Sport’s photos are some of the most captivating and most viewed photos in the news. The sports section of a newspaper, online or paper, is one of the most popular sections, especially in Georgia newspapers. Sports photos can capture a moment and often are full of emotion. Therefore it is very important for an editor to choose attractive photographs to capture reader’s attention. There are two types of sports photographs: staged and action. Many times, when there is a profile on a character or team, an editor will choose a staged photograph of the athlete in a typical athletic position. The other type of photograph is an action shot of the game. This is where a photographer can really show his talent. These shots are also the most memorable.
Athens, home of the UGA sports, has many opportunities and a large following of sports. The two major papers, The Athens-Banner Herald and The Red and Black both have to make many photo decisions daily. In this article, the Banner-Herald profiles a high school student and adds a staged photograph of the athlete. In the Red and Black, the editor adds an action shot full of emotion as his teammates comes into home as shown above. These decisions are important and impact the entire sports page. Action photos should be used as much as possible seeing as they add more emotion and have a higher reader impact.
I think you are right about the use of action photos. Actions photos have a lot more impact on the story. They catch something, whether it is a feeling, look or small detail, that the audience would not normally be able to see. With staged photos, they give the person in the story a face. This makes the reader feel as if they know the subject, but when it gets to be more of a staged action photo, does that turn more into an ethical problem?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion a portrait is ok to use as long as they are not trying to recreate a action photo. It needs to clearly be a portrait or mug shot.
I think the reason that this picture stands out so vibrantly is that you can HEAR it: the crowd, the players shouting, and all the other sounds during one of our Diamond Dog games. I agree with what you said about the importance of editors choice in photos, especially when it comes to something that is so action-packed, such as sports. When sports packages are put together, they also incorporate the same elements as front-pages (dominant elements, etc.), so no photo and story package should lack life or activity within its photos.
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