Alternative [Photo] Viewpoints and the Lamp
of Creativity
BY SUE KENDRICK
Pictures they say are worth a thousand
words, but many writers know that they are worth much more than that!
Without decent photographs or other
artwork to accompany an article many features published in today's
magazines and newspapers would never see the light of day, so it makes
sense to try and supply illustrations along with your submissions.
We're going to look at how photographs
can spark off ideas for features and other writing opportunities which
means taking the slightly unusual step of writing the article around the
picture rather than finding photographs to illustrate the article.
So let's begin with the hanged man. Who
on earth is that and what does he have to do with writing or
photography? Not much really, but he makes a nice analogy. The hanged
man from the Tarot card deck for those not familiar with this form of
divination, is the only card in the major arcana which is the right way
up when it shows the hanged man upside down!
Although he is bound and beset by
problems and troubles he has taken the bold step of considering the
world and his options from an alternative view point which is what
exchanging our computers and pens for a camera can do for us.
A good method of doing this is to set
yourself a couple of themes. What these themes are depend on you and
your interests, but let's suppose you chose "chimneys" and "dogs".
Both of these are common enough to
ensure plenty of subject matter and you should be able to find enough
examples whether you are a town or country dweller. Don't forget to take
plenty of film with you, (or spare batteries and flash cards for digital
cameras), and most importantly! A pen and notebook!
A couple of hours wandering the streets
gazing skywards at smoke blackened chimney stacks or staring fixedly at
the local canine Romeo plighting his troth to Lady Muck's prize Saluki
might earn you a few odd looks from the neighbors, but with a bit of
luck and determination on your part could also add a few pennies to the
coffers as well.
The trick is to take plenty of snaps, a
doddle if you've got a digital camera as you'll only be printing off the
shots you want to keep. If not, well you can often get cheap film from
your local dealer's bargain box. The developing costs you'll have to
take on the chin, unless there's a special offer running.
The next stage is to examine what
you've got. This is a bit like a deep sea fisherman trawling for cod.
Your net is not very discriminating and you'll find a lot of sprats and
mackerels amongst your "catch". You may not actually have any
photographs worthy of publication, but you will almost certainly have
ideas and if this means that you will have to go out again armed with
your camera to shoot appropriate illustrations, then so be it!
Let's assume you do have a fair amount
of reasonable photographs. What sort of article could you write around
these subjects? Well of course this will depend very much on what is
actually in the photographs, but let's go back to our neighborhood
Romeo. A few ideas you could pursue are the problems of stray dogs and
irresponsible dog owners, owners that resemble their dogs, (or other
pets), where to responsibly exercise the town dog, dogs at work, get the
idea?
The chimney photographs may suggest a
feature on ornate chimney pots, Victorian potters (many were often made
locally), the local chimney sweep, the history of a particular house or
row and the characters associated with them, Santa and problem chimney
stacks (or lack of them!).
The photographs themselves will spark
ideas, but you don't have to stop at newspaper or magazine features.
Good animal, nature and landscape shots may also find a market with
greeting card manufacturers and if you can write the sentiments to
accompany them so much the better.
In fact, once you build up a collection
of quality photographs your options increase all the time, not only in
providing illustrations for your own articles, but as stand alone sales
to newspapers which for the new comer, is one of the easiest markets to
break into.
Our canine Romeo for instance could
just make an editor's day as an alternative and humorous slant on
Valentine's day. Now there's an idea! How about a feature on love in the
animal kingdom? Just the thing for next year's Valentine's day!
Finally, a word of caution. Do be
careful when taking photographs. Many people consider it a breach of
privacy having their photographs taken without asking and may not relish
being splashed across the front page of the local rag.
You need to be even more cautious when
photographing children. They of course make excellent subjects but sadly
your motives can easily be misconstrued. If you want to cover a local
sports day, school fair or play always obtain permission from the school
first.
When you arrive at the event, make a
point of letting the head teacher know that you are there. Sending
copies of snaps to the school and the children concerned will help to
establish trust and credibility.
So, going back to the hanged man, all
you need to make sales is an alternative view point. Thankfully you
don't have to suspend yourself upside down from a tree, just reach for
the light box and light the lamp of creativity!
Sue Kendrick is a freelance writer
and graphic designer living in the English Midlands. She has
written many special interest articles for magazines and contributed
extensively to her regional newspaper. She edits and publishes
WriteLink, a UK writers resource website and monthly
newsletter, and
Writelinkpro, a content providing service for Writelink
and other publications. Sue also writes fiction and has won several
prizes for her short stories.
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