Photography

and
Photojournalism
Introduction and Learning Outcomes
Introduction
This topic introduces the concepts of photography and photojournalism as
the process of telling stories using photos as the medium.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:
• Discuss the concept of photography and photojournalism
• Analyze qualities of a good photojournalist
• Discuss duties of a photojournalist
• Discuss career options in photojournalism
Introduction to Photography and Photojournalism
• Photojournalism is a foundation course for students and practitioners
in the field to become a photojournalist.
• It treats all the fundamental principles of writing and reporting in
pictures for the mass media.
• Journalists capture different events and happenings going on in the
country (streets, meetings, political rallies) such as protests, political
activities, activism etc
• In journalism, pictures recorded with the help of the camera are used
to tell stories
• In order words it is the art of telling a story using pictures.
Introduction to Photography and Photojournalism
• Photographs these days are as important as news stories.
• Photography is the result of combining several technical discoveries;
it is a method of recording images by the action of light, or related
radiation, on a sensitive material
• The word was derived from the Greek words photos (Light) and
graphein (to draw).
• There is a popular Chinese saying “picture is worth more than a
thousand words”
What is Photography?
• The word photography literally means ‘drawing with light’, which derives
from the Greek photo, meaning light and graph, meaning to draw.
• Photography is the process of recording an image – a photograph – on
light sensitive film or, in the case of digital photography, via a digital
electronic or magnetic memory
• According to Spencer (1973), photography is the art , science, and practice
of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic
radiation, either chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as
photograhic film, or electronically by means of an image sensor.
• According to the Collins English Dictionary, Photography is defined as the
art, practice, or occupation of taking and printing photographs, making
cine films.
What is Photography?
• Photography has a great advantage over the written word as it does
not need to be translated for use to anyone in the world.
• It can be used to make comparison, to distort information, emphasize
and to document social conditions as it registers facts, ideas, and
even emotions with greater accuracy than the human eyes.
• The use of photography range from commercial and press to
medicine and crime detection.
• With the advancement of photography to microfilming, the storage
and retrieval of information have been made much more convenient
and space usage much reduced.
What is Photography?
• Photography has many uses such as for business, science,
manufacturing, art, recreational purposes and mass communication,
• Photography is a popular hobby that offers job opportunities to many
people in the photograhic manufacturing, retailing, servicing and
photofishing
What is Photojournalism?
• Photojournalism is the process of telling stories using photos as the
medium
• It uses a camera to capture visual representations of a story.
Photojournalism follows a set framework of rules and principles for
composition
• In photojournalism, photographs are used to tell incidents, events
and other important news.
• Photojournalism uses the body language and facial expressions of the
subjects i.e. the people involved in the incident to tell their story.
What is Photojournalism?
• The stories told using photos are supposedly true and thus should be
communicated in a fair and unbiased way.
• In photojournalism, the news photos often evoke intense emotions
among viewers, like shots of disaster survivors or scenes of a terrorist
attack
• Photojournalism is the fusion of photography and journalism.
• Print, electronic and digital media use the services of photojournalists
to convey stories.
• It is used extensively in newspapers, news magazines, film magazines
and advertising magazines
What is Photojournalism?
• Photojournalism gives visual support to the news story
• A good news photo tells a story all on its own and requires little to no
writing to back it up
• Photographer takes photos related to the new story and the reporter
collects the facts for the story and writes it
• Photojournalism main objective is to tell a story better than the text
or write-up that usually accompanies the photos
• A good photojournalist should be objective and honest- present the
images as they are with no manipulation.
What is Photojournalism?
• Photojournalists follow certain principles to produce photos that catch the
attention of different audiences.
• Photos taken with the right focus, exposure, angle and color are
understood better by larger audience as compared to photos in which the
subject is not in focus and which lack proper camera angle.
• A good photograph should try to answer maximum number of Ws and H.
• In fact a photojournalist knows that real emotions of people are captured
when they are relaxed and busy with their daily chores.
• These candid and perfect moments are captured by the lens and become
timeless classics.
What is Photojournalism?
• A photojournalist’s role is to relate a story through photography.
• The goal is not only to take pictures, but to hold the images up to the
highest journalistic standards in an effort to convey the truth
• Photojournalism is a form of visual storytelling and reporting
• Despite the prevalence of photography in many aspects of modern
life, only a small minority of photographs are considered to be art and
tend to be displayed in museums and galleries in formats similar to
painting.
What is Photojournalism?
• Photojournalism can be done for –
• General News Stories, which pertains to any event that is planned ahead
of time. Examples are press conferences, product launch ceremonies,
exhibitions and political rallies.
• Spot or Breaking News, which refers to any event or incident that has just
happened e.g accidents, plane crash, fire, building collapse
• Sports Photography, which is seen as the most difficult type of
photojournalism. Special attention has to be given to the aperture and
shutter speed settings (freeze the action)
• Portrait Photojournalism: a portrait shows people from the society in their
usual environment, like a race car driver beside his car, a doctor inside the
operating theatre or the defence minister in her office. The portrait
captures the emotional state of the person.
Types of Photography
• A photojournalist tells stories through pictures , and this role
can be performed using any of these types of photos.
