Kenneth KobréEditing & Design by Betsy Brill

SIXTH EDITION

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P HOTOJ O U R N A L I S M

THE PROFESSIONALS’ APPROACHJ O U R N A L I S M

Firefighters snuff an electrical fire aboard an airplane parked on a Boston runway. George Rizer, Boston Globe

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ii ■ P h o t o j o u r n a l i s m : T h e P r o f e s s i o n a l s ’ A p p r o a c h

Publisher: Marie HooperAcquisitions Editor: Cara AndersonPublishing Services Manager: George MorrisonSenior Project Manager: Dawnmarie SimpsonAssociate Acquisitions Editor: Asma PalmerioAssistant Editor: Katy StencerMarketing Manager: Christine Degon VeroulisCover Design: Eric DeCicco

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Cover design and interior design: Betsy Brill, San FranciscoLine art illustration and design of Digital Darkroom special section: Ben Barbante, San Francisco

Cover photograph: Oded Balilty, Associated Press/Wide World PhotosA Jewish settler struggles with an Israeli security officer during clashes that erupted as authorities evacuated the WestBank settlement outpost of Amona, east of the Palestinian town of Ramallah.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataKobré, Kenneth, 1946-

Photojournalism : the professionals approach / Kenneth Kobré. – 6th ed.p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-0-7506-8593-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Photojournalism. I. Brill, Betsy. II. Title. TR820.K75 2008070.4'9–dc22

2007039440

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-0-7506-8593-1

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D e d i c a t i o n ■ iii

Dedication

Children perform handstands at the Lafanmi Selavi, a home for 350 street kidsin Haiti. Jennifer Cheek Pantaléon, Pacifica, California

This book is dedicatedto my parents, Reva and Sidney Kobre.

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A net fired from a helicopter envelops a female tule elk.Scientists take specimens and measurements from the elk andattach a radio collar to track the movement and habits of the270 animals in the area. John Burgess, Santa Rosa Press Democrat

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C o n t e n t s ■ v

ContentsONE ■ Assignment 2

TWO ■ Spot News 26

THREE ■ General News 48

FOUR ■ Features 64

FIVE ■ Portraits 80

SIX ■ Sports 96

SEVEN ■ Photo Editing 124

EIGHT ■ Camera Bag 154

NINE ■ Strobe 178

TEN ■ Covering the Issues 202

Dedication iiiPreface viAcknowledgments vii

ELEVEN ■ Photo Story 228

TWELVE ■ Multimedia 268

THIRTEEN ■ Video 306

FOURTEEN ■ Illustration 334

FIFTEEN ■ Ethics 352

SIXTEEN ■ Law 390

SEVENTEEN ■ History 414

EIGHTEEN ■ Turning Pro 454

Special Section ■ Digital Darkroom 468

Selected Bibliography 482Index 495

CHAPTER

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PrefaceThe Internet and its increasing

capacity for broadband distribu-tion of the news are changing

print and broadcast journalism, as isthe availability of digital equipmentfrom still cameras and audio recordersto video cameras and editing software.

As new media technologies con-verge toward news distribution on theInternet, journalistic skills and jobdescriptions are merging rapidly, too.

This morning’s newspaper photo-journalist is likely to be this after-noon’s multimedia producer or tomor-row’s videographer. The picture takermay be called on to record sound, towrite, narrate, and edit stories.

Will the story be told in a singleimage on paper, or will it spill forward on the Internet as a multi-media piece containing dozens of still images supported by audio interviews, and video? Will video

documentaries distributed on theInternet become the primary vehiclefor journalistic storytelling?

As the sixth edition of this bookgoes to press, answers to these ques-tions are playing out in news organiza-tions around the world. How does thisnew reality change the role of the pho-tojournalist—and the education andpreparation of that photojournalist?

Technologies change. Mediachange. The need to recognize newsand convey it clearly has not. Visualstorytelling skills are more vital thanthey have ever been.

For more than 27 years this book’sgoal has remained the same—to pre-pare journalists with cameras. Fromthe first edition of Photojournalism:

Photojournalists report with cam-eras; their job is to search out news,recording it in visual form…. Today’snews photographers must combinethe skills of an investigative reporterand the determination of a beatreporter with the flair of a featurewriter. The resulting pictures do notmerely supplement the news stories ofthe day as tangential illustrations orserve as ornaments to break up thegray type on the page. Today’s photosrepresent the best means available to report human events concisely and effectively.

