A | B |
Angle | The specific location from which a photo is shot. Variety in angle creates more interesting photography and can tell the story in different ways. |
Bird’s-Eye-View | A photo shot from above, taken from a high angle. |
Center of Visual Interest (CVI) | Primary subject that catches readers’ attention first. Should be the focal point or dominant element within
the photo. |
Composition | Position or arrangement of the elements in a photo; content of a photo. |
Cropping | Editing the image area to be reproduced. Cropping enhances a photo’s visual impact by removing dead space from the sides, top or bottom. |
Format | A horizontal or vertical orientation for a photograph. A variety in format makes a spread or module more interesting. |
Framing | Composing a photo so that the subject is surrounded (framed) by content — sky, ground, people, architecture — that highlights the subject. |
Leading Lines | A photo composition technique in which real or imaginary lines in a photo lead the eye to the dominant element, primary subject or center of interest. |
Noise | An undesirable electronic pattern in the dark areas of a digital photo. |
Perspective | The angle at which a photo is shot. A wide shot shows the overall event or scene, introducing the story. A medium shot brings readers close to the action, telling more of the story. A close-up/detail shot focuses on a single, interesting subject, showing one small element that provides information on the subject matter. |
Photo Assignment | The time, place and event/activity the photographer is to shoot. |
Photojournalism | The art of telling a visual story with photographs. Photojournalists capture life as it happens, with an emphasis on emotion in motion. Photojournalistic images are not staged or posed. |
Photojournalistic Photos | Tell stories, show action and reaction. Provide a variety of subjects and points of view. |
Photo Editing | Brings together photographer and designer and involves selection, cropping, sizing and the display
of photos to optimize storytelling. |
Reference Photos | Group shots and portraits that provide a record of the school population and the membership of organizations and teams. |
Repetition of Patterns | A photo composition technique in which texture, lines or another visual element repeats in the photo. |
Rule of Thirds | A method of dividing the photograph into thirds vertically and horizontally creating four intersection points. The main subject should usually fall into one of the intersecting points, a little off-center in the photo. |
Selective Focus | Choosing a lens opening that produces a shallow depth of field to creatively place parts of an image out of focus to emphasize other parts of the image. |
Sequence | A complete visual story that results from shooting before, during and after the event or activity. |
Sizing | Matching the dimensions of the original photo to the proportions of a photo module on a design. A horizontal photo cannot fit into a vertical space and vice versa. |
Subject | The main focus of a photo (a single person, a couple, a small group, a large group). Varying the number of people in photos tells different stories. |
Worm’s-Eye-View | A photo shot from below, or a ground-level angle. |