Introducing Our New Photo Section

I'd like to introduce our readers to The Atlantic's new Photo section, an expanded home for photography at TheAtlantic.com. This new section features not only an updated look, but more variety in formats, wider images for bigger screens, and a design that works well across a range of mobile devices.

As the editor of the Photo section, I'll continue to publish long-form photo essays nearly every day, as I have for years, in a series we'll still call In Focus, but I'll also start publishing shorter posts—often just a single noteworthy image—under a new category we're calling Burst. I'm really excited to be able to share even more high-quality photography with even more readers.

Highlights:

• Photo widths now range from 320 pixels wide for handheld devices, up to 1500 pixels for bigger screens.
• Each photo is individually shareable.
• The navigation, layout, and overall look are much cleaner.
• There is a full-screen option, along with familiar keyboard shortcuts to navigate from one photo to the next.

Qs & As:

Why the new name?

We needed a framework to accommodate both the kinds of photo essay I traditionally did with "In Focus" and new formats—for example, "Burst" posts, which will be short, usually featuring a single photo. Thinking of that framework as The Atlantic's Photo section made sense to us, particularly given the architecture of the site as a whole. Now the work I do will be better integrated into that architecture and less a standalone "blog."

What happened to In Focus?

In Focus is still here, and will still be published with the same frequency; it's just a series in the Photo section now. Any updates you've subscribed to through RSS, newsletters, social media, or otherwise should continue to work exactly as they have.

Why change the design?

As use of the web grows and changes, so must we. Larger screens at home and smaller screens in hand make it necessary to build flexible templates if we want our readers to enjoy the stories and photos we have to share. While making those changes, we cleaned up the top of the page, made sharing easier, and tried hard to preserve the best parts of the older version.

I know big design changes can be jarring for longtime readers, but I believe the steps we've taken here are worthwhile. They give us a more flexible layout, allow for larger images, improve mobile access, and enable more frequent posting—all while preserving what readers have told us they love best about what I do: amazing photographs, attention to narrative, all images displayed on a single page, with simple navigation, including keyboard shortcuts.

Our development and design team put a great effort into this new design. They and the rest of us hope you enjoy it as much as we do. If you find any issues, or have further questions, please let us know here.