➢The Aware photograph:- Aware photograph is an arranged
photograph. The underlying point is that the person is
aware.
➢He or she is therefore completely aware even to the
moment when the cameraman will press the shutter release
button.
➢This is the type of photograph that people call a
photographer for at a graduation, matriculation, wedding
and other ceremonies. The person may also to a student if in
need of passport size photograph
Types of Photography
➢The Semi-Aware Photograph:- implies, the person
being pictured is not completely aware. It could also be
arranged or planned for but the most important factor
is that the person does not know the actual time the
camera shutter release button will be pressed.
➢Where he or she is aware of the presence of the
photographer, he or she does not know when the
photographer will take the picture.
➢This is the kind of photograph that Dooshima took at
the wedding in St. John’s Cathedral.
Types of Photography
➢The Candid Photograph:-This type of photograph is factual
and unarranged as it tells the story as it is, not as it ought to
be.
➢The person being photographed is completely unaware.
Because he or she does not know that the photographer is
taking the picture there is no pretense.
➢The candid photograph is factual and tells the story as it is,
not as it ought to be.
➢It therefore calls for speed, instinct, anticipation, ingenuity
and presence.
➢Watch this video on tips to photojournalism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsO9IObsaRA
Who is a photojournalist?
• A photojournalist, also known as press photographer or news
photographer works for newspapers, magazines, wire services and
other media organizations requiring photographic records of
everyday events for publication.
• The photojournalist is both a journalist and a photographer.
• He differs from other types of photographers on the one hand
because he brings his journalistic skills to bear when taking
pictures.
• He/she employs his/her knowledge to write or report using
pictures to tell stories of interest to his audience.
• Without photos, newspapers would be a bore, poorer and less
intriguing
• The photojournalist is both a journalist and a photographer
Qualities of a Good Photojournalist
He differs from other types of photographers on the one hand
because he brings his journalistic skills to bear when taking
pictures. His qualities include:
➢A sense of curiosity
➢Artistic aptitude
➢Mechanical aptitude
➢High ethical standards
➢Quick thinking and foresightedness
Duties of a Photojournalist
➢Takes pictures
➢Work with reporters
➢Develop and edit pictures
➢Attend departmental/unit meetings and briefings
➢Keep calendar of events
➢Write captions
➢Advise organization
➢Keep equipment safe and report damages
➢Call sources and schedule meetings with subjects
Why Study Photojournalism
• There are lots of job opportunities for a photojournalist.
• Websites, news portals, news magazines, TV channels and
newspapers require for dedicated and efficient camera persons
• Apart from joining a company, a good photojournalist can become a
freelancer.
• Qualified photographers can join:
➢Print and Advertising Industry –magazines, adverts and photo libraries;
➢Fashion Industry – creative photography of models and clothing for
magazines and catalogues;
➢Event Company- social functions, family, wedding and celebrations
photography;
➢And Corporate (industrial/commercial) – company promotional material
Questions
• Identity and explain Careers in Photography
• Describe the Differences between photography and photojournalism
• Discuss the importance of photojournalism
• Describe the functions of pictures in journalism
• Describe the importance of photography in society
Careers in photography
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTYljDOjaRo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVqV6FCz7Z0
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFJoTgVUviE
Career Options in Photojournalism
• Staff:-A staff is employed on full time by a media organization e.g media
organizations, PR firms etc. The photos taken by him belong to his
employer.
• Freelancer:- A freelance photographer works for himself. He has his time
and schedules under his control. A freelancer is at liberty to sell his
photographs to as many publications or media organizations as possible.
The specialize in genres of photography like weddings, advertising, studio
work, documentary programmes etc
• Stringers: A stringer is a freelancer who supplies his photographs to one
source. He is more like a contract photographer. He is a hybrid between
staff and freelance photojournalists. He gets instructions on what to shoot
or uses his initiative assured of sales outlets for his photographs
 Types of Photojournalists
• Commercial Photojournalist: He /She is highly specialized in nature, always in
demand and competitive. Deals with advertising, financial photos etc
• Fashion Photojournalist; Fashion photography is about style and showing
clothing, shoes, hats hair dos and make-ups to the best of possible advantage.
• Industrial photojournalist; does job such as covering the firm’s sports day AGM,
do general publicity captions or produce illustrations for brochures catalogue and
industrial manual
• Freelance Photojournalist; This type of journalist offers his or her services for
hire.
• The Press photojournalist; a good press photojournalist must have an eye for
news in much the same way as any other journalist must have nose for news.
Qualities of a Professional Photojournalist
➢He /she should have a blend of artistic and scientific skills with the ability to deal
with people and put them at ease.
➢He / she being able to obtain a good photofinishing it is important to combine
artistic and technical skills
➢He/she should pay attention and should look out for granted details that might
distort perception
➢He/she must be patient and have good powers of concentration, plus an interest
in colour and design
➢He/she should be an event-tempered, logical cameramen uses his visually
imaginative approach to take and process good picture, qualities, scenes and
statements.
➢He should have the ability to interpret the editor’s ideas.
