A letter to our readers

Keep those photos coming. We love receiving pictures you take when you see news, when you attend school events or festivals and when something funny or poignant happens. We can’t be everywhere. But happily for us, our readers are often on site with cameras in hand, snapping away. As we continually strive to upgrade the look and readability of the paper, we want to keep our reader-photographers up to date on design changes to keep in mind as you take and submit pictures. We are stepping up the design in all our newspapers. And, we encourage you to join in the upgrade. ?We’ve moved away from the line ‘em up and shoot ‘em approach. ?Instead, we want photos that help tell a story. ?We want all our photos to be grabbers — photos that grab attention, that make readers stop and look even if they don’t have a personal stake in the subject. Here are some guidelines: ?Take active shots. Get people doing something, with expression. They don’t necessarily have to be looking directly at the camera. ?Try to go beyond the notion that everyone has to get in the photo. ?Instead, offer us shots that show one or two people or a small group actively engaged in something, rather than the entire group. Not everyone will get in the paper, but over time all will most likely have a chance to be recognized. ?If you are offering your photos to other news outlets, please don’t send us all the exact same photo. ?Identification is very important. Be sure to ID everyone in the photo, and if need be, tell us what’s going on. And, remember, everyone has a first name, even teachers. ?Submit photos via e-mail, in jpg format. Send no more than 2 or 3 photos per e-mail to editor.ann@strausnews.com. If you have more, send in a separate e-mail and be sure to label your photos so we cannot mistake who sent them and who’s in them. Happy shooting! Beth Kalet Managing Editor Advertiser-News