Getting the whole picture

For anyone wondering why we are taking up the study of photography in what is primarily a writing class, this article on iClarified should provide a pretty good answer to your question. As stated, in the spring of last year,management at one of the country's major newspapers, the Chicago Sun Times, laid off all of their photographers and started training their reporters to take pictures with iPhones.

The move was, of course, met with derision from the remaining staff, and who can blame them. Should writers really be responsible for collecting images? Do they have the skills and the know-how to do so?

                                                                                                               Michael Boccieri
                                                                                                           

Apparently, they better. As the Pew Research Center reported last November, nearly half of all visual journalist jobs at U.S. newspapers have been eliminated since 2000. And reporters are increasingly being asked to take up the slack.

This fits right in with the idea of "convergence" in the textbook for class. Of course, that convergence is happening not just in the media, but in the journalists themselves. A skilled reporter entering the workforce now increasingly needs to be able to take a decent picture, design a page, and put together a compelling video. Sounds like a lot more than writing, doesn't it?

Many of the same skills that we are leaning in this class will come to bear on your photographs, however. We need many of the same qualities: transparency, truthfulness, immediacy, relevance and context. And even more so than writing, photography presents the journalist with a great chance to capture and share the emotion of a situation.

This Slide Share by Nithin Kalorth presents a simple, informative introduction to photojournalism. It is certainly worth taking a look at.

In class on Thursday, we'll hear about what makes a great photo and how to capture the perfect image. Before then, it would be helpful to become familiar with some of the work being produced today. Take a look at some of these photo galleries, just to get a sense of what's possible.

http://greatphotojournalism.com/

http://www.americanphotomag.com/photo-gallery/2012/12/2012-photojournalism-year

http://www.noupe.com/photography/35-powerful-photos-that-each-tells-a-story.html

http://www.mediabistro.com/10000words/20-photojournalists-fantastic_b354

For anyone looking to take things a little further, this e-book by Adam Westbrook breaks down the finer points of multi-media journalism and offers some great pointers.