For this column, I try to go through each month’s magazine and pick out one photo to discuss. But for the April issue of NGM I want to focus on what we refer to as “mix.”

Each issue of NGM has five or six main features and we strive to create an interesting blend of stories. There are a number of interweaving factors that go into the process of finding the sweet spot of a well-balanced magazine.

TOPIC. Over the years certain topics have garnered repeated interest from the readers of NGM. (A survey is conducted every month to gauge how each specific story faired among our subscribers.) We consider these our “core” topics. The top categories are Archeology/Paleontology, Natural History, Cultures, Landscape/Geography, Science, Exploration, and the Environment. When we look at an issue’s lineup of stories, we often look first to make sure we have offerings from among these topic areas.

But if it were just the topics, that would make this easy.

LOCATION. We also keep in mind where in the world each story takes place, so that we are not having a majority of the stories concentrated in one part of the world. In the best issues of the magazine, we try to take readers around the world.

SIZE. The length of the stories need to vary to provide a balance of in-depth stories with others that are quicker to get through. We don’t want to make reading the magazine an exhaustive experience.

TONE. We consider the overall tone of each issue so that we don’t end up with an issue that comes off as too doom and gloom, bland, or naively breezy. A good mix has a range of emotional experiences.

LOOK. And finally, but most definitely least, we consider the combined styles of photographic approach. NGM is primarily a documentary magazine and thus we lean heavily on photojournalism. But a number of our core topics, particularly the conceptual science and pre-history stories, require different approaches. These stories often provide great opportunities for interweaving visual variety into the reading experience.

The April issue of NGM is an excellent example of a successful mix taking in all of these variables.

It starts with Pascal Maitre’s classic documentary approach to a large story covering the continent-wide Sahel, then shifts gears to Rob Clark’s studio photography for Bio-mimetics (design inspired by nature), then a short cultural story by Ami Vitali on Rickshaws, a luscious set of photographs of Hawaii’s Na Pali Coast shot on large format by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel, and ending on a coverage on tool using chimps by Frans Lanting.

April has excellent mix.

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