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This chapter is meant for anybody who works for a small community newspaper, school paper, in-house magazine or newsletter.

As a journalist who also has to take your own photographs, you need to concentrate on the story as well as keeping an eye open for a good photo opportunity.

This is not always easy, but it is possible.

Here are a few tips on how to go about it.

The most important thing is that you leave the interview with a photograph. Always make sure that you first take a few photographs before the interview starts. If the situation gets tense and you are shown the door at any point, you at least have your picture.

If everything goes well, take a few photographs after the interview as well. By this time the subject is more relaxed and you will find it easier to get the person to co-operate.

It is still not always possible to get the animated expressions that a photographer can capture while the subject is talking to the journalist, (but you can try to make small talk while taking the picture and hopefully capture the person while he or she is reacting.

To try and capture something of a person’s personality that you have only just met is difficult and you will need all your people skills and charm to make it a success.

Remember, most people are very self-conscious when being photographed and it is your job to put them at ease. If possible, get them to do something or demonstrate something. For example, if you have interviewed an artist, ask him or her to demonstrate how they paint and take some photographs of them in action while you keep asking questions, occasionally asking them to look into the camera. This should give you a variety of facial expressions to choose from.

Unless the person being interviewed is already well-known or famous, it is a good thing to show a person in the relevant environment.
Without having to read the story, one can guess from the photograph on the left that the person being interviewed is a truck driver.

See things differently

Always keep your eyes open for photographs that won’t look the same as everybody else’s, or shoot from unusual angles.

The photograph of the child on the right was taken at an arts festival when the photographer was sent to take pictures of the general public at the festival. This is the kind of photograph (right) that calls for great captions.

Large groups are not always ideal, but are sometimes necessary. Always try to group the people in an interesting position to make the photograph more interesting to look at, in stead of lining up everybody in a row.
This also goes for smaller groups.

At social events, get the people to pose close together. Unnecessary gaps between people are a waste of space.

In a large group with too many people for you to make sure that you can see everyone, ask them to make sure they can all see the camera lens. That way, at least you'll get them all in the picture.

At any news event, the important thing is to try and convey what is happening than to worry about composition and exposure (which is why you have to know your camera well).

Here it is more important to capture the action of what is happening, as in the riot scene on the right.

Colour:

Although colour can play a major part in making a photograph attractive, it is not always necessary in order to convey atmosphere, mood or emotion. The monotone colour photograph on the left is a good example.

On the other hand, it is useful to know how the use of colour will influence your photograph. Using only a few colours that contrast or compliment each other can be much more striking and dramatic than having a whole lot of colours together in one picture.

Still life:

Still life photographs are ideal for putting your composition and exposure skills to the test. With nobody rushing you or getting uncomfortable, you can take your time photographic buildings, nature scenes, food photographs etc.

Be original:

Keep your eyes open for unexpected views and incidents, like the photographs below. The unexpected view of the climber below is much more interesting than it would have bee if it was taken from a normal spectator's view, as is the zoomed in photograph of the Ferrari's on the right.

Exercise:

1. Take a close-up photograph during an interview trying to capture emotion or animated expressions.
2. Take a portrait photograph of a person showing him or her in the relevant environment.
3. Take a one general photograph at a flea market or street market and one photograph of something unusual you see there.
4. The victim of a devastating incident decides to tell her/his story to the press and is willing to pose for a photograph, but doesn’t want to be recognised. (Get a friend to pose for you and try to capture the emotion in the person's body language.)
5. Photograph ordinary objects or situations but try to portray them in unusual or unexpected ways.

You may post your photographs on the forum for comments and advice.

© Heléne Cilliers