Journalism 2.0 Chapter 8

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Journalism 2.0 - Chapter 8

• Shooting and Managing Digital Photos

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Digital Camera Advantages

• You can take as many pictures as you want and see
  right away if you got the picture you want.
• You can upload pictures to your computer and
  share them with friends and family anytime via
  the Web.
• You dont have to buy film, and you dont pay to
  print photos you dont want, so you save money.

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Pixels and resolution

• Pixel - picture element
• Megapixel - one million pixels measures power of
  digital camera/total quality of the image taken
• Store files on memory card
• Resolution is the number of pixels in an image
  (computer 72ppi, print 200-300ppi)

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Lighting

• With natural (or ambient) light only.
• With a flash as the primary light source (in a
  low-light situation).
• With a mixture of flash and ambient light.
• Cloudy and partly sunny days actually provide the
  best light for photography.

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Other tips

• Hold camera steady
• Use automatic settings
• Fill the frame
• Focus on one thing
• Get closer
• Go vertical
• Shoot action
• Use the right lighting and background when
  shooting mug shots

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Editing photos

• Edit a copy, not the original
• Crop the photo
• Resize the photo
• Software Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Gimp,
  Microsoft Photo Editor, iPhoto
• Blogs Without Art Are Lame

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• Chapter 9
• Shooting Video for News and Feature Stories

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Opportunities Abound

• Cheap digital cameras and editing software
• Video journalists
• If you had the skills in video today there
  would be a very long list of opportunities before
  you, David Leeson, Dallas Morning News

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Digital Camcorders

• 1 CCD and 3 CCD (charge-coupled device)
• A 3 CCD camera costs 1,500-5,000 while a 1 CCD
  camera can be had for less than 1,000.
• Check battery charge
• Mini-DV tapes
• Optional external lighting devices, microphone,
  tripod, headphones
• Automatic focus and exposure zoom

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Audio

• Get good audio quality
• Natural sounds blank shots
• Built-in mic
• Wireless mic
• Shotgun mic

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Shooting Video

• Documentary style - plan the shoot use
  wide-angle, medium, and close-ups
• Breaking news style - reaction from witnesses and
  authorities
• Be selective in your shots
• Avoid panning and zooming
• Hold your shots
• Be silent
• Frame subject carefully
• Select the best short clips
• Do a trial run