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JOMC 180 - Beginning Photojournalism Summer Session 1 – 2014 Mon-Fri 2:00-4:45pm 58 Carroll Hall

Photo: Matt Connor (JOMC 180) “Character consists of what you

do on the third and fourth tries....” — James Michener

Lecturer Ryan Comfort School of Journalism and Mass Communication Office: 367 Carroll Hall Office Hours: M-F before class Cell: (608) 921-2764 (not after 9pm) Email: rcomfort@live.unc.edu Web: www.ryancomfortphotography.com

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REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS____________________________________ Photojournalism: the Professional’s Approach, by Ken Kobre, 6th ed. (Available on Amazon.com to buy or rent, or from the Campus Book Store) National Geographic Field Guide, by Peter Burian and Robert Caputo, 2nd ed. (Available on Amazon.com to buy, or from the Campus Book Store) The News & Observer Digital or Print Subscription (Available http://www.newsobserver.com/ or in the Park Library) SD Card – minimum 16GB Class 10, recommended 32GB Class 10 professional (Available on Amazon.com, bhphotovideo.com, or from the Campus Book

Store) Portable Hard Drive – minimum 250GB USB 3.0 (Available on Amazon.com, bhphotovideo.com, or from the Campus Book

Store. If you are considering other JOMC multimedia courses, I recommend 1TB USB 3.0/Thunderbolt or Firewire 800 connectivity)

DSLR Camera Kit (Available to borrow from the J-School! The basic kit includes a DSLR

camera body, 18-55 IS Lens and camera bag. Other equipment is available depending on the assignment. Pick up your kit as soon as possible from…

Matt Bachman Equipment Room Manager Carroll Hall room 239 (919) 962-0718 mbachman@email.unc.edu RECOMMENDED COURSE MATERIALS_______________________________ The Associated Press Stylebook 2013, by Associated Press (Available on Amazon.com or from the Campus Book Store. If you are a

JOMC major, you will need a copy for future coursework.) CF/SD Card Reader (Available on Amazon.com, bhphotovideo.com, Southeastern Camera in

Carrboro, or from the Campus Book Store. If you will be doing future multimedia coursework, a fast card reader is a must.)

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COURSE OBJECTIVES_____________________________________________ Welcome to photojournalism! In this course we will lay a foundation of visual literacy, technical photojournalistic skills and introduce you to an exciting, significant and fulfilling career. Students will learn basic visual and technical aspects of photojournalism while photographing a series of individual assignments. The course will provide all students with a basic “photojournalism appreciation.” Specifically, this semester we will aim to learn how to:

• Manually operate a 35 mm camera, flash and lenses. • Think critically and make decision on content and ethics in the field. • Write informative, narrative captions. • Critically evaluate photography and judge its communicative value. • Make photographs that tell a story. • Develop a first photographic portfolio.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s accrediting body has developed a set of values and competencies. Learn about them here: http://bit.ly/1dk0dom JOMC courses are designed to build your abilities in each of these areas. In this class, we will address several of the values and competencies under "Professional values and competencies" in the link above. COURSE POLICIES________________________________________________ Classes will consist of a mix of lectures, slides, computer work, group editing, presentations and critiques. Throughout the semester we will be looking at a lot of images, learning the language of visual communication; during presentation times, please turn your computer monitor off. Notes should be taken on paper. Attendance is absolutely necessary if you are to succeed in this class; we will be moving steadily as we cover large amounts of new information in every class. Missing a single class will be deadly; falling behind will only compound your misery. Remember: you alone are responsible for the material covered in each session. Even missing a class for a justifiable reason (a death in the family) will require YOU to get the notes from someone else. And you must be IN CLASS to present your work on due dates. Deadlines in this business are sacred. All assignments must be turned in complete with captions and proper formatting to the course drop box before the start of class, no excuses, no exceptions. All late work will receive a zero. The Exam will cover readings, class lectures and assignments.

