Lead pics

I'm trying to figure out a new front page template and I'm toying with the idea of having my lead pic floating in the center of the page. Many moons ago back in college, I was told that floaters are a no-no, but I'm not sure whether that's person preference or an actual guideline. Input?

 

If you're a small paper, with limited resources, you do what you have to do to make your section work. These days, there no longer are hard and fast rules.

 

I read it as him talking about a random standalone as main art. I hope he wasn't talking about floating a photo that's actually pertinent to a story on the page.

 

If what you're talking about is wild art with an extended cutline, I don't see any problem with it. I wouldn't do it every day, but here and there definitely is fine.

 

Dickens was right in that I was talking about a stand-alone picture that isn't anchored to an edge.

 

We do the "floating photo" thing once in a while with things like YMCA football or youth baseball. Good way to cover it without spending time out there.
Try a deep 3-column or 4-column (maybe a 3x8 or 4x6 photo) with a tag line above it. Slap the cutline below it like normal.
You can also put a second, smaller photo below it (like a 2-column) and put the cutline in larger print to one side. Fill up the empty two columns with the cutline. You can also do that with a deep 3-column and a small 2-column, although it'd probably fill most of your page.

 

In the redesigned Tribune papers that I've seen, floating graphics and photos teasing to a story inside are becoming status quo, and well, if Tribune is doing it, it must be right.

But seriously, folks: Good standalone art has never been a problem to me. And as noted, great way to give some "off" sports coverage they might not generally get.