Scholar
large, bold quota-
Award Given
Note that the layout is PERS Panel Argue Benefit Packages Budget Crunch Survival Symposium
Lorem ipsum dolor
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipscing elit, diam nonnumy tions pull double
free of traditional col- sit amet, consectetur
adipscing elit, diam nonnumy eiusmod tempor eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquam erat
adipscing elit, diam
incidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquam erat volupat. Ut enim ad minimim veniami quis nostrud exercitation duty they provide
umns, which have no nonnumy eiusmod et
volupat. Ut enim ad minimim veniami quis ullamcorper suscipit laboris nisl ut
tempor incidunt ut
both a visual and
nostrud exercitation ullamcorper suscipit aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis
value here; instead,
labore et dolore
laboris nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo. autem vel eum irure dolor in
magna aliquam erat editorial change of
reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse
the spread is a mural
llamcorper suscipit
molestaie son consequat, vel illum
laboris nisl. pace. Photo-in-a-
on which the reader is dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. At vero
eos et accusam et justo odio dignissim
This was the circle as well as
free to move without qui blandit praesent lupatum delenit
first Annual
aigue duos dolor et
different column
restriction. Note the
molestais exceptur sint occaecat cupidat non
Meeting that
provident, simil tempor sunt in culpa qui officia
widths are similar
I ve been able
alternating white and
deserunt mollit anim id est laborum et dolor fugai. Et
to attend. I plan to come harumd dereud facilis est er expedit distinct. nam pace-changers.
gray backgrounds, and Lorem ipsum dolor sit
liber a tempor cum soluta nobis eligend optio
back every year!
amet, consectetur.
 Doug Cook
that the photos some-
times extend beyond
the borders.
14
Before&After
®
This article was originally published in Before & After magazine issue 16.
M A G A Z I N E
To learn more about B&A s great design solutions, and to order subscriptions
and back issues, go to www.bamagazine.com.
323 Lincoln Street,
Roseville, CA 95678
Copyright 2004, Before & After magazine. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced
www.bamagazine.com in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher. Write to: [e-mail].
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ISSUE:
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he annual meeting was coming and backs of heads not exactly the stuff of To expect beauty from photos like these
anticipation was high. There were Life magazine. The photos didn t do jus- is to miss the story; there s no way you re
Tideas to introduce, goals to reach, tice to the event! going to make these photos pretty.
friends to be made. Your photographer Now what? As a visual communicator, your job is
was ready and you were expecting great A camera is a funny thing. While we to convey the substance of the event, as
things, but what came back was a disap- people experience life on many levels at well as its texture and tone. To do that,
pointment; on the film was a jumble of once, a camera does not; it is a recorder you (and the editor) must fill in what the
hairdos, draperies, uncleared tables, the of the physical scene, and nothing more. camera couldn t see:
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
MAGGIE
KURTZ
EXAGGERATE THE ACTION FIND TWO (OR MORE) PHOTOS IN ONE CROP WITH HEADLINES ALREADY IN MIND
Crop out empty chairs to convert light atten- The speakers were interesting but the room Wide-format cropping sets the eye reso-
dance into a packed house. What you re was a snooze. Before discarding the photo, lutely on the speaker and makes a useful
doing is shifting the focus, which is different lift out the good parts to use elsewhere. You backdrop for type. You can get away with
from just deleting things; photos cropped can sometimes find a half-dozen images this when the wall is blank. As a rule, keep
for this purpose can take many shapes. this way! Look carefully. the type size smaller than the person.
MAKE A MOVIE
Here s what to do if no editor s available. Anytime you can
get photos lined up in a neat, linear sequence you ll create
a strong, visual line and the sense of an un-
folding story. This is true with or without the
film strip (try placing the photos along the
extreme top or bottom of a page, or down a
side). The film strip is a bonus; it underscores the feeling of
To heighten its effect, zoom in and out from one
photo to the next. If you can, shift backgrounds from light
to dark and back remember, the eye likes variety. Note
that each frame has been keyed by letter to a caption.
WRITE A BOOK
Season a windy topic with thumbnail-size
cameos. This technique is useful:
" if you have a lot to say,
" if the speakers were most important,
" if your on-the-set photos were
Note bold, descriptive text surrounds each
inset photo; it looks great but takes
to get words and pictures in balance.
15
Before&After
®
This article was originally published in Before & After magazine issue 16.
M A G A Z I N E
To learn more about B&A s great design solutions, and to order subscriptions
and back issues, go to www.bamagazine.com.
323 Lincoln Street,
Roseville, CA 95678
Copyright 2004, Before & After magazine. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced
www.bamagazine.com in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher. Write to: [e-mail].
2 of 2
Background color: C15 Y10
ISSUE:
16