AP Photography Style Guide
Content
Member Information Guide
Member photos give the AP an incredible competitive edge in breaking news situations. Frequently, members send photos to the AP that have been requested by local bureaus or other AP staff. Other times, the offerings are of a stand-alone nature. This guide is designed to help you, as a valued member newspaper of The Associated Press, get the most out of the cooperative, as well as contribute effectively to the overall success of the domestic visual report. In this guide, we'll share information on several key areas that directly affect you and the AP cooperative: Our members Make us Different. Image Quality Caption Guidelines Metadata Photo Transmission Online Usage Revenue Sharing Helpful Telephone Numbers AP IPTC Style Information This is only a brief guide, so please do not hesitate to call your local bureau or the NY photo desk with questions. The numbers are below.
IMAGE QUALITY Toning
Toning should be basic, following the “less is more” philosophy that avoids overdoing images. Absolutely no changes are to be made to any photo, other than basic cropping & toning and traditional photojournalism dodging & burning methods. We recommend first cropping the photo, then setting levels. Set curves, adjusting basic lightness or darkness and color. Then work on hue & saturation, if needed.
Size
The photo should be sized no less than 2000 pixels on the longest dimension. Anything over that is fine, if under that, re-size up. Save as a .jpg so the photo is close to 1.3meg compressed.
CAPTION GUIDELINES Captions
The caption information is critical—please make every effort to ensure accuracy. Captions can be done using Photoshop’s “file info” command or Photo Mechanic's IPTC Info box. Names are the most critical area in the caption. For captions, most of the info boxes should be filled in, as follows: The first sentence of the caption describes what the photo shows, in the present tense, and states where and when the photo was made. It must always include the day and date the photo was made. Police from the Strafford County Technical Accident Reconstruction Unit investigate the scene of a multi-vehicle accident, Friday, Feb. 20, 2009, on Route 11 in Rochester, N.H. A man and child were killed and a woman was injured in the four-car crash, involving a pickup truck, an SUV and two passenger cars. (AP Photo/Foster's Daily Democrat, John Huff) The second sentence of the caption gives background on the news event or describes why the photo is significant. Whenever possible, try to keep the captions to no more than two concise sentences while including the relevant information. Try to anticipate what information a newspaper editor or reader will need. Non-publishable information in the body of the caption should be set off by dual asterisks. ** ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS AUG. 18-19 ** End the caption with the appropriate signoff. (AP Photo/Albuquerque Journal, John Smith)
METADATA
The basic field information is below. For additional information and the list of full supplemental codes, please see the AP IPTC style information in the last section of this guide.
Metadata
Caption Writer: Your initials, MS Headline: The full name of newsmakers, individuals pictured, with a comma between names. Headline: Ichiro Suzuki, Felix Hernandez Special Instructions: As needed. For instance BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE or ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS JULY 20-21. EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT Category: Usually A for all news and features, S for sports, F for business.
Supplemental Categories: ADV for advance, WST for West Wire, BKC for college men’s basketball, BKW for college women’s basketball, etc. Byline: Photographer’s name Byline Title: FRE for freelancer, MBR for member photographer, MBO for member photographers that allow Online usage and STF for an AP staff photographer. Credit: AP Source: AP for staff and stringer photos. Name of newspaper for member photos. Object Name: Story slug, usually assigned by the bureau. Date Created: Date photo was shot (ex: 07/26/02). City: City where photo was taken. State: ME for Maine, NH for New Hampshire, VT for Vermont, etc. Country: USA Original Transmission Reference: For freelancers, an assigned code plus 100 series (900 for West Wire), ex: NMPW101. For members, it’s the member’s routing code plus the numbers, ex: MEBAN101. .
Saving photos
Use your transmission reference number as the photo name and save as a .jpg.
Transmission:
All U.S. photos are to be transmitted directly to the New York Headquarters Photo Desk. The toll free number is: 888.273.6867. Please call this number (or the appropriate number when transmitting to other points) following a transmission to ensure that the photo and caption are complete, and please feel welcome to call before transmitting if you have any questions. Transmit using an ftp account. The address is 165.1.59.7 In a pinch, photos can be sent via e-mail to them at [email protected], but is the least preferred method. This is only a brief guide, so please do not hesitate to call your local bureau or the NY Headquarters Desk to answer any questions.
