Pure design: Stand-alone photographs

mario garcia

168

Stand-alone photographsWe all like stories accompanied by good photos. Editors and

designers everywhere try hard to find that one “visual” that fits

perfectly with the text. Sometimes it does not happen.

That is when we appeal to our next best solution: the stand-alone

photo. In today's environment, with readers sweeping rapidly

through the pages of the newspaper, stand-alone photos are a quick

way to provide good graphic impact on the page. Many stories can

and should be told only through photos. Brief texts do the job.

Stand alones can also serve as navigational devices. A stand-alone

a sports event on page one may capture our attention, and refer us

to a complete story inside. Some tips on how to best use stand-

alone photos:

Place a good headline over the photo (the headline can also

appear below the photo, but I always recommend the superior

position for more effective packaging).

Box or rule the photo, headline, and caption, to guarantee that

the stand alone photo does not “float” on the page, or appear to be

related to stories around it.

Never write a block of text under a stand-alone photo that is

deeper than the photograph. Captions of six to nine lines are

ideal. Otherwise, write a story.

pure design

169

Pictures tell a story: The Las Vegas ReviewJournal uses a stand-alone photo to tellthe story without resorting to the tradi-tional headline and text combination.Readers who scan headlines and look atphotos enjoy this type of treatment, asthey get information without having toread much text. Stand-alone photos can beused to lead readers to an inside pagewhere the story develops further, or theycan just offer enough information on the