Some people may think that just because I take a photo it is destined to appear in print. Nothing could be farther from the truth. A photo usually goes through a couple of sets of eyes as editors select which photos will appear in print.
We apply a basic set of rules to our selection process, does it tell a story is it visually interesting does it add to the composition of a news page. Among the criteria a picture undergoes is the dreaded “Cheerios” test. Would you want to see this picture while reading the paper at your breakfast table? Usually such tests are only administered to graphic accident photos, until one night I was assigned to photograph the downtown wine stroll. At the corner of 9th Street and Central Avenue I stumbled upon Chris Sena and Chris Martinez. They were trying to drum up business for the Spirit Halloween store modeling a pair of their costumes. Sena was dressed as a beer keg and Martinez donned the breathalyzer outfit.
While editors found the costumes amusing the breathalyzer outfit was deemed too risqué for publication and banished to a spot on the wall above my desk. I don’t know, I think we could have run the shot and I am interested in what readers think, should we have published the picture or not?
1 comment:
Glenn -- I would have run the shot in Our Town near Jack Eddy's wine article. Personally, you can be proud that you finally got to use the photo. Great Blog
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