Online Usage
Allowing the Associated Press to transmit your images to our online members and subscribers can give your newspaper’s brand name more exposure and allow for increased traffic to your newspaper website.
Revenue Sharing
AP Images can provide a revenue-sharing agreement with your newspaper which allows members to receive a share of revenue from all photos licensed by AP Images. Members participating in the program will gain increased visibility through AP Images’ extensive marketing efforts, including member photo galleries and special features in our newsletter, which reaches thousands of clients. The program generates almost $750,000 in sales annually.
HELPFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS MAINE (Control Bureau: Concord)
Portland Bureau 75 Market Street, Suite 402 Portland, ME 04104-5031 207.772.4157 office 207.774.6625 fax Photographers: Bob Bukaty and Pat Wellenbach Augusta B. Cross State Office Building Room 106 Capitol and Sewall Streets Augusta, ME 04333 207.622.3018 office 202.626.5713 fax
NEW HAMPSHIRE (Control Bureau: Concord)
Concord Bureau 2 Capital Plaza, Suite 400 Concord, NH 03301-4911 603.224.3327 office 603.226.0883 fax Chief of Bureau: Larry Laughlin News Editor: Joseph Magruder Photographer: Jim Cole
VERMONT (Control Bureau: Concord)
Montpelier Bureau 535 Stone Cutters Way, Suite 102 Montpelier, VT 05602-3795 802.229.0577 office 802.223.0654 fax Photographer: Toby Talbot
NEW YORK HEADQUARTERS
212.621.1500, 800.845.8450 toll free x1900 general photos x1918 sports photos x1980 specials
Handout photos
Handout photos are any photographs given to the member or obtained by a third party. These photos require copyright authorization before being accepted for consideration by The AP. Examples include yearbook photos, private archived photos, reader or family-submitted photographs, etc.). Your regional or New York photo desk can help facilitate obtaining the necessary permissions needed for release and advise you as to whether or not a release is needed. Government handout photographs are generally okay to submit without release.
Associated Press IPTC Style Information
The Associated Press has strict guidelines for the various IPTC fields and how captions are to be written. Shown below are the IPTC fields that are required. These match up with the fields in Photo Mechanic. Other software such as Adobe Photoshop’s file info area will have the same fields but might be named differently. Location City: City name in upper and lower case, such as San Francisco State: The two letter state code in CAPS Country: USA Database Object Name: Story Slug all in upper and lower case Category: A single letter code as below: I – International S – Sports A – USA News F – Financial or Business News V – Advisory Supplemental Cat 1: A three-letter code as outlined below: GENERAL: ADV – Advance APN – APNewsfeatures ENT – Entertainment, celebrities (don’t use the word people) FEA – Feature pictures of a non-news nature FILE – File photo HFR – Hold for Release (embargoed photos for same day release) OBIT – Obituary SPF – Special Features package SPCL – Special
WEA – Weather NEWS EVENTS: CVN – National political conventions ELN – For election cycles only XGR – State legislatures SPORTS: ** The following are the newly changed codes to be used in the Supp. Cats ** ATH – Track and Field MOT – Motorcycling RGL – Rugby League RGU – Rugby Union SBD – Snowboarding SPD – Speed skating SQU – Squash SUM – Sumo Wrestling VOL – Volleyball WPO – Water Polo WEI – Weightlifting The complete list of Sports slugs and codes appears below: OLY – Olympics ARC – Archery ATH – Athletics (Track and Field) CAR – Auto Racing BAD – Badminton BBA – Baseball American League BBN – Baseball National League BBC – Baseball College BBM – Baseball Minor League BBH – Baseball High School BBY – Baseball Youth BBI – Baseball International BBW – Baseball Women’s BBO – Baseball Other BKC – Basketball College BKW – Basketball Women’s College BKH – Basketball High School BKL – Basketball Women’s Pro BKN – Basketball NBA BKO – Basketball Other BIA – Biathlon BOB – Bobsled BOX – Boxing CAN – Canoeing CRI – Cricket CUR – Curling CYC – Cycling DIV – Diving EQU – Equestrian FBC – Football College FBH – Football High School FBN – Football NFL FBO – Football Other FEN – Fencing
