The greatest influence toward the development of a "nose for news" is the giving to it of several whiffs of news. A photographer may "shoot"—a professional photographer never photographs—he shoots—he may shoot and shoot, and have his every photograph returned to him as useless for publication—but not if he first discovers what to photograph and what not to photograph.
As a means toward that end I have selected, at random, issues of three magazines whose pictorial sections contain prints which are, broadly, just the sort of photographs the photographer in a medium-size town produces. The magazines are Popular Science, Illustrated World, and Popular Mechanics; despite their names, these magazines print photographs of a very general scope—more general than one would suppose. I have selected only photographs with short captions, or those with explanatory articles not more than two hundred or so words in length.
In Popular Science I find:
- An Apartment-House for Plants.
- A Hospital on Wheels.
- Potato-Gathering Made Easy.
- This Rudder Makes the Boat Behave.
- New Light for the Photographer.
- He Wears a Showcase.
- A Rubber Heel with a Noise.
- Milking Cows by Electricity.
- Anchoring Bricks to the Side of a House.
- Sketching on Fungus, One Artist's Hobby.
- Sampling the Soil.
- Making House-Wrecking Easy.
- A Machine that Harvests Crimson Clover Seed.
- Wheel-Guards that Save Life.
- Working Safely on High Voltage Lines.
- A Lake that has a Crust of Salt.
- Punching Your Votes.
- Your Money is Safe in this Bank-Tank.
In Illustrated World:
- Motorized Wheel-Chair for Invalids.
- Whirr of Motors Replaces Song of Cotton-Pickers.
- How Aristocrats of Dogdom Travel.
- Perform Marriage-Ceremony in Oil-Filling Station.
- Rail Motor-Trucks for Short-Line Road's Use.
- No More Backaches from the Lawn-Mower.
- Novel Arrangement of Air-Hose for Work-Benches.
- Largest Milk-Tank in the World.
- Comfortable Footrest for a Rustic Seat.
- Dog Hurt in Auto Accident Wears Wooden Leg.
- Street-Cars Adopt "Pay-As-You-Leave" System.
- Dentists' Scales for Weighing Mercury.
- Toy Makes Spelling Easy for Kiddies.
- Small Check-Book in Silver-Case.
- Nine-Story Building Collapses.
- Traveling Mail-Box on Interurban Car.
- Clever Method of Advertising Perfume.
- Makes Suit Out of Stamps.
- Wellesley Girls Have a "Sneezing Closet."
- Raising Chickens on a Back Porch.
In Popular Mechanics:
- Owner of Artificial Hands is Proud of Dexterity.
- Imperishable Burial Robes Shown on Living Models.
- Novelty Window-Sign Spells Words with Snowflakes.
- Imposing New Bridge at Jacksonville.
- Street-Sign Calls for Help if Robbers Invade Store.
- New Style Log-Cabin Built Like Stockade.
- Vines Completely Cover Office-Building.
- Beautiful Ice Stalagmites are Pranks of Jack Frost.
- Unique Wood-Sculptures are Work of a Decade.
- Electric Warehouse-Truck Performs Heavy Tasks.
- Hydraulic Jack Tears Up Street-Car Tracks.
- Man-Power Onion-Planter Sets an Acre a Day.
- Grotesque Images Reward Motor-Cycle Race Winners.
- Weak Derrick Starts Work of Steel-Building.
- Concrete Logging Piers are Used in Lumber-Industry.
- World's Largest Clock Keeps Accurate Time.
- Grotesque Face on Auto Advertises Carnival.
- River-Bed Proves to be a Rich Coal-Mine.
- Outlets of Odd Shapes Made for Irrigation.
- Unusual Park-Playground Built in Circus-Form.
- Giant Vase, Lawn-Ornament, is Made of Concrete.
- Old Silo in Railroad-Yard Houses Little Store.
- Street Rises so Abruptly Four Flights of Steps are Necessary.
- Church Uses Bill-Board to "Sell" Scriptures.
This wide variety of subjects cannot but serve to show that even in very small towns there are many opportunities for salable pictures. More than that, there are markets for prints of:
| Statues | Farm-scenes |
| Blacksmith-shops | Mural decorations |
| Farm light-plants | Seascapes |
| Sheep | Gardening operations |
| Landscapes | Interior decorations |
| Paintings | Designs |
| Girls' heads | Camping-scenes |
| Farm-buildings | Trapped wild animals |
| New inventions | Freaks |
| New achievements | Cattle |
| Live game | Orchards |
| Birds in flight | Time-saving plans |
| Industrial arts | Social progress |
| Fields of grain | Fashions |
| Desert-views | Wharves |
| Domestic animals | Paint-departments |
| Poultry | Mills |
| Harbors | New banks |
| Garage-methods | Large estates |
| Railroading | Factory-equipment |
| Concrete-construction | Show-window displays |
| Flowers | Store-fronts |
| Electrical appliances | Motorcycles |
| Live-stock prize-winners | Economic interest |
| Art-museums | Good and bad roads |
| Motorboats | Spraying-methods |
| Musical work | Counter-displays |
| Shoe-factories | Blasting |
| Prize-dogs | Landscape-gardening |
| Yachts | Sports |