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LEARN BY DOING_________________________________________________ We will start slowly with basic camera operation exercises. To accommodate all skill levels, the first three assignments will be ungraded (but failure to complete them will result in a 10% reduction in your overall course grade). If you are total beginner – don’t worry! You’ll get up to speed as we progress into graded assignments typical in the daily work of a professional photojournalist. Each of the assignments will be accompanied by detailed narrative captions. The shoots are worth 60 percent of the grade. The assignments are:

• Assignment #01 – F/22 (ungraded) • Assignment #02 – Depth of Field/Motion (ungraded) • Assignment #03 – Flash (ungraded) • Assignment #04 – Composition • Assignment #05 – Decisive Moment • Assignment #06 – Portrait • Assignment #07 – Feature • Assignment #08 – Sports • Assignment #09 – Photo Story • Assignment #10 – Final Portfolio

Re-shoots are acceptable and encouraged. For any assignment you turn in on time, you may re-shoot the assignment for a better grade at any point before the final portfolio is due. The assignment must be entirely re-shot from start to finish, not just a re-edit of your first take. You can re-shoot an assignment as many times as you like. The highest grade will be used for your course grade. GRADING________________________________________________________ Your final grade for the course will be according to the following breakdown. Any assignments not turned in by deadline will receive no credit. Visual assignments will be graded based on technical, aesthetic, and content elements (including proper AP style on photo captions). Assignments 4-8 50% Assignment #09 – Photo Story 20% Assignment #10 – Final Portfolio 10% Final Exam 10% Effort/Attendance/Participation 10% Total 100%

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COURSE SCHEDULE______________________________________________ Week 1 May 13 Welcome to Photojournalism

Syllabus, books, class structure, notecards, readings, equipment, and misc. nuts and bolts. Overview of camera operations and exposure. In-class exercise: Mug Shots

May 14 Get it together! Overview of the workflow for this course and lecture on Photoshop techniques. Short discussion on editing ethics. Reading Due: National Geographic (NG) “Exposure and

Exposure Metering” and “Getting Started with Photography.” Kobre, Ch. 1, “Assignment.”

In-class exercise: Process and submit Assignment #01 Assignment Due: Assignment #01 – F/22 (at the end of class)

May 15 Depth of Field and Motion I Review of exposure and metering. Overview of gear including cameras and lenses. Discussion on depth of field and motion. Reading Due: Kobre, Ch. 8, “Camera Bag.” NG, “Camera,” “Lens,” and “Motion – Stopping it

using it” In-class exercise: Shoot Assignment Due: None

May 16 Depth of Field and Motion II Review of depth of field and motion. Photoshop tutorial. Reading Due: Kobre, Ch. 7, “Photo Editing.” Photoshop readings on Course Server In-class exercise: Photoshop Assignment #02 Assignment Due: Assignment #02 – Depth of Field/Motion

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Week 2 May 19 Light and Composition I

Basic image composition including subject framing, compositional elements, 3 main shots, and use of light. Reading Due: NG, “Light,” “Composition,” “Sam Abell,” and

“David Alan Harvey” In-class exercise: Shoot Assignment Due: None

May 20 Light and Composition II Review of basic composition and use of light. Introduction to class critiques. Reading Due: None In-class exercise: Critique Assignment Due: Assignment #04 – Composition

May 21 Moments I Introduction to The Decisive Moment and Henri Cartier-Bresson. How to “hunt” for moments. Reading Due: Kobre, Ch. 10, “Covering Issues.” NG, “William Albert Allard” In-class exercise: Shoot Assignment Due: None

May 22 Moments II and Portrait I Review of moments and critique of assignments. Introduction to portraiture and people. Elements of a portrait. Lens selection, location, posing, and light. Reading Due: Kobre, Ch. 5, “Portraits.” NG, “People,” and “Annie Griffiths Belt” In-class exercise: Critique Assignment Due: Assignment #05 – Decisive Moment

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May 23 Guest Lecture and Work Day Finding and communicating to subjects about the photojournalism and photo story process. Reading Due: None In-class exercise: Find portrait subjects Assignment Due: None

Week 3 May 27 Portrait II

Review of portraiture and working with subjects. View online posing tutorials and discuss. Reading Due: None In-class exercise: Critique Assignment Due: Assignment #06 – Portrait

May 28 Feature I Finding and shooting different types of features. Overview of the different types of features (including “Critters”). Reading Due: Kobre, Ch. 4, “Features.” NG, “Weather,” and “Jodi Cobb” In-class exercise: Shoot Assignment Due: None

May 29 Feature II Review of shooting features. Reading Due: None In-class exercise: Critique Assignment Due: Assignment #07 – Feature