FHK – Field Hockey FIG – Figure Skating GLF – Golf GYM – Gymnastics HNB – Handball HKC – Ice Hockey College HKN – Ice Hockey NHL HKO – Ice Hockey Other JUD – Judo LUG – Luge PEN – Modern Pentathlon MOT – Motorcycling RAC – Horse Racing ROW – Rowing RGL – Rugby League RGU – Rugby Union SAI – Sailing SHO – Shooting SKE – Skeleton SKI – Skiing SBD – Snowboarding SOC – Soccer SOF – Softball SPD – Speed skating SQA – Squash SUM – Sumo wrestling SWM – Swimming TTN – Table tennis TAE – Taekwondo TEN – Tennis TRI – Triathlon VOL – Volleyball WPO – Water Polo WEI – Weightlifting WRE - Wrestling Credits Photographer: The photographer’s name in upper and lower case Title: The three letter title of the person that took the picture as below STF – AP Staff FRE – AP Stringer POOL – Pool photo MBR – Member photo MBO – Member photo w/online restrictions lifted HO – Handout photo Credit: Always AP Source: AP AP Member HANDOUT PHOTO POOL (with pool photo providers name, i.e. POOL REUTERS) Time and Date Should be the date the photo was shot, not necessarily today’s date
Caption A complete caption with City, State (per AP Style Guide, i.e. Oklahoma is Okla.), Day of the Week, Month, Day #, Year. Secondary caption info goes in a second sentence, if needed. Finish with (AP Photo/Publication Name, Photographer’s Name) Writers Two-letter initials of the caption writer, in CAPS Headline This is used only for names of newsmakers in the photo. It should be comma delimited, upper and lower case. Example: George W. Bush, Barry Bonds, etc. Special Instructions Used to communicate to the client, subscriber or member, all in CAPS, for example: EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT or ONE TIME USE IN USA ONLY Transmission reference Use your publication’s SID Code (two letter State Code, plus three letter newspaper code) and picture number in ascending order, i.e. NCFAY101, NCFAY102, etc.
Member photos give the AP an incredible competitive edge in breaking news situations. Frequently, members send photos to the AP that have been requested by local bureaus or other AP staff. Other times, the offerings are of a stand-alone nature. This guide is designed to help you, as a valued member newspaper of The Associated Press, get the most out of the cooperative, as well as contribute effectively to the overall success of the domestic visual report. In this guide, we'll share information on several key areas that directly affect you and the AP cooperative: Our members Make us Different. Image Quality Caption Guidelines Metadata Photo Transmission Online Usage Revenue Sharing Helpful Telephone Numbers AP IPTC Style Information This is only a brief guide, so please do not hesitate to call your local bureau or the NY photo desk with questions. The numbers are below.
IMAGE QUALITY Toning
Toning should be basic, following the “less is more” philosophy that avoids overdoing images. Absolutely no changes are to be made to any photo, other than basic cropping & toning and traditional photojournalism dodging & burning methods. We recommend first cropping the photo, then setting levels. Set curves, adjusting basic lightness or darkness and color. Then work on hue & saturation, if needed.
Size
The photo should be sized no less than 2000 pixels on the longest dimension. Anything over that is fine, if under that, re-size up. Save as a .jpg so the photo is close to 1.3meg compressed.
CAPTION GUIDELINES Captions
The caption information is critical—please make every effort to ensure accuracy. Captions can be done using Photoshop’s “file info” command or Photo Mechanic's IPTC Info box. Names are the most critical area in the caption. For captions, most of the info boxes should be filled in, as follows: The first sentence of the caption describes what the photo shows, in the present tense, and states where and when the photo was made. It must always include the day and date the photo was made. Police from the Strafford County Technical Accident Reconstruction Unit investigate the scene of a multi-vehicle accident, Friday, Feb. 20, 2009, on Route 11 in Rochester, N.H. A man and child were killed and a woman was injured in the four-car crash, involving a pickup truck, an SUV and two passenger cars. (AP Photo/Foster's Daily Democrat, John Huff) The second sentence of the caption gives background on the news event or describes why the photo is significant. Whenever possible, try to keep the captions to no more than two concise sentences while including the relevant information. Try to anticipate what information a newspaper editor or reader will need. Non-publishable information in the body of the caption should be set off by dual asterisks. ** ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS AUG. 18-19 ** End the caption with the appropriate signoff. (AP Photo/Albuquerque Journal, John Smith)
METADATA
The basic field information is below. For additional information and the list of full supplemental codes, please see the AP IPTC style information in the last section of this guide.
