When creating your school magazine, having good quality photographs is essential, writes Louise Holden

SEEMS LIKE a cheat’s guide to telling a thousand words, but your great stories can be made or broken by a photograph. The right picture will stop your readers in their tracks and draw them into your story. A poor photo will have them moving swiftly on.

There are plenty of free photos available in databanks online but, wherever you can, get your own. It’s not hard to lay your hands on a digital camera these days, and if there’s a team member with a decent eye who knows their way around a camera, put him or her on the photographer’s beat. Original photography can move your mag from run-of-the-mill to top of the pile.

Your photographer should look for photos that will illustrate your stories, but also keep and eye out for shots that will set the agenda. Pictures are stories in their own right, as many an Irish Times front page illustrates. Here’s some advice for getting the perfect image from a leader in the field, Peter Thursfield, picture editor of The Irish Times:

1 Get the story

Before taking a feature or news photograph, know the story. This will help to guide you to the story’s important visual elements.

2 Move closer

Don’t leave too much space around your subject. Get close and use a fast enough shutter speed to avoid blurring.

3 Keep it lively

Stiff, static poses are dull to look at. Put your subject at ease; encourage them to talk, laugh and interact. This will help readers to get a sense of the real person, not just their “photo face”.

4 Try another angle

If you can’t get the right picture, learn more about the story. You might find an angle that offers potential for a different photographic approach.

5 Take stock

Archive and stock photos are worth considering. Get free photos at www.freeimages.co.uk or www.freephotosbank.com. If your mag is going to be printed

in black and white, choose high-contrast shots – they will have have more impact.

www.irishtimesschoolmag.ie