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May 30 Sports I Introduction to shooting sports. Equipment, planning, access, packaging and processing a sports shoot. Reading Due: Kobre, Ch. 6, “Sports.” NG, “Festivals, Parades and Sports” and “Michael

Yamashita” Assignment Due: None

Week 4 June 2 Sports II

Review of shooting sports. Reading Due: None In-class exercise: Critique Assignment Due: Assignment #08 – Sports

June 3 Strobe I Overview of camera strobes. Introduction to strobe technology, techniques, and how to make your flash look GOOD! Reading Due: Kobre, Ch. 9, “Strobe.” NG, “Flash” In-class exercise: Shoot Assignment Due: None

June 4 Strobe II Review of strobe technology, techniques, and uses. Get ready for JOMC 181! Reading Due: None In-class exercise: Critique Assignment Due: Assignment #03 – Flash

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June 5 Photo Story I Photo stories are the bread and butter of photojournalism. Discussion of locating and constructing a photo story. Reading Due: Kobre, Ch 11, “Photo Story.” In-class exercise: Find a Story! Assignment Due: None

June 6 Photo Story II + Laws and Ethics Overview of photojournalism laws and ethical guidelines. Discussion of ethics. Discussion of Photo Story characters. Reading Due: Kobre, Ch. 15 and 16, “Law and Ethics” In-class exercise: Story and Character Assignment Due: Photo Story – “3 Stories/Characters”

Week 5 June 9 Photo Story III

Group and individual critiques of Photo Story takes 1 and 2. Create a plan for takes 3 and 4. Reading Due: None In-class exercise: Critique Assignment Due: Photo Story – Take #1 and 2

June 10 Photo Story IV + News Overview of shooting for news. Review of news values. Reading Due: Kobre, Ch. 2 and 3, “Spot and General News.” In-class exercise: Shoot out! Assignment Due: None

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June 11 Photo Story V Group and individual critiques of Photo Story takes 3 and 4. Create a plan for takes 5 and 6. Reading Due: None In-class exercise: Critique Assignment Due: Photo Story – Take #3 and 4

June 12 Photo Story VI Overview of photojournalism history. Discussion of the future of photojournalism and visual storytelling. Reading Due: Kobre, Ch. 17, “History” In-class exercise: Critique Assignment Due: None

June 13 Photo Story VII Go over sequencing of photo story selects and turn in. Reading Due: None In-class exercise: Sequencing and Critique Assignment Due: Assignment #09 – Photo Story

Week 6 June 16 Final Exam and Portfolio Screening

When: 3pm-6pm Where: 58 Carroll Hall Assignment Due: Assignment #10 – Final Portfolio

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Assignments_____________________________________________________ All assignments must be turned in according to these procedures. We will be producing a lot of images this semester and it’s important that we stay organized. The class folder has an assignment folder template you should follow. Copy the template to your hard drive. Make a copy of the folder template for every assignment you do for this course. For each assignment, you will create a “Turn-In Folder” that you will submit to the Drop Box on the course server. Your “Turn-In Folder” must follow this naming convention…

00_lastname (00 is the assignment number and lastname is your last name) All your subsequent files in the folder will follow the same naming convention. Simply add another underscore and a number or description of the file. Batch rename all your raw image files using this naming convention. For example… 00_lastname_001.raw 00_lastname_002.raw 00_lastname_003.raw (you get the idea) After you have selected the images you will turn in. Rename the images in the correct sequence using the same naming convention but place them in the “Sized” folder in your turn in folder. It should look like this… 00_lastname_001.jpg 00_lastname_002.jpg Your “Turn-In Folder” should include the following… 1. An Expressions catalog with full-size previews of your entire shoot 2. Select image files named, toned, captioned, and sized in a “Sized” folder 3. A written evaluation of your shoot that answers these questions… - What did you

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Assignment 01 – F/22 This is a “getting acquainted” assignment and won’t be graded. This is a trial of your equipment, workflow and, most importantly, your creativity. For this assignment you should shoot a minimum of 110 frames. You must turn in one image for each of the 22 items listed below, but you can shoot as much as you want. Explore, climb, crawl, jump, swim, roll, run, fall, submerge, walk, talk, slow down, think, think, think. And play! Turn in one of each…

1. Mug shot (will shoot in class) 2. A self-portrait 3. Love 4. Front Porch 5. Fear 6. Shadow 7. Pattern 8. Blue (NOT the sky) 9. A moment 10. Friend 11. 6:30 a.m. (NOT your alarm clock or any other clock!) 12. Sunset 13. Young 14. Truth 15. Three dimensions 16. An image shot from the hip - not looking through the viewfinder 17. A tattoo, not your own 18. Weather 19. Moody 20. Window 21. Shiny 22. A person you don’t know

Bring your raw images to class the next day. We will use your take to walk through the JOMC 180 workflow. You’ll submit the assignment to the Drop Box at the end of class.

