Photojournalism Practice I

This course looks at the history of photojournalism and the ethical questions it raises, including digital manipulation of images. You will learn composition and camera technique, how to edit and interpret photo stories, and how to write articles and captions to accompany your images. The course finishes with a project publishing a photo story to a real specification. Suitable for photographers wanting to move into journalism and editorial work.

Study and Work in Photojournalism Learn to take photographs to specification and how to submit them for publication with this course. Photojournalism also has ethical and social considerations that need to be addressed when you are taking photographs for publishing. With so many would-be photographers around, publishers can afford to be very choosy. Most will only accept work from photographers who have already been published, but getting that first work published can be a daunting and difficult task. Many very good photographers just never get published at all. This module provides our students with just what they need: an opportunity to get work published. On graduation, you will have at least one photograph published (ideally more) in an online publication that you can show to potential employers, which will increase your chances of being employed or published in future. Course Aim To improve your understanding of ethical and social issues involved with photojournalism and develop your ability to take photographs to specification, submitting those images for publication in a periodical (ie. newspaper, magazine or e-zine). Prerequisites • Knowledge and experience in photography • Medium level computer skills, or higher. Course Content This course takes you through the processes of taking photos for a specific publication, submitting work for publication, and meeting the requirements of an editor and publisher. There are 11 lessons in this course: 1/ A Short History of Photojournalism Overview History of photojournalism Famous photographers Margaret Bourke-White Gordon Parks Diane Arbus Nick Ut Larry Burrows 2/ Ethics and Photojournalism Hypothetical - What are ethics? Schools of Philosophy Utilitarianism Rationalism Humanism Kant Socrates Other philosophers Digital manipulation and ethics How ethical is digital manipulation? Real life Codes of ethics Guidelines for making ethical decisions Ethics in practice 3/ What Should I Photograph? Composition Things to consider Camera techniques to help with composition Principles of photographic composition Qualities of the components Effects of different angles on the subject Legal issues 4/ How Should I Photograph It? Terms to learn and understand Depth of field Digital vs conventional photography Shutter speed Development of photographic style Equipment and materials Sensitometry Lighting 5/ Photo Stories / Editing Images Ethics of digital manipulation Controversy of fairy photos Correctly interpreting photos 6/ Publishing Opportunities Portfolio Online portfolio Direct portfolios Slide portfolios CD's Using flash Music Standing out Writing a cover letter Your resume Creating a job hunt database How to get work How to find a job What type of clients do you want? 7/ Working to Specification / Problem Based Learning Photography specifications Consistency PBL Project to develop and draft submission specifications for an electronic publication and then shoot a photo story which meets these specifications. You firstly need to identify two possible subjects for a photo story for that publication, and then follow one of these stories for an extended period of time. You will then select and edit your images - to meet the specifications created for that publication. 8/ Publishing Using Online Management Systems Types of digital files Publishing online 9/ Taking Photos and Submitting Images Portraiture vs photojournalism Sports photography Freezing action Blurring movement Panning Sports photography using a digital SLR Photographing an event Submitting images for publication 10/ Writing Articles and Captions to Accompany Your Image Sentences and phrases Writing effective sentences Choosing effective words Paragraphs Punctuation Newsworthy articles News values Storyline Writing a news article Writing captions 11/ Revising Submitted Work Tips to improve your work Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading Under guidance of a mentor (a photography/ journalism tutor), you will learn to produce images to specific criteria and upload them to an online student magazine. You will come away with at least one photo story and possibly an accompanying article. No matter what you want to photograph, you will find this a great learning experience. The course requires approximately 100 hours of study. If you pace yourself and spend that amount of time, you will probably be working to an expected level. You may spend more or less time, as this is a general guideline only. WHAT NEXT? Register to Study - Go to “It’s Easy to Enrol” box at the top of the page and you can enrol now. or Get Advice – Email us at info@acsedu.co.uk OR Use our FREE COUNSELLING SERVICE to contact a tutor CLICK TO CONTACT US