the facts, then use it. When a long lens lets you close the gap between you and the event and obtain facial expressions and body gestures, then by all means use it. Just remember, those ideas must add to and be a faithful part of the event you covered. In  covering  a  spot-news  assignment,  your responsibility is to provide photographs complete with captions as rapidly as possible. This helps to ensure that a release is made while the event is still news. Plan  ahead.  Keep  your  deadline  in  mind.  Work rapidly but accurately. Your enemy is time. Arrange your time so you do not overshoot the deadline. The boss, editor, or public affairs officer (PAO) expects to use that photo and caption the minute it is dried. "Nothing is as dead as yesterdays news." Each  spot-news  photograph  should  have  the following elements: Newsworthiness  and/or  human  interest  value Impact Photographic   quality Accurate written information on the subject matter NEWSWORTHINESS   AND/OR HUMAN  INTEREST  VALUE When a photograph does not have news or human interest value, the chance of the photograph being published is slim. Human interest value is almost impossible   to   measure.   The   best   indicator   to determine whether a photograph has human interest is your own emotions. When the photograph affects your  emotions  or  arouses  your  curiosity,  it  most probably will do the same for other people. IMPACT The emotional stopping power of a photograph is "impact.” Impact in a photograph should produce some  kind  of  emotional  shock  to  the  viewer.  There are  no  rules  for  consistently  producing  photographs that  have  impact.  To  create  impact,  a  photographer should be sensitive toward the subject matter and be able to feel the emotion that you intend to convey to a viewer. The difference between photographs with and without impact is usually determined by whether the  photographer  reacted  emotionally  to  the  subject matter or was indifferent and took the picture as just another assignment. Most subject matter does not have   inherent   impact.   Therefore,   you,   as   the photojournalist,  must  often  create  it.  Impact  can  be created  through  cropping,  recording  peak  action, composition, contrasting subject matter, and other photographic techniques. PHOTOGRAPHIC  QUALITY The news photograph should tell a story and the subject  matter  should  be  identifiable.  This  is  not  to say that the image must always be sharp and without grain. (This does not mean you can be careless in your  work.)  These  "imperfections"  sometimes enhance a photograph and, depending on the subject matter, can provide impact. In news photography, you may not have control over the position of the subject matter,  lighting,  or  even  your  own  position.  It  is possible that the action of an event may unfold so rapidly that the only choice you have is to aim the camera and shoot. Thus the only control you may have  is  the  instant  that  you  take  the  exposure. Although  the  ideal  scene  conditions  may  not  exist, your film may be the only record of an event. To return from a news assignment without recording the event because of undesirable scene conditions is gross neglect of duty. Whenever possible, fill the film format with the subject matter. You can do this by either moving farther from or closer to the scene or by using lenses with different focal lengths. Vary the camera angles and  do  not  stand  in  one  position  using  the  same focal-length lens to shoot an entire assignment. For  reproduction  purposes  in  a  newspaper  or magazine, a photograph should have normal contrast, contain a good range of intermediate tones, and be printed on a glossy-surface paper. When a photograph has large shadows or highlight areas, image detail may be lost in these areas when the photograph is repro- duced. Editors of publications think in terms of column width  for  photograph  size.  Column  width  in  a newspaper is about 2 inches; therefore, when you compose news photographs for publication, keep this dimension   in   mind.   A   photograph   should   be croppable so it fits into one or more full columns. 1-3