PhotojournalismAre we using 1,000 words where a picture should be?

- Matt Thompson, Journalism Next

GoalsConnect storytelling with taking a photo

Learn some rules of composition when taking photos

Learn the basics of Photoshop to prepare your photos

Understand ethics when it comes to manipulating your photos

Learn how to display your photo story in a gallery or slideshow

Show, Don’t TellThere are a lot of fountains in Rome.

  

In Rome, for the first time in my life, I felt surrounded by speaking water. What trees are to Paris, fountains are to Rome. They are the vertical or angled jets, wreathing, bubbling, full of life, which give measure to the city. In other places fountains are special events, but in Rome they are simply part of the vernacular of civic life; you notice them, you see them as exceptions to the surfaces of stone or brick, but it seems that they are there to be breathed, not just seen. In the center of the great city one is always aware, if only subliminally, of the presence of water.

Observation

Capture a moment Get closer. Get close to your subject. The old Robert Capa saying: “If

your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” Anticipation/Seeing. Look for the “magic moment.” Be ready to push

the shutter before the moment happens. Pre-visualize.  Ask yourself “what could happen” Watch body language and facial expressions.

Perspective. Get on your knees or climb a tree. Most people see the world from eye level. Take the viewer of your photograph someplace where they’ve never been. It will make your pictures instantly more interesting.

Shoot layers of information. By layering your pictures with info they become more powerful and the message is stronger. They have an instant wow factor. Use foreground and background elements to create a message. This is the tough to master. It is mature seeing.

From Mastering Multimedia blog: 10 ways to take a better photo

Storytelling

What do you want to communicate?

Or, someone does something because….

Telling the story

Choose your storyChoose a story with people, action, motivationsWrite a headline – subject, verb, direct objectLook for the story arcCapture the moment of reflectionSpend time with the subject, the storyBe ready for that “moment”

PhotojournalismShooting real lifeNo set-ups or directionDon’t tell people what to do- change fact to

fictionAny reasonable assumption a viewer would

make must be true. When we see a portrait, we assume it was posed. When we see someone jumping, falling, or raising a flag, we do not assume it was a re-enactment.

Great Photojournalism

The Week in Pictures

Boston Globe's The Big Picture

Learn your camera

CompositionRead the light. Photography is all about light.

Learn to see it; Understand how light can set a mood in a photo. Even when you are not photographing something look at the quality of the light around you. Is it warm, cool, side lit?

Four corners. As you compose a photograph run your eyes around the outside edges of the viewfinder, checking to make sure your not cropping someone’s head off or that there is not some unwanted element coming into your picture.

From Mastering Multimedia blog: 10 ways to take a better photo

What’s in the photo?

CompositionSimplicityThe Rule of ThirdsLinesBalanceFramingAvoiding Mergers

Take lots of photosMany anglesRemember to be bold and get closeTake many photos – only use the best

Close up makes a great photo!

Move around a lot!

Go shoot!