➢The photojournalist requires practice, talent and experience to shine on the
profession
Qualities of a Professional Photojournalist
➢a. He/she is an educated , trained and experienced journalist and photographer, to
record events and communicate different aspects of the incidents
➢ He/she is able, through the proper editing or cropping of photographs, to give the gist
values of the pictures.
➢Understands the news value of every event and is able to harness it photographically.
➢With his or her skills, expertise, ingenuity and professionalism, he or she complements
the duties of the journalist.
➢With an imaginative picture, the photojournalist brings out the entertainment attraction
of a story.
➢His or her professional upbringing equips him or her to understand when to or not to
take and when to or not to present a particular picture in order to avert legal or other
negative consequences for his media organisation.
➢The photojournalist respects the code of ethics of the photojournalism profession.
The importance of photojournalism
• According to Ruth Bernhard “the world of mass communication has
greatly benefited from the various types of photography in existence,
but journalists have contributed more to mass communication”.
• 1) Pictures constitute the backbone of any print medium, especially
newspapers and magazines. Since WWW II, where pictures were
taken in battle field and sent to families at home to see the events at
war, photojournalism has assumed a place of great importance in the
practice of journalism.
• Apart from taking good shots therefore, the photojournalist working
in tandem with the photo editor must choose, edit, crop and place
pictures to make the right impact on the reader.
The importance of photojournalism
• 2) Pictures tell the truth. Written news is subject to the biases and
prejudices of the writer, thereby leaving room for subjectivity.
• Photojournalism (without manipulation) by its relative unbiased nature
helps to uphold public trust and confidence in journalism
• A fundamental factor that sets the journalist apart from other genres of
photographers is purpose.
• The photojournalist is guided by purpose, without purpose photojournalist
will end up exposing most of his films which may turn out to be useless
when developed
• To do a good job, the photojournalist must be guided by three imperatives
of picture communication which are taken from the popular journalism
5Ws & H
Functions of Pictures of photojournalism
In Journalism today, picture serves some useful purposes in newspapers. Functions
of pictures in photojournalism can be identified majorly as follows:
• Credibility: a photograph makes whatever is pictured seem more real and true. lt
lends credibility to the story as people are more inclined to what they see than
what they read.
• Visual appeals: pictures are visual magnets, drawing readers into a page or a
story. This is why pictures are usually the dominant element on a page or spread.
• Vitality: a picture adds life-vitality-to a story in a way no illustration can match.
Pictures are especially suited to bringing out the action on human interest in a
story.
• Aesthetics: aesthetics has to do with the beauty which is being portrayed in the
picture. Pictures add so much beauty to the story and also the newspaper as
reader may be attracted to the newspaper just because of the beauty of the
picture.
Functions of Pictures of photojournalism
➢ Photographs add colour and illustration to stories.
➢Pictures present the essence and gist of stories.
➢They lay emphasis on salient aspects of stories.
➢They are used to dramatize the story of an event.
➢They authenticate the facts presented in stories.
➢They add variety and embellishment to stories.
➢They present the entertainment angle to a story.
➢The fascinating colours attract attention of the audience
➢They assist to fill what could have been empty pages.
➢They present facts to illiterate who cannot read the written words.
➢They demonstrate the claims of the story.
➢They create jobs for specialists in this aspect of journalism
The importance of photography in society
• Photography is a profession and a career path-there is need for
professional photographers
• Employment opportunities-professional photographers work with other
professionals especially in media organizations
• Photographs are part of our legacy-for example photos of us while in
primary school
• Photographs preserve our history -we freeze moments of important events
and actives For example, photos of our independence, political events etc
• Photographs allow us to share and to communicate-For example
Instagram, Flickr and other photos sharing sites
• Photography makes us artists. For example, photographs allow us to
express ourselves through an art form e.g record beautiful landscapes,
people faces etc
The importance of photography in society
• For example, photographs allow us to express ourselves through an art form e.g
record beautiful landscapes, people faces etc
• Photography is a complex language-we express sorrow, wonder, sympathy. Every
human emotion can find a pace in photography
• Photography has the power to move us-photos have the power to call for action .
they grab our attention and speak directly to our emotions. For example photos
of victims of war, hunger, rape etc
• Overcoming boredom: depending on the type of photography, you can take time
off and reminisce our captured moments and admire people lives in the photos
• Financial ability-photography is a source of money such freelance photographers
• Promote creativity-photography skills learnt in school can be make you become a
professional in your field of study
Evaluating the qualities of photographs
• Follow NOT acronym when evaluating qualities of photographs
• N – Stands for narrative i.e the juxtaposition or combination of the images
with the text for the purpose of achieving harmony to the reader to
enhance his/her understanding the message of the picture clearly.
• O – Stands for objectivity i.e the content and tone you wish to show based
on your point of view. Remember that when you are being objective you
are presenting the matter the way it is.
• T – Stands for timeline i.e every product of information is linked to an
expiration date. Depending on the events, photos could have short or long
time spans. For example, if the event is a catastrophe, it will have a great
length before reaching the expiration term.
Difference between photography and
photojournalism
Questions
• https://alison.com/topic/learn/126909/introduction-and-basics