Metadata
Caption Writer: Your initials, MS Headline: The full name of newsmakers, individuals pictured, with a comma between names. Headline: Ichiro Suzuki, Felix Hernandez Special Instructions: As needed. For instance BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE or ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS JULY 20-21. EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT Category: Usually A for all news and features, S for sports, F for business.
Supplemental Categories: ADV for advance, WST for West Wire, BKC for college men’s basketball, BKW for college women’s basketball, etc. Byline: Photographer’s name Byline Title: FRE for freelancer, MBR for member photographer, MBO for member photographers that allow Online usage and STF for an AP staff photographer. Credit: AP Source: AP for staff and stringer photos. Name of newspaper for member photos. Object Name: Story slug, usually assigned by the bureau. Date Created: Date photo was shot (ex: 07/26/02). City: City where photo was taken. State: ME for Maine, NH for New Hampshire, VT for Vermont, etc. Country: USA Original Transmission Reference: For freelancers, an assigned code plus 100 series (900 for West Wire), ex: NMPW101. For members, it’s the member’s routing code plus the numbers, ex: MEBAN101. .
Saving photos
Use your transmission reference number as the photo name and save as a .jpg.
Transmission:
All U.S. photos are to be transmitted directly to the New York Headquarters Photo Desk. The toll free number is: 888.273.6867. Please call this number (or the appropriate number when transmitting to other points) following a transmission to ensure that the photo and caption are complete, and please feel welcome to call before transmitting if you have any questions. Transmit using an ftp account. The address is 165.1.59.7 In a pinch, photos can be sent via e-mail to them at [email protected], but is the least preferred method. This is only a brief guide, so please do not hesitate to call your local bureau or the NY Headquarters Desk to answer any questions.
Online Usage
Allowing the Associated Press to transmit your images to our online members and subscribers can give your newspaper’s brand name more exposure and allow for increased traffic to your newspaper website.
Revenue Sharing
AP Images can provide a revenue-sharing agreement with your newspaper which allows members to receive a share of revenue from all photos licensed by AP Images. Members participating in the program will gain increased visibility through AP Images’ extensive marketing efforts, including member photo galleries and special features in our newsletter, which reaches thousands of clients. The program generates almost $750,000 in sales annually.
HELPFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS MAINE (Control Bureau: Concord)
Portland Bureau 75 Market Street, Suite 402 Portland, ME 04104-5031 207.772.4157 office 207.774.6625 fax Photographers: Bob Bukaty and Pat Wellenbach Augusta B. Cross State Office Building Room 106 Capitol and Sewall Streets Augusta, ME 04333 207.622.3018 office 202.626.5713 fax
NEW HAMPSHIRE (Control Bureau: Concord)
Concord Bureau 2 Capital Plaza, Suite 400 Concord, NH 03301-4911 603.224.3327 office 603.226.0883 fax Chief of Bureau: Larry Laughlin News Editor: Joseph Magruder Photographer: Jim Cole
VERMONT (Control Bureau: Concord)
Montpelier Bureau 535 Stone Cutters Way, Suite 102 Montpelier, VT 05602-3795 802.229.0577 office 802.223.0654 fax Photographer: Toby Talbot
NEW YORK HEADQUARTERS
212.621.1500, 800.845.8450 toll free x1900 general photos x1918 sports photos x1980 specials
Handout photos
Handout photos are any photographs given to the member or obtained by a third party. These photos require copyright authorization before being accepted for consideration by The AP. Examples include yearbook photos, private archived photos, reader or family-submitted photographs, etc.). Your regional or New York photo desk can help facilitate obtaining the necessary permissions needed for release and advise you as to whether or not a release is needed. Government handout photographs are generally okay to submit without release.
