2. WHY
PHOTOJOURNALISM?
Captures reality – a snapshot of history
Raw, honest, personal, emotional
Powerful storytelling device
Before TV: it painted pictures of war,
human life and suffering never seen
before
Photos influence opinion, evoke reaction
3. WHY
PHOTOJOURNALISM?
War, famine, Civil Rights, celebrity,
politics, death, political upheaval
Why do photojournalists do what they
do?
“One feels he has a responsibility to
cover the events of his time, that he has
a strong feeling that this is a moment of
history that should be recorded.”
-- Photographer Carl Mydans
4. ―From a book to a Web site, from a
series of photographs to a digital
flipbook, my work—and that of many
of my colleagues— is looking at the
long-standing notion that it is the task
of a photographer to capture a
decisive moment.‖
-- Ed Kashi, Multimedia Adds New Dimensions to the Art of Storytelling,
http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102094/Multimedia-Adds-NewDimensions-to-the-Art-of-Storytelling.aspx
6. THE “DECISIVE MOMENT”
Photos have to ‗tell‘ a story
Some circumstances are easy:
• Academy Awards; Principal awarding the
diploma; a „handshake‟ closing a deal
Others are more difficult
• Keep shooting until you get it
• The “Aha” Moment
• Feel it in your gut
10. A BRIEF HISTORY
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre
invented the daguerreotype process
in France.
The invention was announced to the
public on August 19, 1839 at a
meeting of the French Academy of
Sciences in Paris.
American photographers quickly
capitalized on this new invention,
which was capable of capturing a
"truthful likeness."
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/daghtml/dagdag.html
13. THE CHALLENGES
Photographers limited to what they
could shoot
Had to carry dark room equipment
with them
Focus on portraits
Few news event photos of anything
until Mathew Brady and Civil War
15. APPETITE FOR
IMAGES
At turn of the century,
newspaper publishers began to
realize readers wanted
illustrations, images
In 1888, National Geographic
Society published its first
magazie
16. MATHEW BRADY
Set out to cover the Civil
War
Sending images to
newspapers that revealed
the horror of war
Images fueled resentment
of war
Government sought
control
19. MILITARY
CENSORSHIP
Military leaders tried to prevent publishers
from running images
Hired their own photographers to ―direct
the visual representation of the war‖.
Justified the the control of the press to
protect the safety of soldiers
Restricted access to the front lines
Some photojournalists made up fake
pictures
Source: “Photojournalism and today‟s news, Visualizing Reality, Loup Langton (2009)
20. PHOTOS AS REALITY
& POLITICAL PAWNS
1930s: President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt‘s Farm Security Administration
hired photographers to chronicle the lives
of farm families
―Grapes of Wrath‖ type photos that were
―direct, honest and truthful portrayals of
American life‖ in the 1930s
21. Migrant Mother, by Dorothea
Lange, Life Magazine, 1936
http://www.studio360.org/story/287358-american-icons-migrant-mother/
Source http://www.worldsfamousphotos.com/2007/03/21/migrant-mother-1936/
22. LIFE MAGAZINE
A magazine dedicated to photos, created by Henry
R. Luce
Considered the first news magazine
"We tell the truth as we see it," Mr. Luce once
explained when his magazines took sides on
controversies. And he was accustomed to urge his
editors to make a judgment. He believed that
objectivity was impossible. "Show me a man who
claims he is objective," he told an interviewer, "and
I'll show you a man with illusions."
-- http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0403.html
23. PHOTOJOURNALISM
HISTORY
History of Photojournalism by Serena Carter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5G64cpuL4U
Power of Photojournalism:
Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XONXeUndHl8
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i9H7FEw338
The History of Photojournalism – The story of Life
Magazine through the eyes of its photographers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFDJEoWGaGY
24. WHAT MAKES A
GREAT PHOTOGRAPH
Toren Beasley, principal, Seaberry Design
and former photo editor, Newhouse News
Service:
- Captures that moment in time
- Conveys the human condition
- ―Can‘t tell the whole truth in a single
picture‖
- Objectivity doesn‘t exist: A
photographer‘s image represents what
he/she decided to shoot at that moment
25. ―Historically, photojournalism has
resided somewhere between
reportage, the delivery of information,
and individual interpretation.‖
- Wendy Watriss,
http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102074/StepsLearned-Along-the-Way-Redefining-Photojournalisms-Power.aspx
26. WHAT MAKES A
GREAT PHOTOGRAPH
Composition
The organization of:
Shape
Lines
Texture
27. 1. What story am I telling?
• Why am I taking this photo?
2. What is the visual focal point of this shot?
• Remember the Rule of Thirds
3. What competing focal points are there?
• Remember: Avoid Clutter and Avoid Mergers
4. What is in the background and foreground?
• Use your eyes to analyze the scene
5. Am I close enough?
6. What is the main source of light?
28. 7. Is my Framing Straight?
8. What other perspectives could I capture
this subject from?
• Remember: Use the angles
9. How would holding the camera in the
other format change this shot?
10. How will the eye travel through this
image?
