National Defence
Symbol of the Government of Canada
Skip to content | Skip to institutional links

Common menu bar links

DND/CF > RCAF > Image Gallery - Submissions > Submissions

Submissions

Submissions

Introduction

The mission of the Director Air Public Affairs (D Air PA) is to inform Canadians of the role, mandate, activities, priorities and benefits of the Air Force through the provision of high quality PA services in a manner that is accurate, complete, objective, timely, relevant, understandable, and transparent. The imagery coordinator supports this mission by:

  1. Acquiring high-quality, still and video imagery of Regular and Reserve Force personnel performing their duties in Canada or abroad either on operations or training and

  2. Proactively disseminating these images to national and regional news agencies (print and television), official DND/CF Internet and Intranet web sites, internal communications platforms (The Maple Leaf, D-News, Crew Brief, Communiqué, Wing and CF newspapers, etc.), Outreach initiatives, multimedia presentations, posters and other communications products.

Aim

To provide guidelines to CF personnel who submit digital electronic still imagery and video footage to the D Air PA.

Type of Imagery Solicited

The following types of imagery of Regular and Reserve personnel are of interest:

  1. Air Force personnel performing their duties in Canada and overseas on missions or training exercises;

  2. Air Force personnel participating in Wing /Squadron training exercises (Tac Evals, Boxtops, Maple Flag, SAREX); and

  3. Regular and Reserve Air Force personnel training/working alongside members from US, Allied and other Forces.

End Result

  1. To ensure a wide range of current Air Force imagery is available to Canadians on the Air Force's online image gallery, located on the Air Force website; and.

  2. To provide Air Force imagery to the CF Image Gallery manages by ADM (PA) Combat Camera.

Air Force Still Image Essentials

A suitable image will:

  1. Have good image composition, exposure, and focus;

  2. Have a main subject that fills at least 75% of the frame (as required);

  3. Be captured using a 5 mega-pixel camera or higher;

  4. Be captured with the camera set to the highest camera resolution/largest image size and, the least file compression/highest image quality, to retain to most detail; and

  5. Be accompanied by a caption (bilingual if at all possible), which answers the What, When, Where, Who, and Why of the subject.

Considerations When Composing Your Photograph

To improve the quality, impact, and usefulness of the image:

  1. Crop your image in the viewfinder or on the LCD screen before taking the picture;

  2. Ensure subject is well lit. If there are harsh shadows use your flash in the "flash-fill" mode, or move subject into a shaded area;

  3. Look out for objects such as a flag pole sticking out of subject's head; then adjust your viewing angle;

  4. Ensure the subject is properly dressed; remove unauthorised accoutrements, and adjust unflattering or unnatural poses;

  5. Eliminate distractions that draw the eye away from main subject, such as items or persons in the foreground/background;

  6. Do not cut off the top of subject's head, ankles, wrists and fingers; and

  7. Do not cut off top of subject's hat, golf club, hockey stick or musical instrument.

Creating More Interesting Photographs

To make the subject of your photograph interesting consider the following:

  1. The "Presentation" - (Presentation photos are not normally printed in the Maple Leaf) Rather than the presentation shot, try to get an image of the person doing whatever he/she or they received the award for. Stage it if necessary. If not, use a head and shoulders shot;

  2. The Group Shot - Rather than the boring group shot, i.e. people standing against a wall in the Mess or gym, find out why these people are interesting and place them in the environment which is the reason for the gathering; or use; a composite of head and shoulders shots;

  3. The Office Scene - Rather than the person on the phone, looking straight at the camera, find something for him/her or them to do, or get in closer. No need to show the whole room; and

  4. The Meeting - Stage a scenario with the participants that explain the purpose of the meeting. Head and shoulder shots are always better than photos of people sitting at a conference table.

The Caption or Cutline:

All images should, when possible, be accompanied by a bilingual caption saved as an accompanying Word document. The caption provides the essential information to the reader that cannot be conveyed by the image itself.  The process is a natural extension of the imaging process. D Air PA cannot distribute an image with poor or no captions.

Professional news organisations require the following basic information in a caption:

  1. The first sentence describes, in the present tense, who and what the image shows, as well as where and when it was taken. A rule of thumb is to list as a minimum, names, ranks and units, in full, of all important individuals; and (List rank, written in full, no abbreviations, along with both the subjects first and the last name, the Unit is also written in full)

  2. The second and third sentence gives why the image is significant as well as any background on the event, such as name of the Operation, home unit, length of stay, etc.