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Assignment 02 – Depth of Field and Motion What I REALLY want: The following instructions are intended to walk you through several simple exercises to demonstrate your ability to use depth of field, motion, angles, lenses and close range. If you are just starting, feel free to follow these to the letter-your images may not be exciting but they will work to teach you the concepts. HOWEVER what I really want is for you to have fun and make GOOD images while demonstrating the following techniques. You are free to stray from the directions, as long as you have 10 images that show:

1. Frozen motion 2. Blurred motion 3. Very blurred motion 4. Panned motion 5. Shallow depth of field 6. Great depth of field 7. Extreme close up with a telephoto 8. Extreme close up with a wide angle 9. Extreme low angle 10. Extreme high angle

The following sections will walk you through how to create each of these images. Basic Motion (1-4) THE FOLLOWING ARE EXAMPLES, YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO CARS OR FRIENDS. GET CREATIVE!

• Set up near a street, where cars are moving. The cars will be your subject. Be careful!

• The camera should be parallel to the road. With your lens set to the 50mm setting, position yourself so that a passing car will nearly fill the viewfinder. Focus on a lane of the road.

• Do not move your camera. As cars pass, make your exposures with your shutter speed set on: 1/30 (or slower) and 1/500 (or faster). Adjust your aperture each time to assure a proper exposure.

• Finally, with the exact same setup, try panning with the moving subject. As a car approaches compose it in the viewfinder. Move the camera with the car, pushing the shutter at some point when it is in front of you. Make exposures at: 1/15, 1/30. (Adjust your aperture each time to assure a proper exposure.) Make sure you use a smooth motion to follow the car.

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Basic Depth of Field (5 and 6)

• Find a composition with repeating shapes, preferably equidistant from each other (a series of columns on a building front, a bike rack, a line of cars in a parking lot, a picket fence, a line of mailboxes, etc.)

• With your lens on the TELEPHOTO or NORMAL zoom setting, fill your viewfinder with the repeating shapes. Focus one-third into the scene.

• Make two correct exposures. First, with your APERTURE set on: wide open (probably f4) and the second one with the aperture closed down to f/16 or f/22. (Use a shutter speed fast enough to avoid camera shake; probably 60 and above). Write down your exposure data.

• All of the above MUST BE SHOT OF THE SAME SUBJECT, SAME CAMERA POSITION.

Basic Lenses (7-10)

• Variation #1: • Set your lens to the maximum TELEPHOTO setting. • With the lens on manual focus, set the focus for as CLOSE as it will go. • Looking through the viewfinder, MOVE YOURSELF closer or farther from

your friend until they are in sharp focus. • Compose your picture the way you want it. • Shoot the picture.

• Variation #2 • Set your lens to the maximum WIDE ANGLE setting. • With the lens on manual focus, set the focus for as CLOSE as it will go. • MOVE YOURSELF closer or farther from your friend until they are in sharp

focus. • Compose your picture the way you want it, paying special attention to

what’s in the background. • Take the picture.

• Variation #3: • With a wide angle lens, make one picture laying on the ground looking up

at something

• Variation #4 • With a wide angle lens, make one picture standing on a table or chair

looking down on someone or something

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Assignment 03 – Flash Shoot pictures, any content, any situation, using four of the following flash techniques discussed in class:

• Balancing strobe with ambient light • Off-camera strobe • Bounce off ceiling • Bounce using omni bounce • Outside in the sunlight, using fill-flash • Flash blur or “drag shutter”

Try to balance the color of your flash and the existing light sources. Experiment, combine techniques, and have fun!

