The B.C. Catholic Paper

Home

Contact

Submit Article

Submissions

Photo Tips

Friday, 18 June 2010 21:33 Paul Schratz

Here are some instructions, tips and hints to help make your photos more appealing and usable for the paper.

Photo Tips

DO	DON'T

Action shots are always better than "staged" or "posed" photographs. They are more interesting, tell a story and will more likely lead the reader to read the accompanying story or information.

DO DON'T

DO	DON'T

Cose-ups on individuals are usually better than more distant shots that include "everyone." Although it's nice to get everyone at an event into a picture, it just isn't as attractive or useful.

DO	DON'T

Needless to say, fuzzy or blurry pictures are unattractive and usually unusable.

DO	DON'T

Of course, there needs to be plenty of light, or there is really nothing to see.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you force yourself to get in close to your subject, it also makes it more difficult to take photos of long line-ups of people, and that's probably for the better.Newspaper reproduction usually makes it impossible to see much detail in a photo that contains a dozen people.

Please keep it simple, and keep it close.Be creative. Rather than taking a picture of 10 people standing at the Bake Sale table, take a picture of your most senior (or junior) member, holding a slice of her famous 12-layer chocolate cake.

Formats and Sizes

Friday, 18 June 2010 21:30 Paul Schratz

The B.C. Catholic Can Accept Photos in a Variety of Ways

Digitally

Photos can be e-mailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or "burned" onto a CD and mailed to the office. The pictures should be as large as possible (originals are best).

Do not use compression to make the file-size smaller
Do not shrink the image size to send it by e-mail (contact us)
Ideally pictures should be as large (in pixels, inches, etc) as possible

Physically

Photos can be sent to The B.C. Catholic office in prints (glossy or matte) or as film negatives. The B.C. Catholic will scan these digitally for use in the paper.

Scanning

If you have prints and are thinking of scanning them to send to us digitally, please do not. We would be much happier to scan them here, giving us greater control over DPI, cropping and colour correction for newsprint. Also, many scanners are automated and the end result (though it looks great on your screen) may not be what you hoped for. The best bet is to send us the prints.

Photos Overview

Friday, 18 June 2010 21:29 Paul Schratz

Send Us Your Photos

The B.C. Catholic accepts photos from groups and individuals for publication. If you have an interesting or newsworthy photo or photos, please send them along to us.

Photo formats/sizes - find out what you need to know about type of files to send, image resolution and image compression
Photo Tips - find out what makes for a great photo and what to avoid
Send your photos - here is our contact info to e-mail your photos

Article Guidelines

Friday, 18 June 2010 21:28 Paul Schratz

Article Writing Dos & Don'ts (Correspondents' Guidelines)

BE COLOURFUL AND BRIEF

Write-ups and photos of your events needn't be long and detailed. Keep in mind that most readers will want to know, "What was the most interesting thing about your event?", and not just the Who, What, When, Where and Why.

Please remember to include the more colourful details. The fact that 14 people gathered for a luncheon is less interesting than the news that at the luncheon they presented a new chalice to the Pastor. And remember to get a picture of Father and the chalice.

BE PHOTO-WISE

To improve the chances of our using your photos, please keep in mind a couple of things: First, don't be shy. A good rule of thumb is that you should get as close to your subject as physically possible, and then take a step even closer. That way, faces will show up clearly, and readers can see the pastor's delighted smile at being handed a cheque. If you force yourself to get in close to your subject, it also makes it more difficult to take photos of long line-ups of people, and that's probably for the better.

Newspaper reproduction usually makes it impossible to see much detail in a photo that contains a dozen people. Please keep it simple, and keep it close.

Be creative. Rather than taking a picture of 10 people standing at the Bake Sale table, take a picture of your most senior (or junior) member, holding a slice of her famous 12-layer chocolate cake.

BE TIMELY

One way you can help us get your news in the paper is to keep it current. It's better to mail, fax or e-mail a couple of paragraphs or a photo this week than a two-page write-up and many photos several weeks from now.

And if all you have is a photograph, send it in. Chances are it will grab just as many readers all by itself.

BE WITHIN REACH

Always include a name and phone number where The B.C. Catholic can get additional information if necessary.

We at The B.C. Catholic want to thank you for your interest, and we want to help you in getting your message across to our readers. By following these simple guidelines, you can make it more likely that readers will learn about the events and activities your organization is involved in.

Submit your article online

Use our form to send your article to the editor of The B.C. Catholic here.

General Overview

Friday, 18 June 2010 21:26 Paul Schratz

The B.C. Catholic is loyal to the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church.

The B.C. Catholic uses non-fiction and opinion articles ranging from 300 to 3,000 words on topics of interest to Catholics in British Columbia. News and feature stories as well as opinion pieces should be relevant to the faith and to B.C.

We don’t customarily publish fiction or poetry.

The B.C. Catholic pays five cents a word for reprinted material and 15 cents a word for original, commissioned news stories. We pay $30 for original photos that we publish.

Due to security concerns, e-mailed submissions should be sent within the text of an e-mail message rather than as an attached file. It can also be submitted using our online form.

If you are submitting an article that has previously been printed elsewhere, please advise as to publication and date of original publication.

Special

China Catholics still being persecuted

Administrator - Saturday, 04 September 2010

By Barb Fraze WASHINGTON (CNS) The controversy surrounding a bishop in a Catholic diocese about 160 km from Beijing illustrates the problems facing Chinese Catholic communities trying to follow Pope Benedict XVI's instructions to unite. Coadjutor Bishop Francis An Shuxin of Baoding, who spent 10 years under house arrest for refusing to join the government-approved Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, agreed last year to join...
Read more...