overshadows the other facts in a story. An example,
"Thank goodness the washer was full of water," said
the Ship's Serviceman who used the drain hose to put
out a laundry fire.
g. Direct Address. This lead is aimed
directly at the reader and makes the reader a
collaborator with facts in the story. The lead usually
contains the pronouns you or your. For example,
"Because a Ship's Serviceman used the wash water to
put out a fire, you will have your whites back in time
for liberty on Friday."
h. Freak. The freak lead is the most uncon-
ventional of the novel leads. It contains a play on
words, alliteration, poetry, or an unusual typographical
arrangement. For example, "Smoke-eating Ship's
Serviceman douses blaze in duds."
Story Bridge
In some stories, the transition from the lead to the
body can be awkward. To help smooth this transition,
you should use a sentence or paragraph to "tie" the
lead to the body. This sentence or paragraph can
contain detailed information that is not important
enough for the lead but is too important to be placed
lower in the text. An example of a bridge is as
follows:
Lead: "Smoke-eating Ship's Serviceman dampens
disaster with washer drain."
Bridge:
"Yesterday, a smoke-eating Ship's
Serviceman who was running the laundry used the
washing machine drain to put out a fire."
Story Body
The body is the detailed portion of an article that
explains the facts of a story.
Story Ending
A good ending or conclusion terminates an article
in a positive manner. It should leave the reader
satisfied that the story was worth reading. Story
endings are used more in feature articles than news
articles. An example of a story ending is as follows:
"Thus, by quick action, the Ship's Serviceman
saved the clothing of the crew and stopped a
fire that threatened the ship."
PICTURE LAYOUT
The picture layout is an arrangement of
photographs, text, white space, illustrations, and other
elements that make up the pages of a newspaper,
magazine, or display. The message that you extend to
your readers should be easy to read and understand.
This layout of elements should be such that the reader
can follow them in a logical progression. A good
layout is INVISIBLE to the reader. When the layout
is visible, it is distracting to the reader and the
message may be lost.
The success or failure of a layout depends on its
emotional and visual impact. DIRECTIONAL LINES
OF FORCE are the primary elements that cause the
reader to flow with or against the story. Directional
lines of force are used to build reader interest.
When you are laying out a page that is dominated
by photographs, such as a picture story or picture
essay, the selection of pictures should be determined
by the importance and complexity of the story.
PRIMARY OPTICAL AREA
Since we read text from the left and downward,
we have a tendency to first focus our eyes on the
upper-left comer of a page or display board. This
area is the PRIMARY OPTICAL AREA and should
contain an element that attracts your eyes at first
glance.
DIAGONAL
Our eyes scan in smooth-flowing, back-and-forth
loops. Attracted by appealing elements, our eyes
move downward diagonally from the primary optical
area toward the bottom-right area of the page.
Typically, this bottom-right area is the ultimate goal
of our eye scan movement. Once our eyes have
reached this area, our mind knows automatically (from
habit) that the page has ended. You must use
elements that appeal to the reader to attract attention
away from the diagonal to the comers of your layout.
Since the natural tendency of the eye scan is in a
downward direction, you should not use elements that
cause the scan to backtrack and read higher on the
page; for example, a strong leading line that redirects
the attention of the reader upward and into an area of
the story that has already been read.
1-19

Advanced Photography Course












As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.











WWW.DOFMASTER.COM
© 2006 Don Fleming. All rights reserved.