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Assignment 04 – Composition Composition is the visual “grammar” of photography. The simplest definition of composition is the way you arrange elements within your frame. The two ways you control elements are where you position yourself (camera) in relation to your subject and what lens you choose. Great light is what sets great photos apart. Light evokes mood and feeling. It can be beautiful, gloomy, striking, somber, even scary. To be a good photographer you need to teach yourself to see, understand and capture light. I want you to make photographs using the rules of composition with particular attention to the light. The subject matter is open, but you MUST have people & faces in your pictures. I suggest you pick an active situation where people are gathered, like a festival, or farmers’ market, Weaver Street Market’s lawn, etc. In the most basic sense, you have two compositional controls – move yourself and/or change your lens. Get comfortable working in close to people. Try different angles, low, high, etc. Experiment with different focal lengths of your lenses. Think about the time of day you’re shooting, use shadows as compositional elements, look for sidelight, backlight, etc. (Note: do not shoot SPORTS for this assignment!) Remember, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you are not close enough.” –Robert Capa. Shoot at least 100 exposures. Try at least four distinct compositions. Vary your lens choice, lighting source, time of day, DOF, perspective, angle and moment. Shoot more than one frame on each composition. Work the scene. Note: your work should all be from the same subject, event or location!

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Assignment 05 – Decisive Moment Human interaction and emotion captured in telling moments is perhaps the single most important content element in photojournalism. Joy, sorrow and the full range of emotion can be revealed in obvious ways, such as facial expression, or more subtle ways, such as body language. Emotion is the universal visual language that anyone anywhere can understand. • I want you to make photographs of interaction/moments. • Photos should be ACTIVE compositions, meaning the viewer cannot help

but be engaged by the faces of the subjects. • The photos you turn in must involve two or more people interacting with

each other or exhibiting strong emotion or body language. Look for both a great Decisive Moment and storytelling human Interaction.

• Think of situations that might yield good moments, check the community

calendar section of our local papers or the campus calendars, and choose an event to cover.

• THESE MOMENTS NEED TO BE ENTIRELY CANDID. no flash allowed. • Again I want you to pay close attention to the light, and try to utilize it to

your advantage. THE CAPTION: It should have names; rule of thumb is who, what, when, where, and why. You will type your caption in the File>info section of Photoshop when you are scanning your images. Shoot at least 72 exposures (more is more.) Use everything we have learned so far: composition, lighting, proper exposure, proper lens use, appropriate background-to the best of your ability. Remember: Work the shoot. Turn in your best 2 photographs with captions.

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Assignment 06 - Portrait People and their stories are what photojournalism is all about. Capturing telling portraits of people means telling their story in one two-dimensional photograph. It seems impossible. But a good portrait can capture something of the subject’s spirit, a glimpse of their personality, a window into their heart and mind using expression, body language, moment and environment. Light is one of “the big three” elements that help photos communicate mood and evoke a response from viewers. I want you to make great portraits of working people in our community, utilizing great light. Scout the location and think about scheduling your shoot at the right time for great light. I would like you to try both posed and candid portraits. Both should have excellent light-could be as simple as window light or as dramatic as a sunset. The light should emphasize the person. For more information, refer to the guidelines discussed in class, in Kobre, Chapter six, and Field Guide, “People.” Remember: Establish rapport Look for telling body language/mannerisms Scout the location-Use the background/environment to help tell the story Look for and schedule for good light Shoot AT LEAST 72 exposures (more is always good). Use everything we have learned so far to the best of your ability: COMPOSITION, LIGHT, MOMENT, proper exposure, proper lens use, appropriate background. Work the scene. Turn in your best 2 photographs with captions.

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Assignment 07 - Feature Think of the Features assignment as Photo Story Lite. This assignment is your run-up to the final project, the photo story. The basic building block of the photo story is the classic three-legged stool of WIDE, MEDIUM AND DETAIL shots-on the same subject. This “picture package” is like a mini story. You should make it a habit of shooting all three types of images in every situation from now on. Features are the visual personality of a newspaper. They are generally a “found” situation with strong human interest, graphics, light, shadow, emotion, expression and moment. Features can be based on weather, such as folks caught in a sudden downpour. They can be simple slices of life. The good ones show us our world in a way we haven’t seen it before, and evoke a response from the viewer. The subject matter is open, but remember, this is not a “news” shoot (wrecks and fires and so-called “Acts of God”) though feature photos can grow out of some general news events. It can be anything that would run in a newspaper, magazine or website with or without a story. You must include people in your photographs along with good captions that provide context and quotes. Hint: watch the community calendar sections of the local newspapers for events that would yield good pictures. Go where people gather! Demonstrate your ability to find good light, subject matter, moment and composition. REMEMBER TO TRY UNIQUE ANGLES. LOOK FOR MOMENT AND EXPRESSION. Vary your lens choice, lighting source, perspective, and composition. Here’s what I want you to turn in:

