quality of a whole report linked to quality of each photo?

[yann_r.]

> Must each photo of a documentary be very good and have high technical value to

make a good whole report?<p>

I would be very interested to read your point of views, thanks in advance.

[momente]

Well, in my opinion, your questions are too vague, so the answer(s) will probably all start with 'it depends'. I'd incline to say that both technical and aesthetic - as in subject matter, moment, story, impact - merits are necessary inputs, however in different proportions and depending on the report's purpose. For instance, let's imagine that tomorrow somebody discoveres an authentic photographic journal documenting Hitler's suicide. I don't think that back in '45 you could ask for the kind of technical qualities of today's photojournalism; what I'm trying to say is that maybe what's truly important is what the shots put forward, in terms of visual impact and pertinence. Basically, it just has to be decently exposed and in focus to win a Pulitzer. On the other side, if you're doing a report on.. say jewelry, the results must all reach a certain level, in technical terms, for your work to have any meaning. <p> Should the shots 'be very good to make a good whole report'? Well, if some shots turn out mediocre in a technical sense, yet surprise the essence of the report (like a slighly blurry or underexposed shot of a violent mob impacting with the police), I'd say they're worth keeping. Basically, I'd stick with those that are truly meaningful/powerful, expressing the purpose and substance of the photografic investigation..

[dave_powell2]

Hi Yann,

 

I'm a journalist and writer by profession, and in a way, a photostory may be like an article or poem...every image (like each paragraph or stanza) should have a reason for being included, and should directly contribute to the story's flow. It's quite easy to throw in images (or paragraphs) that will derail readers from what you are trying to show.

 

To run a bit further with the print-journalism analogy, article paragraphs can be organized in many ways...such as, in time sequence, by cause-effect, or in an inverted-triangle order of "importance" to proving the core idea. And maybe similar organizational ideas can help to sequence the images in a photostory.

 

But...as in article writing... good images that don't fully belong in the main flow could be included in one or more "sidebar" supporting pieces!

 

Sincerely,

 

Dave

[stephen hazelton]

It depends. You'd expect that if the photographer was shooting something where he had control over his timing and placement, that he ought to get consistent first class results. On the other hand, if he's hunkering down under machine gun fire, holding the camera up at arms length, and it's raining, then you'd cut him some slack on the results. If the content of the photo is important enough, the technical quality is not as critical.

[pico_digoliardi]

Short answer: No.

 

I've written this before, but ... my young mind was informed by a veteran picture editor one day when I came back from an assignment rather unhappy that I didn't get a good picture; he said, "Sometimes you have to have the guts to turn in a picture you don't like because it tells the story. Your pictures tell the story. We are running them."

 

Very few memorable photojournalistic photographs are technically perfect. Reality, the things before us, is not arranged as an intellectual would idealize. Journalism is not about managed still-lifes.

[citizen.stuart]

Yann, I don't mean any disrespect, but find a good book on the work of W Eugene Smith (W. Eugene Smith, master of the photographic essay, if possible) and ask yourself your question as you look though the images.

There's your answer. All the Best, Stu

[yann_r.]

Sorry, I've been a bit off lately... I'll answer you soon, thanks.