picking the right media for a story

By Paul Grabowicz   ·   Updated Dec 22, 2012   ·   Print Print

Photos

Here are the types of stories or aspects of stories that lend themselves to photos:

Reflection - if it's a story you want someone to reflect on, or a moment you want people to ponder that can be captured in a photo. Examples:

Emotions - photos are good for stories that are very emotional. Photos can evoke strong emotions.

Central characters in a story - if you want the viewer to reflect on who the person is, rather than seeing how they behave. A photograph gives the viewer a sense of a person. Examples:

Central place in a story - a photograph gives you a sense of a place, but with the opportunity to reflect on it. It's more intimate than using video. Thus if there's a natural disaster, you might take the viewer there with video while things are happening, and then use photos to take the viewer to the scene in the aftermath, so the viewer can reflect on what happened. Panoramas are sometimes a very effective way of taking the viewer to a place and immersing them in it. Examples:

Readings and Resources

Filed under: Reporting