Picture Page Tutorial by Bob

Bob's picture page of the Little Arlington Cemetery ran in yesterday's Sunday Dominion Post. Bob not only is a great photographer, he can design a layout that draws the reader in and then leads you around the entire page. Here's his page proof with tips on design:

" This is a picture heavy layout. Keep in mind, I'm locked into a vertical page layout. For a picture page, I need at least four photos. I generally like to do 5 or 6. You can't go real small with newspaper reproduction.

First choose a dominant picture twice as big as any other pictures on the page. Look for pictures that support each other. Size down the supporting photos. On this page you see the bottom picture pulls the eye upward to the other photos. The crosses and shadow in the center photos are almost diagonal, drawing the eye across the page. The flag in the dominant photo flies to the left drawing your eye over the rest of the photo and likewise the side photos in the center draw your eyes inward.

Keeping the space between the photos even and at a minimum holds the layout together. The white space and text is pushed to the outside."