Intro to Photojournalism

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Intro to Photojournalism
What is Photojournalism?
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What is Photojournalism?
How do you define photojournalism? How is it
different than photography? What types of photos
do you usually see or expect to see in the
newspaper? Why is anyone interested in
photojournalism?
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Defining Photojournalism
(A bit outdated)
Photojournalism is an area of photography
dedicated to taking accurate shots of current
events. (i.e. non-fiction no manipulations or
alterations represent reality) Mission take
pictures to accompany a news story Goal the
pictures should capture the readers attention
and emotion to entice him to continue reading
about the story The main difference is intent
pictures of things vs. pictures which tell a story
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Defining Photojournalism
(More ideal, and more pragmatic)
Photojournalism is a field of photography focused
on depicting subjects in such a way that fully
and clearly explains them. Relevance to current
events/topics of discussion is nice, not
necessary. Purpose use images to articulate a
story Goal inform the viewer as much about the
story as possible The main difference is intent
photography generally aims for aesthetics
photojournalism aims for storytelling
Most pressing question What is the story?
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What is the story? UC Walkout
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What is the story? UC Walkout
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What is the story? UC Walkout
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What is the story? UC Walkout
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What is the story? UC Walkout
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Photographer vs. Photojournalist
(Berkeley Marine Center Protest)
Photojournalist "There were many protestors and
police at the event."
Photographer "Ooh, pretty flags!"
Good photojournalist "Antiwar and pro-marine
protestors clash." Conflict is the essence of
this story.
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Photographer vs. Photojournalist
(Obama Presidential Inauguration)
Good photojournalist captures the essence of the
story Hope/Inspiration
Photographer "This woman has an interesting
hat."
Photojournalist "Presidential inauguration on
TV lots of people came to watch."
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Things Photojournalists Shoot
(Somewhat traditional)
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Things Photojournalists Shoot
(Spot News)
Sydney Dust Storm (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
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Things Photojournalists Shoot
(General/Assignment News)
Oktoberfest (Joe Klamar /AFP Photo)
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Things Photojournalists Shoot
(Portraits)
Large Hadron Collider (David Hobby /strobist.com)
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Things Photojournalists Shoot
(Sports)
Usain Bolt at the Manchester City Games (Phil
Noble /Reuters)
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This week's assignment
Find 2 examples of "good" and "bad"
photojournalism (4 images total) upload to
gallery Include the captions as well! We'll
discuss what makes them work, and what
doesn't. Essential questions What story is this
photo trying to tell? How effect is the photo at
illustrating this story? Is this story even
relevant/important?