Photograph Guide

By Protection

| Protection, 2022 Annual Issue

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Title card for "Photograph Guide"

Photographs contribute a great deal to the visual appeal of an article. When submitting them with your article, please keep the following in mind:

  • Subject matter—Action shots that show Soldiers who are training or performing their jobs are the best way to enhance an article. Static photographs of landscapes, structures, or distant machinery in action are less useful. Photographs of groups of people smiling at the camera or “grip and grin” shots add little to an article and are unlikely to be used.

  • Format—Photographs saved in JPEG (or JPG) format and sent as attachments to an e-mail are best. Photographs and other graphics should not be embedded in a Microsoft® Word document or PowerPoint presentation. Graphics files are large, and e-mail systems frequently have limits to the size of messages that can be sent. For example, our system cannot accept messages larger than 20 megabytes (MB). One solution is to send separate e-mails with just one or two attachments each.

  • Size and resolution—The ideal photograph or graphic for reproduction is 5x7 inches, but smaller sizes may be acceptable. If the photograph is a JPEG, it should be no smaller than 150 kilobytes (KB). When taking photographs, use the highest-resolution setting on your camera and save them at a resolution no lower than 200 dots per inch. Photographs appearing on the Internet usually have a resolution of only 72 dpi. Do not manipulate photographs by sharpening, resizing, retouching, or cropping the image. Using a graphics software program (such as Adobe® Photoshop) to increase the size and/or resolution of a small photograph will not increase the quality of the photograph so that it can be used in a publication. Do not compress photographs. We will do all postproduction work. We will not publish photographs that are pixilated or out of focus.

  • Copyright—Images copied from a Web site or a book must be accompanied by copyright permission.

  • Captions—Include captions that describe the photograph and identify the subjects. Captions are subject to editing.

  • Email photographs—Photographs can be emailed to: <usarmy.leonardwood.mscoe.mbx.protectpb@army.mil>.

  • Photographs of foreign nationals—Due to security restrictions, photographs of foreign nationals cannot be published without digital editing (blurring faces) unless the photographs) are accompanied by a permission-to-release form signed by the subject(s).