A complete caption will:

  1. Identify, fully and clearly the who, what, where, when, how and why of the photograph;

  2. Properly describe the picture, using active sentences;

  3. Be specific enough for the reader;

  4. Have the names (first and last) and the rank written in full, spelled correctly and matched to the people in the shot;

  5. Be written in plain English/French,

  6. Have been reviewed for spelling and grammar,

  7. Have all unnecessary prose (adjectives, adverbs, acronyms) removed, and

  8. Ensure the caption supports and complements the image.

Sample Caption Format

The caption can be provided as a separate attachment such as a Word document:

English/anglais
BN2006-0060-05
16 February 2006

Captain Michael White (aircraft 188781) and Captain Jared Penney, of 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron, 3 Wing Bagotville fly over the community of Sainte-Rose du Nord on the Saguenay River.

The 2 CF-18 Hornets are armed with 2 radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow missiles and 2 heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.

Photo taken by Private Pierre Thériault, Imaging Section, 3 Air Maintenance Squadron, 3 Wing Bagotville, from a CF-18B (dual) piloted by Major Daniel Dionne, deputy commandant, 425 Squadron

French/français
BN2006-0060-05
16 février 2006

Le Capitaine Michael White, (avion numéro 188781) et le Capitaine Jared Penney, du 425e Escadron tactique de chasse stationnée à la 3e Escadre Bagotville volent au-dessus de la ville de Sainte-Rose du Nord située sur le bord de la rivière Saguenay.

Les deux CF-18 Hornet sont armés de missiles air-air, deux à guidage radar (AIM-7 Sparrow) et deux autodirecteurs infrarouges (AIM-9 Sidewinder).

Image prise par Soldat Pierre Thériault, Atelier d'imagerie, 3e Escadron de maintenance des aéronefs, 3e Escadre Bagotville, à partir d'un CF-18B (biplace) piloté par le Major Daniel Dionne, commandant adjoint du 425e Escadron

Provide a translation unless impossible or impractical.

Handling of Images (Military Photographers follow Combat Camera SOP's)

Retain the original uncorrected image in its original format and save as soon as possible to CD-ROM. Send a copy of your CD-ROM to the D Air PA. Imagery Coordinator.

Suggested archiving procedures for non military photographers:

  1. Download and rename the images to a PC in a folder identified using the Canadian Airport identifier code (such as BG for Bagotville) the date, in the following format: XXyyyy-mm-dd, e.g. BG2005-12-16. Add –01, -02, -03, etc for each consecutive image in the series.

  2. Do not crop the image using PhotoShop or any other imagery manipulation software;

  3. View the images using the camera's image acquisition software or a browser; Delete unwanted or unsuitable images. Keep only the best!

  4. Do not make any changes to the colour, contrast or brightness of the images;

  5. Do not manipulate images in any way, such as the removal of image content;

  6. If the image is accidentally changed, retain as much of the original image quality as possible.

  7. Back up all image files.

  8. All selected and especially published images must be burned onto a CD-ROM recognised for its archival quality only and then properly stored.

Submission of Images for Immediate Public Release:

Images selected for immediate distribution to the media must have been taken within the last 24 hours and must be of national interest, i.e. Search and Rescue Technician performing rescue at sea.

Images filling criteria for release to media should be sent to Combat Camera at the following address: combatcamera@forces.gc.ca

A copy of the image should also be sent to the D Air PA Imagery Coordinator via the DIN at: +D Air PA Imagery@C Air Force D Air PA@Ottawa-Hull

Submission of Images that are not for Immediate Public Release

Once burned to CD-ROM, selected images should be sent to the D Air PAImagery Coordinator: at the following address for archiving: D Air Public Affairs, 11NT, MGen George R Pearkes Building, 101 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, On, K1A OK2.

Suggested Procedures When Purchasing a Digital Camera:

In order to standardize our various camera formats, Air Force Sections/Units should contact either their Wing Imaging section or D Air PAprior to purchasing a digital still or video camera.

Coordination

Any questions regarding the information provided in these guidelines should be directed to D Air PA Imagery Team:

E-mail: RCAFIMAGE-ARCIMAGE@forces.gc.ca

The comments and the assistance of CFJIC Imaging Services was invaluable in producing this document.

Issued by the authority of Director Air Public Affairs, LCol John D. Blakeley.