Reader-submitted question: Do you stage your photos?
YOU THINK I STAGE MY PHOTOS???
No, I don't stage them. However, sometimes the subject of the photo will make a funny face when he or she realises I am taking the picture. There are a few examples of this phenomenon in this post. Other times, I will ask the person to smile, but I usually try to capture a moment.
I am not a great photographer, but courses in photojournalism were required for my degree. I take many photos, so I can choose the best ones. I often crop them, too: the original shot of me in that post had my mom over my shoulder. You can still see part of her head on the left side of the picture.
But no, I don't put photos on this blog that make it look like something happened that didn't happen. And while I'm on the subject, I don't write things on this blog that make it seem like something happened that didn't happen. What kind of former journalist do you think I am?
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Now THIS needs to be addressed
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2 comments:
Hmmm... I could have sworn that there are several posts in here somewhere talking about how journalists have to "build up" stories from nothing sometimes. I must have been mistaken. My apologies.
Yes, journalists sometimes have to write stories about nothing. For example, they may be forced to write a story about whether streets should be named after people or birds. (This does not excuse the editor who assigned this story or who put the inane pull quote on the front page of Name of Paper Withheld.)
However, making it look like something happened that didn't happen would be unethical. I need to make that very clear: I do not purposely present things in a way that would mislead readers.
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