• Wide: the overall shot, the scene setter. Capture sense of place. • Medium: the moment/interaction shot with human emotion. • Detail: the close-up shot that illuminates the larger subject. Could be a

great face, hands, objects that speak to the subject. Turn in your best wide, medium, and detail (3 images total), with captions.

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Assignment 08 – Sports Shooting sports is a unique skill in photojournalism. It requires forethought, knowledge of the game, timing, the ability to follow focus, anticipation and pre-visualization plus many other skills. I want you to cover a sporting event. It must be an actual scheduled competition. It can be a club sport, team sport, individual sport, kid’s sport, etc. BUT NO PRACTICES OR SCRIMMAGES.

• Do your research and have a plan. • Ask me or another photographer for specific tips about your chosen sport. • Scout the location. • Figure out which lenses would be best, what the light will be, unusual

shooting perspectives. • Contact the coach. Seek permission to get in the locker room and/or in the

team area. • Arrive early, stay late. Repeat to yourself before you go to sleep tonight.

I want you to tell the story. Shoot fans. Shoot coaches. Shoot game action. Take notes, I will look favorably on action that is the story of the game, I want you to tell me in the caption. Shoot peak action, reaction, and features. Captions need to include names and game info. MAKE SURE you get a roster! If there are none available, you can take a picture of it as long as you can read the names. Another trick is to take a picture of the scoreboard periodically, especially when the period changes or right after a big play. Shoot AT LEAST 200 exposures. Make sure to choose your ISO wisely, based on the competition, time of day, etc. Vary your lens choice, perspective, composition and moment. Places to find sporting events: http://TarHeelBlue.fansonly.com/ http://www.unc.edu/student/orgs/recog/sports.html also: N&O Weekend section on Friday, Community Sports News, Fall Rec Guide, on free newsstands around town, Campus Recreation Turn in your best sports action, reaction, scene setter, and feature (4 images total), with captions.

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Assignment 09 – Photo Story The long-term photo project is at heart of what photojournalism is about – telling someone’s story. Personality profile picture stories focus in on one person, sometimes two. The best picture stories have a beginning, middle and end. They are more likely to follow a chronological order, because that is how life unfolds. They often follow the classic narrative map:

• Introduction of the “hero.” • The hero has a problem (conflict). • We experience the hero struggling with that conflict. • The conflict reaches a crisis stage and there is a climax. • Conflict resolution follows… • …followed by outcome of the main dramatic complication (denouement) • Conclusion

They are frequently built around a character:

• The little-known but interesting: (lady living with 30 cats, 70-year old student)

• The little-known but representative: (single father, teen mother, AIDS baby)

• One person humanizes an abstract topic: (person living in the shadow of a nuclear power plant)

For this assignment, you will do a narrative picture story. You will need 8 to 10 pictures that each add a new element to the story. You will need at least an…

• Opener-lead • Scene setter-gives sense of place, context • Signature picture-like a nut graph- telling the entire story in one frame-

usually a moment • Body content-telling moments which reveal the unfolding action • Transitions-images that help the viewer move from one place to another,

and help the story to flow • Candid portrait • Ender-resolution

To ensure visual variety in your project, remember the three main shots:

• Wide • Medium • Detail

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Assignment 09 Part 1 – 2 Characters/Proposal As the first step in our picture story process, we will identify two potential stories. The first step in the process is to decide on an issue. Step 1 - Ideas Pick ideas you will enjoy spending time on! Find something local! There are plenty of stories here in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Durham, so start talking to people. Start doing research. Read the paper. What issues do you care about? How is it being addressed here in town? Look at event boards, posting, and other calendars. What is happening in the near future that people might be preparing for? Think about who you know or are already connected with. Think about… Personal interest- Perhaps someone you know was homeless, now works for Habitat for Humanity, and has an important build deadline coming up. Trends in society- Same-sex marriages are becoming more acceptable in the Triangle, and you know a local couple that is speaking at a public event. News and Events Perhaps there is a march on Washington, and you know a local who is going. Or maybe your sister is pregnant and expecting this week. Sports Maybe you are a rugby player and know a player on another team has a “make or break” match coming up next week. Step 2 – Make some calls The most difficult part of photojournalism is gaining access. Cold calling for stories is challenging, but its something we all do and get better at with practice. Get on the phone with folks you think might be good characters with a story. Find out what they are doing in the coming week. Are they preparing for anything? What does their work/home/life look like? Can you be a fly on the wall whenever you need to? Would they be invested in working with you to tell their story?

