Features

"Features" is a newspaper term to describe a photo that doesn't fit anywhere else--its not news or sports, but usually is a stand-alone photo of something interesting, unusual or attractive.They are often used as "art" in newspapers to provide a visual break on a page. Producing features can be both enjoyable and maddening, sometimes at the same time. Your heart can really get racing when an editor tells you that they need a feature for page one (and you only have 45 minutes to produce a solid photo that can carry the front page), and a real high when you can come back and drop something dramatic on the editor's desk.

Features is where photography and journalism really fuse--you often need to utilize edge-of-the-envelope photographic techniques in order to grab a reader's attention and transfer information visually. Super wide or extreme telephoto lenses, macro (closeup) techniques, unusual lighting, silhouettes, very low or high angles, shadows, distortions, and recognizing when applying something unusual will transform a normal scene into "art" are the techniques of the successful feature photograph.