• Remember: Lines/Visual Concepts
Source: http://digital-photography-school.com/10-questions
29. Positioning of main focal point of image
• The rule is: if you place points of interest in
the intersections or along the lines that
your photo becomes more balanced and
will enable a viewer of the image to
interact with it more naturally
• Balancing image, light, background,
colors, textures
• Creating a sense of motion
• Creating a depth of perception
http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-ofthirds#sthash.ucvhNWrP.dpuf
35. IMPACT OF DIGITAL
PHOTOGRAPHY &
MULTIMEDIA
Readers look at images first, then text
Stories are more interesting when they
include photo(s)
Add audio and you create a more engaging
piece
The best photos show people doing
something – avoid buildings and things
SOURCE: Elements of News Writing, James W. Kershner, 2012
36. IMPACT OF DIGITAL
PHOTOGRAPHY
New ways of telling stories via multimedia
It allows photographers to focus on a story
and produce more content with greater
control over how those pictures are
presented.
The meaning of visual stories can be
directed through the construction of a
narrative that draws on sound and text as
well as photographs and video.
SOURCE: http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102097/Photojournalism-in-the-NewMedia-Economy.aspx
37. IMPACT OF DIGITAL
PHOTOGRAPHY
It overcomes restrictions on getting longer and
more complex stories published for a global
audience, especially younger generations who
do not consume traditional media.
It is an effective response to the conceptual
challenge of how to provide context for a
photograph.
It can overcome photojournalism‘s
objectification of people by giving subjects
their own voice.
SOURCE: http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102097/Photojournalism-in-the-NewMedia-Economy.aspx
40. ―Photographers who understand they are publishers
as well as producers, for whom engaging a loyal
community is more valuable than chasing a mass
audience, will be in a powerful position.
―They will be the ones who use social media in
combination with traditional tools to activate
partnerships with other interested parties to fund their
stories, host their stories, circulate their stories, and
engage with their stories.‖
-- David Campbell, http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102097/Photojournalism-inthe-New-Media-Economy.aspx
41. CHALLENGES
Unlimited capacity
• The Ol‟ Days: Limited space, wrong photo, badly cropped,
size of photo doesn‟t do event justice
• Slide shows, photo galleries
Multiple publishing formats
More tools to improve quality – or manipulate
Control
• Greater control on which images to use
• Higher risk of managing copyright – ethical issues
43. ETHICS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Be accurate and comprehensive in the
representation of subjects.
Resist being manipulated by staged photo
opportunities.
Be complete and provide context when
photographing or recording subjects. Avoid
stereotyping individuals and groups. Recognize
and work to avoid presenting one's own biases in
the work.
Treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Give
special consideration to vulnerable subjects and
compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intrude
on private moments of grief only when the public
has an overriding and justifiable need to see.
Source: https://nppa.org/code_of_ethics
44. ETHICS
5. While photographing subjects do not
intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek
to alter or influence events.
6. Editing should maintain the integrity of
the photographic images' content and
context.
7. Do not manipulate images or add or alter
sound in any way that can mislead
viewers or misrepresent subjects.
Source: https://nppa.org/code_of_ethics
45. ETHICS
7. Do not pay sources or subjects or
reward them materially for information
or participation.
8. Do not accept gifts, favors, or
compensation from those who might
seek to influence coverage.
9. Do not intentionally sabotage the efforts
of other journalists.
Source: https://nppa.org/code_of_ethics
46. HERE’S WHAT RAN
This photo
ran in 2004
when thenSen. John
Kerry was
running for
president.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/kerry2.asp
47. HERE’S THE TRUTH
John Kerry, Mineola, NY, 1971
Jane Fonda,
Republican
National
Convention,
1972
Click HERE for more
examples.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/kerry2.asp
These photos
were merged to
re-create an
image that
Fonda, a wellknown actress
and anti-war
activist, was
joined by Kerry,
who served in the
Vietnam War, but
later spoke out
against it.
48. ACCURATE
PORTRAYAL
Photojournalists are charged with shooting
events as they happen
Photo editors / publishers must be careful on
how they portray people
Trying to avoid extreme behavior or only
certain types of images can be misleading
For example, only showing Africans barebreasted and impoverished. Only showing
images of scantily clad women . Only
showing men dressed in crisp suits and ties.
53. TODAY’S QUESTION
You‘re a photographer for a small local
newspaper who have just gotten an
assignment to cover a shooting at a local
mall. When you get to the scene, there
numerous bloody dead bodies outside and
inside the mall. You start shooting dozens of
pictures of the bodies. When you get back to
the newsroom, you show your editor the
images.
Do you publish or not?
Give three reasons why you would or
would not publish the pictures.
54. MAYBORN LINKS
Student Projects:
War Comes Home:
http://warcomeshome.themaybornproject.com/
Heart of Mexico: http://heartofmexico2013.com
-
http://heartofmexico2013.com/portfolio/just-go/
Hatch Visuals: http://hatchvisuals.com
The work of Professor Thorne Anderson:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/04/17/afghanistan_th
e_beautiful