Associated Press IPTC Style Information
The Associated Press has strict guidelines for the various IPTC fields and how captions are to be written. Shown below are the IPTC fields that are required. These match up with the fields in Photo Mechanic. Other software such as Adobe Photoshop’s file info area will have the same fields but might be named differently. Location City: City name in upper and lower case, such as San Francisco State: The two letter state code in CAPS Country: USA Database Object Name: Story Slug all in upper and lower case Category: A single letter code as below: I – International S – Sports A – USA News F – Financial or Business News V – Advisory Supplemental Cat 1: A three-letter code as outlined below: GENERAL: ADV – Advance APN – APNewsfeatures ENT – Entertainment, celebrities (don’t use the word people) FEA – Feature pictures of a non-news nature FILE – File photo HFR – Hold for Release (embargoed photos for same day release) OBIT – Obituary SPF – Special Features package SPCL – Special
WEA – Weather NEWS EVENTS: CVN – National political conventions ELN – For election cycles only XGR – State legislatures SPORTS: ** The following are the newly changed codes to be used in the Supp. Cats ** ATH – Track and Field MOT – Motorcycling RGL – Rugby League RGU – Rugby Union SBD – Snowboarding SPD – Speed skating SQU – Squash SUM – Sumo Wrestling VOL – Volleyball WPO – Water Polo WEI – Weightlifting The complete list of Sports slugs and codes appears below: OLY – Olympics ARC – Archery ATH – Athletics (Track and Field) CAR – Auto Racing BAD – Badminton BBA – Baseball American League BBN – Baseball National League BBC – Baseball College BBM – Baseball Minor League BBH – Baseball High School BBY – Baseball Youth BBI – Baseball International BBW – Baseball Women’s BBO – Baseball Other BKC – Basketball College BKW – Basketball Women’s College BKH – Basketball High School BKL – Basketball Women’s Pro BKN – Basketball NBA BKO – Basketball Other BIA – Biathlon BOB – Bobsled BOX – Boxing CAN – Canoeing CRI – Cricket CUR – Curling CYC – Cycling DIV – Diving EQU – Equestrian FBC – Football College FBH – Football High School FBN – Football NFL FBO – Football Other FEN – Fencing
FHK – Field Hockey FIG – Figure Skating GLF – Golf GYM – Gymnastics HNB – Handball HKC – Ice Hockey College HKN – Ice Hockey NHL HKO – Ice Hockey Other JUD – Judo LUG – Luge PEN – Modern Pentathlon MOT – Motorcycling RAC – Horse Racing ROW – Rowing RGL – Rugby League RGU – Rugby Union SAI – Sailing SHO – Shooting SKE – Skeleton SKI – Skiing SBD – Snowboarding SOC – Soccer SOF – Softball SPD – Speed skating SQA – Squash SUM – Sumo wrestling SWM – Swimming TTN – Table tennis TAE – Taekwondo TEN – Tennis TRI – Triathlon VOL – Volleyball WPO – Water Polo WEI – Weightlifting WRE - Wrestling Credits Photographer: The photographer’s name in upper and lower case Title: The three letter title of the person that took the picture as below STF – AP Staff FRE – AP Stringer POOL – Pool photo MBR – Member photo MBO – Member photo w/online restrictions lifted HO – Handout photo Credit: Always AP Source: AP AP Member HANDOUT PHOTO POOL (with pool photo providers name, i.e. POOL REUTERS) Time and Date Should be the date the photo was shot, not necessarily today’s date
Caption A complete caption with City, State (per AP Style Guide, i.e. Oklahoma is Okla.), Day of the Week, Month, Day #, Year. Secondary caption info goes in a second sentence, if needed. Finish with (AP Photo/Publication Name, Photographer’s Name) Writers Two-letter initials of the caption writer, in CAPS Headline This is used only for names of newsmakers in the photo. It should be comma delimited, upper and lower case. Example: George W. Bush, Barry Bonds, etc. Special Instructions Used to communicate to the client, subscriber or member, all in CAPS, for example: EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT or ONE TIME USE IN USA ONLY Transmission reference Use your publication’s SID Code (two letter State Code, plus three letter newspaper code) and picture number in ascending order, i.e. NCFAY101, NCFAY102, etc.
