Single Shot - Photo¶

Telling a strong story with one image is a skill. To simplify, these templates explain some primary photo types.

Clip 1 - Environmental¶

Artwork: ???.svg
Shot Size:
Goal: Show where your story takes place.
Length: X seconds
Description: Indicate the country or an ethnic or religious element. Include landmarks or other location specific information.
Tip: Landmarks help the audience understand their location.
Security Concern: -

Clip 2 - Reaction/Interaction¶

Artwork: ???.svg
Shot Size:
Goal: Depict how people are responding to the event or its aftermath.
Length: X seconds
Description: Show the character interacting with others. Build a connection between the viewer and subject. Your character should fill 20% of your frame. Good for Breaking News.
Tip: Keep your character on one of the vertical lines to frame your shot properly.
Security Concern: -

Clip 3 - Candid¶

Artwork: ???.svg
Shot Size:
Goal: Show the character engaged in her environment.
Length: X seconds
Description: Depict the character behaving naturally. Why is the character noteworthy? Show the audience. Good for Features and Events.
Tip: Place your character on one side of the frame, frame your shot to show something else important to the story on the other side.
Security Concern: -

Clip 4 - Portrait¶

Artwork: ???.svg
Shot Size:
Goal: Introduce the character. Get close.
Length: X seconds
Description: Your primary focus is the main character in your story. Highlight the characters emotions or state of mind. Good for Events and Profiles.
Tip: Use the eye-line to frame your shot properly.
Security Concern: -

Clip 5 - Signature¶

Artwork: ???.svg
Shot Size:
Goal: Summarize the entire issue by illustrating an essential element of the story.
Length: X seconds
Description: A strong signature photo will intrigue the audience and encourage them to look further. This element should fill at least 50% of the frame.
Tip: Set your camera to Macro if you are shooting less than arm’s length from your subject.
Security Concern: -

Discussion¶

John's notes. You might think of including some sort of preamble that explains how the CJ should choose the category of shot from the options listed below for a single-image presentation. Related to that, I would move signature shot to the top. It is by far the most common one-shot photo of an event -- shouldn't all one-shot photos 'summarize the entire issue by illustrating an essential element of the story'? Maybe the way to go about this is to say that all one-shots are signature shots. Choose the most appropriate kind of signature from the list below, which would include the remaining categories as types/characteristic of good one-shot/signatures. There might also some reminder (in the preamble) of layers in a photo to provide subject and context. This is especially true for portraits. Generally, 'mug shots,' which is what I think will be the result of 'portraits' as described below, are never good. You might add a line that encourages a context layer to make it an environmental portrait.