Pro case study
A former picture editor at
The Times, Paul Sanders
provides his insider adviceI started my career as a news photographer
in 1991 with the Daventry Express, before
moving to the News Team agency in
Birmingham. In 1996 I joined the Manchester
Evening News. I moved to London in 1998 to
work with Reuters, mainly as an editor, but
also shooting news and sport. The Times
offered me a job on the picture desk, and in
2004 I was made picture editor, responsible
for the entire visual content of the paper and
website, and a team of 12 photographers and
30 desk staff.
As a picture editor I looked at around
20,000 news images a day. The images had
to be eye-catching, relevant to the news
agenda, or surprising – the kind of image
that raised eyebrows, made readers smile or
becurious.Asubmittedimagehastobeofa
reallyhighstandard,interestingandwell-
captioned.Mostphotographersforgetthisbit- theimportanceofinformationtoaccompany
theimageiskeytobeingabletosellit.A
photoeditordoesn’thavetimetophoneyou
forachatabouttheimage,andiftheydo
havetocallitwillbeshortandusuallyquite
blunt–theywon’tshoweryouwithpraise.
Outof20,000imagesweusearound200,
andimagesareusuallyrejectedbecausethey
aren’tgoodenough,relevant,ordon’tarrive
earlyenough.AmorningnewspaperlikeThe
Timeshasaconferenceat4pm–ifyour
imageisnotinbeforethenitstandslittle
chanceofmakingit.Itissoimportanttohave
afullcaptionembeddedintheimage,with
yourname,addressandcontactdetails.
Also,makesuretheimageisdatedand
current–archiveimagessenttoillustrate
mainnewsstoriesaretheworstthing
becauseitiseasytobefooledintousingone,
whichleadstoapologieshavingtobeprinted!
Ithinkasaphotographer,workingon
thedeskgivesyouinsightintohowstories
andpicturescometogetherforthewaythe
paperwantstotellthestory.Itteachesyou
theimportanceofspaceandnotwasting
it.Asapictureeditormyexperience
asaphotographermeantIcouldbrief
photographersandeditorstothe“real”
possibilitiesandnotthemake-believeworld
manyeditorslivein,wheretheyimaginea
photographandthinkitexists.Managing
expectationsiskeytotherole!
Above
Authenticity
“Never clone detail in or out,” advises Paul. “News pictures tell the
truth, and the reputation of newspapers and agencies stand or
fallon authenticity”Below
House style
Understand why you are taking the picture – make sure
it isn’t over-complicated. If you intend on going directly to
papers, shoot to their style – they are all subtly differentx2 © Paul SandersMake sure the image
is dated and current
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