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Step 2 – Pre-conceptualize the Story At this stage you have a sense of the issue, the character, and the narrative. To tell a story with pictures, you must know what you are trying to say. It is helpful, then, to have a well-researched proposal that touches on the major issue, characters and narrative of the story. Approach this as if I am your editor at a newspaper, and you are a staff photographer. I want your story proposals to be direct and succinct. There are two time-honored questions editors know by heart when considering story proposals- who says? and Who cares? We need to be able to answer these. Step 3 - Write the proposal You should start with the headline. It should summarize the focus of the story in a few well-chosen words. If you can’t write a headline for your story, you don’t have a focus. Following your headline you should give me a more in-depth summary of the story in a few paragraphs. For each of your three characters, you will need to write up the following….

1. A paragraph introducing the character. Who are they, what do they do? 2. A paragraph introducing the issue. What issue do they face? Why is this

issue of broader concern? Why is this issue relevant for a mass audience? How will you make this issue visual?

3. A paragraph introducing the story. What is the journey your character is on? What is the challenge? What are the stages or obstacles on the way? What and when is the climax? What is at stake? When and where will the major events in the story take place?

4. A paragraph explaining your access to the character and how you will accomplish this story by the deadline.

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Assignment 09 Part 2 – Photo Story You will be shooting daily for your photo story during this part of the semester. Each day in class we will check in on each other’s progress, offer feedback, and think about solutions to challenges. The goal of the photo story assignment is to support each other in building the best photo story with the time we have. Before you shoot…

• Talk with your character about when the best times to shoot would be (not the times they consider themselves “available” but the times that will best tell their story)

• Talk about when the best light will be to shoot certain things. • Make efficient use of your time, know what kind of images you want to

take away from a shoot so you can hunt for them (not stage them) • Download your card • Charge your batteries

After you shoot…

• Download your card into a new folder under “01Raw” • Charge your batteries • Review your take

o Did you get what you were after? o What do you need to add? o Will there be an opportunity to re-shoot and get something better?

Turning In

• For daily turn in deadlines, submit only an updated catalogue with new takes labeled a different color for each.

• For the final turn in deadline, follow the standard assignment submission guidelines.

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Assignment 10 – Final Portfolio You will essentially assemble everything you have turned in already and resubmit, along with re-dos, a single catalog containing everything, and an evaluation of your work so far. Your final portfolio will contain all of the work you have submitted thus far, plus any redo’s. You will submit a new folder to the “Drop Box” named… P1_lastname Read the following instructions very carefully for how to order and organize your portfolio. General requirements: • You will have two images for each assignment. Include all originals AND re-

dos. Simply add an “*” to the file name for re-dos. • All images should be sized to a long dimension of 1200 pixels @ 72 DPI. • Save files as JPEGs with high quality setting. • All assignments should have GOOD captions under file info. • All images should be color corrected, dust and scratches removed, and

cropped for effectiveness. Make them look as good as you can. Treat this as a portfolio you would submit for a job.

• Include an Expressions catalog of your entire portfolio. Before importing your images, go to Edit>Thumbnails and Previews, and click “Create full screen previews.”

• Sort the images according to file name. Make the thumbnails large (apple a,

apple +, apple b.) Make sure all your captions show up in the caption window. All of your images should be in the catalog, in order. Save the catalog into P1_lastname.

• Create a folder inside “P1_lastname” entitled “catalogs.” Copy all of your assignment catalogs in there.

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• Write a 1-page, single spaced, self-evaluation of your work in this portfolio in Microsoft Word. Include specifics about what worked and didn’t work, favorite/worst assignments, and what you learned. a photo major. Save the paper as “eval_lastname.doc” into the “P1_lastname” folder.