Picture this

Today, a reader charged that someone on The Post and Courier staff "must really dislike Fritz Hollings." He inferred this because he considered a photo of Hollings in Monday's paper "the worst I have seen in 50 years."

I have to agree the photo could have been better. Upon review, the page designer who chose it didn't disagree. The original photo was taken of Hollings during a conversation. He was gesturing with his hand and the bit of a frown on his face made sense. The photo reflected some animation and sincerity. The problem came when the photo was cropped to show only the head and shoulders. As such, the frown looked more pronounced and, honestly, a little odd to my eye.

What interests me is that this reader concluded that a staff member at the paper would intentionally publish a poor photo of Hollings. Why? Hollings has retired from public office. He continues, however, to be a source of information and often colorful quotes for news reporters. Further, it is interesting to me that people are quick to believe that newspaper staffers are here to promote personal agendas rather than  to put out a good  newspaper.

In this case, there were better photos for the page, but often page designers do not have a choice. And sometimes a photo that isn't postcard pretty is actually appropriate. During the upcoming Family Circle Tennis Tournament, the paper will likely publish photos of competitors grimacing or shouting. Those aren't pictures that flatter, but they are pictures that tell readers a lot about the intensity of the game.