THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EYE

Use only the release portion (the first
part) for anyone over 18 years of age.
Have a parent or adult sign the consent
form for anyone younger.
Don't panic every time you
photograph someone without getting
a release. First of all, as an artist you
have considerable protection. It is
only when you begin pursuing photography
as a business that releases
really become necessary. The laws
vary from state to state, so it would
be a good idea to check things out
with a knowledgeable editor or
lawyer if you plan to sell your photographs
for publication.
270 The Photographic Eye
On a more technical note, it's important
to know how publication will
affect the quality of your photographs.
An offset printing press can't
generally print gray. Instead, it
reduces the gray tones in a photograph
to varying densities of black
dots. The dots are close together in
the dark areas and far apart in the
light areas. This creates the impression
of a continuous tone photograph
(which is what your original is called).
A photograph prepared for publication
is called a halftone. It has been
screened —copied onto high-contrast
(lith) film through a screen, which
produces the dots. This process has
two effects.
First, it increases the photograph's
mid-range contrast. All the subtle
grays get separated out into a few
basic values. The lightest grays
become white (or almost white) and
the darkest ones become black (or
almost black). Second, the screening
process decreases the photograph's
overall latitude —the total range of
tones from black, through gray, to
white. This is because a halftone normally
cannot produce either pure
black or pure white. There are always
some white spaces in the black areas