Photography Summative Assignment: Creating a Photo Essay and Photojournalism, Lecture notes of Photography

Download Photography Summative Assignment: Creating a Photo Essay and Photojournalism and more Lecture notes Photography in PDF only on Docsity! Grade 11 – Photography Summative Assignment (10% of final mark) Teacher: Mr. Murray Name of Student: _________________________ Date Due: on or before ___________________ NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS ACCEPTED Description: Photo Essay & Photojournalism W. Eugene Smith, Life magazine photographer and photoessayist, said, "The essay is relationships between photos. One must develop an awareness of the relationships, instead of just taking pictures. A person can go out and take pictures forever, and still never be able to unite, or bring together, these photos into a single theme, unless they have thought about the entire story or essay. The photos must be related -- one photograph says something about the subject; the next may amplify on that subject, or may add its own dimension to the subject." What is a photo essay? Creating a photo essay is a combination of art and journalism. As with a written essay, the elements of a photo essay should be structured in a way that easily conveys a story to the viewer. Each individual photo contributes to the overall story, theme, and emotions of the essay. The photos you choose must not only be compositionally and artistically strong, but also informative and educational. Finding photos that have both qualities can be very challenging, but the result can be very powerful. There are two types of photo essays: the narrative and the thematic. The narrative essay tells a story through a sequence of events or actions. They may follow an individual or activity over a period of time and present this story in chronological order. A thematic photo essay focuses on a central theme (e.g. homelessness, the environment, etc.) and presents photos relevant to that theme. Regardless of what type of photo essay you choose to present, the following elements should be considered during its creation: 1) The story- Your essay should be able to stand alone, without a written article, and make logical sense to the viewer. 2) A range of photos: A variety of photos (wide angle, detailed, portraits etc.) should be included. Think about what the main photo would be. 3) The order of the photos: It is important that the order of your photos effectively tell a story, in an interesting and logical sequence. 4) Information and emotion: Your photos should include both informational and emotional photos. Those essays that effectively evoke emotion while providing information tend to convey their messages the best. 5) Captions: In a photo essay, captions are your best opportunity to describe what is happening in words and ensure that the viewer understands. Include informational content in these captions if necessary. Your photographic essay must tell a story. Like a National Geographic story or a magazine story this must contain pictures and written material as well as captions. It can be about a person, place or a thing. TAKING PHOTOS FOR YOUR PHOTOESSAY 1) Your photoessay should include several photos – ideally 8 to12. 2) Text and photographs should work together to tell the story. 3) Every individual photograph should be compositionally dynamic and follow rules such as the rule of thirds and/or the Kodak Top Ten Tips etc… 4) Photos and text should be balanced. Text is the additional information that describes what is going on in the photo and provides more of the story. Possible Subjects: 1) A day in my life: Use the camera to record the episodes of your day. 2) Neighborhood Tour: What are the high and low points of your neighborhood? 3) Your favorite spot: Capture the place you love the best. 4) Big Themes: Friendship, family, loyalty, anger. Can you capture an emotion with your camera? 5) Career Exploration: Visit a workplace and photograph people doing different jobs. Interview them about what is good and bad about their jobs. 6) Events: Take your camera to an event – a concert, fashion show, Document the event and describe in words and photos what happened. Look for the drama! 7) Illustrate a poem or song. 8) The true story of __(fill in the blank)__, A day in the life of __(fill in the blank)__. This is an important summative project that is intended to take several full days of work to complete properly. Plan your work in advance and do not wait until it is close to the end of the term to complete your work. Start NOW. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING: a) Number of Images  8 to 12 - digitally enhanced as necessary - composition, dynamics and technical aspects are very important - full exploration of your chosen theme b) Written component (can be incorporated in layout of images in Photoshop) – thoughtful, insightful - relevant to the photo essay - captions and overall statement on what your photo essay is about c) Overall Visual Presentation – how the photos are organized and balanced with text - organization, display and attention to detail - creativity - could be put together in PowerPoint, Comic Life, Prezi etc if you wish - the project does not need to be printed on photo paper Photo quality as well as editorial content is important. Your organization of this material is an important part of the grade. Think about how the viewer will experience the images. Type and layout should be done on the computer if possible.