Preface, Photojournalism: The Professionals’ Approach, 1980

Yes, new media are changing the necessary technical skills a photo-journalist must bring to the job, buttoday, more crucial than ever, is theJOURNALISM in photojournalism. ■

A first-time bull rider takes a spill at the annualrodeo at the Howard County Fairgrounds. Rich Riggins, Patuxent [Maryland] Publishing Co.

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A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s ■ vii

AcknowledgmentsAs always, my thanks go to my parents,

Dr. and Mrs. Sidney Kobré. Withouttheir advice and guidance, I would

never have written the first edition of thisbook. My father, who was a reporter, editor,and professor of journalism, helped give thebook its clear journalistic focus. His specialtywas the history of journalism. My mother, alsoa writer, suggested many ways to improve theprose of the original manuscript.

This edition of the book would have neverobtained its look nor even been completed with-out the devotion, love, and expertise of BetsyBrill, my wife. For nearly a year and a half,through many rewrites, she guided the revisionfrom initial idea to the final design of the print-ed page. Her experience as a professional pho-tojournalist, writer, editor, and designer helpedbring my abstract ideas into reality. Our daugh-ter, Daria, says that the completion of each newedition is like a renewal of our marriage vows.

For some books, the author goes to themountaintop and writes. That has never beenthe case with this book. This book has alwaysbeen based on interviews—both formal andinformal—with working pros on newspapers,magazines, wire services, and now web sites. I have mentioned their names in the text when-ever possible. Without their expertise and time,this book would not be complete.

Numerous photographers, photo editors,academics, students, and lawyers have readparts of this and previous editions. Theirthoughtful suggestions improve each revision. I greatly appreciate their time and effort.Profound thanks to this edition’s reviewers:Rich Beckman, Bo Bogatin, Keith Birmingham,Hal Buell, John Burgess, Sean Connelley, TravisFox, Jesse Garnier, Bruce Gilbert, Jack Gruber,David Guralnick, John Hewitt, John Kaplan,Tom Kennedy, John Knowlton, Kim Komenich,David Leeson, John Long, Jim MacMillan, BradMangin, John McDonough, Jim McNay, PeterMenzel, Josh Meltzer, Kent Porter, Pete Souza,Brian Smale, Brian Smith, Brian Storm, KathyStrauss, Cammie Toloui, James Wagstaffe, DavidWeintraub, and Hal Wells.

Jimmy Colton, Steve Fine, and Porter Binksat Sports Illustrated welcomed me into theiroffices to document their work for “InsideSports Illustrated,” on the enclosed DVD. RudyWinston and Jim Rose at Canon reviewed

technical material, as did Nikon’s LindsaySilverman and Scott Frier. Nikon made a vitalextended loan of its equipment. Santiago Lyon,Colin Crawford, and Ellen Erwitt helped meobtain critical images.

Almost all the photos have been lent to meby photographers, some of whom I know andothers I’ve not had the honor to meet; some for-mer students and some current ones. Their cred-its appear next to each of their pictures. I thankthem all for their generous contribution to thisproject. A book of this scope and quality wouldbe impossible without their collaboration.

I also am grateful to the news organizationslarge and small that generously allow their pho-tographers’ work to appear here.

I am proud and honored that many photogra-phers who share images tell me they used thebook when they were students or were just start-ing out. I also hear from contributers who usedan earlier edition as students and who now areteaching and assigning it to their own students.They and their images reach a new generation.

Liz Forst edited the manuscript. RhodaFeldman and, especially, Barbara Oleksiwapplied eagle eyes to proofing. Paolo Vesciashot many demo pictures. Michele Kackovichelped prepare pictures. Ben Barbante’s skill inexplaining technical material with clear draw-ings is formidable.

Diane Heppner at Focal Press encouragedme to undertake this revision. I taxed all myFocal Press editors’ patience with requests formore pages and the need to push deadlines tofill them. Cara Anderson, who took Diane’splace, went the extra mile in accommodatingthose requests.

My department chairman at San FranciscoState University, Erna Smith, was supportiveof my work, as was our dean, Paul Sherwin.My associate, Scot Tucker, helped me hold thepieces of the puzzle together at school.

Finally, like a chemist’s research lab, myclasses at SFSU continue to allow me theopportunity to experiment on new approachesto photojournalism, particularly the picturestory, the portrait, and now, new media. I thankmy students for undergoing the trials and tribu-lations of exploring new ways to tell storiesphotographically. These experiments haveresulted in several extensive photo and writingprojects, parts of which appear in this book. ■

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P HOTOTHE PROFESSIONALS’ APPROACH

J O U R N A L I S M

The exhausted rescuer was making his thirdand final attempt to save the girl. The res-cue was successful. Annie Wells, for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat

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