Creating the photo essay

Today's topic recommendation from the Ultimate Blogging Challenge is process. How do you do what you do? Share the process. Today, I will talk about the process of creating a photo essay.

Here are my steps:

1. choose the topic
2. schedule for a day when there's plenty of free time for the outing.
3. make sure that the camera ready, and remember to pack spare battery. Make sure that the spare battery is fully charged. It is too annoying to be in the middle of happy picture taking and suddenly discover that the battery is on the verge of an abrupt demise.

4. Plan for transportation. If you have a car or live in an area with good public transportation, you're all set. If you are like me and don't have a car or access to good public transportation, you'll either have to find a ride or just walk.
5. take loads of pictures, far more than are needed. You'll end by taking many bad pictures to get a few good, usable pictures. If the image looks interesting, go ahead and take the picture. Don't worry if it doesn't fit the story that you have in mind. The story could change so you may as well have the image, even if you never use it.

6. after the expedition, let it go for a little while, unless faced with a very tight deadline (as in newspaper work).
7. upload photographs to the computer.

8. edit the photographs, mainly for color balance and exposure. Crop to improve composition, paying attention to the rule of thirds (an off-center photograph is more dynamic than a picture that is completely symmetrical).

9. choose photographs for the photo essay.
10. write a story to go with the photographs.
11. edit the written story for grammar, spelling, and word flow.
12. fact check, if necessary.

13. publish, if it is a blog post. If it is an article for the newspaper, email the article and the photographs to the editor.
14. go have a cup of tea and celebrate a job well done.