Photography is the science, art and practice of creating durable images by

recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either chemically by means of a light-

sensitive material such as photographic film, or electronically by means of an image
sensor. Typically, a lens is used to focus the light reflected or emitted from objects into
a real image on the light-sensitive surface inside a camera during a timed exposure.

WHAT IS PHOTOJOURNALISM?

Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting

of news material for publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news
story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the
term also refers to to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is
distinguished from other close branches of photography (e.g. documentary
photography, social documentary photography, street photography or celebrity
photography) by complying with a rigid ethical framework which demands that the work
is both honest and impartial whilst telling the story in journalistic terms. Photojournalists
create pictures that contribute to news media.

Elements of Photojournalism

Timeliness The Images have meaning in the context of a recently publish record of
events

Objectivity The situation implied by the images is a fair and accurate representation of
the events they depict in both content and tone.

Narrative: The images combine with other news elements to make facts relatable to the
viewer or reader on a cultural level.

Types of Photojournalism

Feature Photojournalism: It includes human interest ranging from arts and

entertainment, business, science and technology.

Sports Photojournalism: It covers sports through loses and wins. A sport

photojournalist attends games, practices and events.

Photojournalism Seminar – September 3, 2014 CB Mall Urdaneta City Willie L

Environmental Photojournalism: It captures the essence of the subject. It captures a
news worthy figure, in their natural setting. It explains who the subject of the photo is
though meaning and emotion.

PHOTOJOURNALIST

A journalist tells stories. A photographer takes pictures of nouns (people, places and
things). A photojournalist takes the best of both and locks it into the most powerful
medium available. Photojournalist s capture “verbs” . They hunt them and show them to
their readers. Then they hunt more. Main task of a photojournalist is to give the viewer
an image that is truthful and speaks for itself.

THREE IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS

• APERTURE(Opening)

• SHUTTER SPEED

• ISO SPEED

THINGS TO BRING ON ASSIGNMENT OR DURING COVERAGE

• The camera ( plus a back-up camera), laptop computer (optional)

• Extra films or memory cards

• Extra batteries for camera and flash

• Rain gears for you and the equipment (during rainy season) or hat(during sunny
days)

• Extra shirt/ towel

• Bottled water, energy drink, Food (crackers/chocolates,etc.)

• Medicines(for emergency) like paracetamol, diatabs

• Extra cash, and

• Your identification card

Photojournalism Seminar – September 3, 2014 CB Mall Urdaneta City Willie L

TIPS ON TAKING PICTURES FOR NEWSPAPERS OR MAGAZINES

• Be early

• Know your camera well, hold it firmly during the ‘shoot’

• Respect your subject(s)

• Be resourceful

• Right angling

• Practice depth of field

• Always anticipate

TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Read the manual of the camera

• Read books and magazines about photography

• Ask for tips from professional photographers

• Attend seminars

SOME OF PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES

• General news

• Breaking news

• Photo essays

• Major feature events

• Sporting events

• Festivals

• Educational events

• Feature photos

• Mug shots(pictures of VIPs)

Photojournalism Seminar – September 3, 2014 CB Mall Urdaneta City Willie L

AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AVOID THESE PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES

• The “firing squad” photo

• The “hand shaker” photo

• The “check passer” photo

• The “pointing” photo

• The “three men and a piece of paper” photo (contract signing)

• The “ribbon cutters”

• The “smorgasbord” photo (too many subjects, limit the number of persons in your
picture to 3 or 4)

ON CAPTIONING

• As much as possible, do not mention the obvious in the picture.

• Where and when you took the picture.

• Accuracy is a must just like any news story.

• Avoid long caption unless there is no news item about it and, if it is a human
interest photo.

Ten Practical Principles for Photojournalists

Photojournalism is about people doing things.

1. Get in close.  6. Avoid obvious posing. 

7. Add light, but don't make it
2. Find unusual angles. obvious. 
3. Get identification.  8. Focus faithfully, stay steady.
4. Burn pixels.  9. Dump poorly exposed photos.
5. Go beyond the cliche. 10. Have guts

Photojournalism Seminar – September 3, 2014 CB Mall Urdaneta City Willie L