you may forget who you shot or who was doing what in the photograph. One  exception  to  this  practice  is  a  sporting  event where  it  is  impossible  to  interrupt  the  action.  In  this instance, let the subject(s) know in advance that you will be taking photographs and will need to get identification as   soon   as   possible   after   the   event.   Note   uniform numbers, clothing or physical characteristics. You also may record the information during breaks in the action. CUTLINE  COMPONENTS We  will  not  go  into  detail  here  on  how  your photographs should be posed and what to look for in the way of composition. This will be covered in Chapter 12, Basic  Photojournalism.  The primary concern now is the text  that  accompanies  the  photograph  and  how  it  should be  written.  Although  newswriting  and  cutline  writing are closely related, they are different. The lead in a news story is the most important part of  the  story.  The  facts  presented  in  the  lead  may  be expanded and elaborated on in the bridge and body of the story. The cutline differs in that it is more than a part of the story — it is the whole story. Everything you have to say about the photograph is said in one paragraph. That paragraph must contain the essential facts, and the facts must be tied into the scene in the photograph. The length of a cutine is always governed by what must be told about the photograph. It may consist of one word, one sentence, or it may consist of five sentences. Cutlines have no set lengths. Strive for simplicity and brevity. The shorter you can write a cutline and still include all the essential information, the better it will be. As  in  headline  writing,  a  cutline  is  written  in  a manner appropriate to the subject matter. In other words, write a news cutline for a news photograph and a feature cutline for a feature type of photograph. There are probably as many ways to write cutlines as   there   are   newspapers,   magazines   and   other periodicals.  Just  about  every  publication  has  its  own individual  requirements  and  style  of  cutline  writing. Some want long cutlines. Some want only one or two words to tease a reader into reading the accompanying story. Others use no cutline at all. Only one method of cutline writing will be covered in this chapter. It is considered the handiest formula for a novice writer and consists of the following four major components: l l l l The action The   identification   (persons   or   things   in   the photograph) The background information The credit line The  Action The first sentence of a cutline is the most important. It must link with the photograph by describing its action. One of the peculiarities of the first sentence is its verb form. The verb in the first sentence of a cutline is in  the  present  tense.  The  reason  for  this  is  that photographs, like paintings and sculpture, capture one moment of time and keep it in the present. Another  reason  for  using  the  present  tense  in  the first  sentence  is  that  it  gives  the  readers  a  sense  of immediacy,  as  though  they  were  actually  witnessing  the event shown. Thus a cutline that reads, “Navy Seaman Jack Crevalle  swims through swirling flood waters of the Baylinguay River to rescue 6-year-old Tia Maria...” has  more  dramatic  impact  than  one  that  reads,  “Navy Seaman Jack Crevalle swam through. . ..” One problem that arises from the use of the present tense in the first sentence is what to do with the  when element. To put the time element in the first sentence would result in a sentence such as “Ryan Thompson hits a  line  drive  to  center  field  yesterday.  .  ..”  This  is somewhat jarring to the reader and should be avoided. To alleviate this problem, you can usually reserve the  time  element  in  cutlines  for  the  second  sentence. This  avoids  awkward  sentences  such  as  the  one  just quoted. The Identification The  second  part  of  a  cutline  is  the  identification. This  includes  an  identification  of  all  persons  and  things vital  to  the  storytelling  function  of  the  photograph. Everyone who is involved in the central action of the photograph should be identified. Do not identify persons who  are  blurred  out,  obscured  or  too  far  away  for recognition. Anyone in a photograph who attracts the reader’s  attention  should  be  identified.  The  reader’s curiosity should never be impeded. If the identity of a pertinent figure in a photograph is unknown, make this fact a part of the cutline. The   next   question   concerning   identification,   is where should it be placed in the cutline? The best answer 9-14