Week 1 – 27/01/25
This week we were introduced to the Photojournalism module. Karl talked us through the topics we can expect to cover in the upcoming weeks from mobile and camera photography techniques to using photoshop and preparing images for publication. We talked through the assessment and what we can expect in terms of the delivery of this module. We were then sent out on a task where we had to get a 200-word story and an image to complement it.
I came across a homeless man, called Mark, sat outside McDonalds so I approached him to see if he’d be willing to answer a few questions and have his photo taken to which he agreed. I took a few photos and, although I was happy with them, he wasn’t looking at the camera in any of them. As Karl mentioned today, when the story is about an individual, they need to be looking directly at the camera, otherwise, the story loses its sense of personal connection, making it less impactful or engaging. In hindsight, I should have asked him to look at the camera so I could really encapsulate the emotion and loneliness in his eyes. I pulled some quotes from his short interview and bulked the article out with some government data to give it some authority,
I like that this task combined other journalistic skills such as interviewing, data journalism and article-writing because I think it’s useful to keep these skills ticking over.
I’m excited about this module and there are a number of skills I’m looking forward to learning such the use of shutter speed, the use of photoshop and how to colour correct. I’ve owned a Nikon D3500 for almost 5 years but I’ve never looked into how to use it properly so I’m hoping this module will teach me the skills that will enable me to use it effectively.
Week 2 – 03/02/25
This week we were introduced to the types of Photojournalism and I couldn’t believe just how many categories this can be broken down into.
I’m keen to explore a range of styles, however, in terms of my Photojournalism final project, I leaning towards portraiture as I think this opens up lots of opportunities to tell interesting, personal stories.
For our task today we were asked to produce a research post exploring a style of photojournalism that we are interested in so I chose to look into portraiture, more specifically, portraiture surrounding the LGTBQ+ community.
I discovered that the first known example of portrait photography dates back as far as 1839 when Robert Cornelius took, what is believed to be, the first self portrait photo.
I also researched some well-known portrait photographers such as Irving Penn, Dorothea Lange and Richard Avedon, analysing some of their most famous photographs and what makes their styles so poignant and unique.
We were asked to explore techniques, challenges and motifs within portrait photography, a task I found particularly useful.
Through this task, I discovered the term ‘aperture’ which refers to the opening in a camera lens that controls the amount of light that enters the camera, and how this can affect the appropriate shutter speed setting. I’m keen to put the techniques I have researched into practice.
Week 3 – 10/02/25
Today our session was lead by Chris. We began by looking over the research posts we did last week and discussing our findings with the class.
We were then set a task that required us to look into image construction, finding examples of:
1) a news photograph that has somehow been constructed or set up
2) a news photograph taken from a point of view that affects the story
3) a photograph where the ‘meaning’ was disputed
I found this task quite tricky because, although I understood these concepts and am able to recognise how a photographer might manipulate or influence an image, I struggled to find clear examples that fit these categories.
However, this task did help me to gain a deeper understanding of how powerful a photographer’s choices can be in shaping the story a photograph portrays.
By honing in on specific details, photographers can affect the viewer’s emotional response and the examples I studied today are proof of that. Marc Riboud’s Flower Child, Richard Drew’s The Falling Man, and Sally Mann’s Candy Cigarette all show how photographers can intentionally craft images to provoke thought.
I didn’t realise just how much control a photographer can have when it comes to influencing the viewer’s perspective. Even seemingly small factors such as the angle, the lighting, the framing and the subject matter have an impact on the viewer’s perception, and can completely change the angle of a story.
I always thought that photographers just took pictures of whatever’s happening in order to complement the words on the page. I didn’t think they had much leeway for creativity, but I am now learning that they actually have the power to assemble visual narratives, opening up the opportunity for interpretation and discussion.
Week 4 – 17/02/25
In today’s session we looked at the effects of different F-stop settings on depth of field and image focus.
We were sent out to test out a range of apertures so we could analyse the outcome. I took three pictures of Ben, my subject, on a busy pavement in front of a backdrop of buildings.
I used an F-stop of 1.2, 16 and 8.
Using a low F-stop of 1.2 (a wider aperture) allows more light into the lens. This produced a shallow depth of field, blurring the background to emphasise my subject. However, I noticed that the focus on my subject wasn’t quite as crisp on this image as it could have been, with some focus being given to the wall to the right. In future, I need to ensure I tap on my subject to ensure they are in focus first.
However, shooting outdoors with natural light meant the wider aperture worked to my advantage, letting more light in. If I were to shoot in a setting where the lighting was compromised, setting the camera to a wider aperture would improve the quality of the image by increasing the level of light coming into the lens, thus enhancing the exposure.
I then took the same picture again but used a higher F-stop of 16 which narrows the aperture and increases the depth of field. This reduction in light entering the lens meant more of the background was in focus, however, with the background being more prominent, this photo didn’t appear as sharp.
For my third image, I used a middle range F-stop of 8 which provided a moderate depth of field, giving an even amount of focus across the image. In this image, the light was balanced between both the subject and the background so everything was relatively focused. This setting could be useful when trying to capture a broad scene, rather than honing in on a single subject.
I found this task really useful for understanding how aperture affects focus and how each setting can bring a different result. I preferred the outcome of the high aperture image because I thought it appeared more crisp and professional, however, as we leant today, there are varying reasons why a photographer may decide to use a different aperture. These could be down to technical reasons such as lighting quality, but also down to more intricate decision-making like choosing to focus on the subject rather than the background to divert the viewer’s attention to ‘the main event’.
Week 5 – 24/02/25
In today’s session we learned about ISO and shutter speed and how these two components along with aperture, affect how much light enters the camera lens. This determines the overall exposure of an image.
We were sent out on a task whereby we had to get an image of a friend mid-action with minimal blur by using the iPhone burst mode to freeze the motion and capture a sharp image that emulates a fast shutter speed.
We then had to take an image of a friend stood in front of a busy background, using the live photo long exposure setting to emulate a slower shutter speed, capturing the fluidity of the background motion.
Today I learnt that you can use a lower ISO (e.g. 100-400) for good lighting conditions and a higher ISO (800+) in poor lighting conditions. However, it’s worth noting that a high ISO can result in a grainy image so it’s important to maintain a good balance between ISO, aperture and shutter speed.
Shutter speed refers to how long the camera’s shutter is open for as this determines how much light hits the sensor. A fast shutter speed (e.g. 1/500) freezes motion, which is useful when photographing sports, for example, whereas a slower shutter speed (e.g. 1/30) captures motion blur, which is useful when photographing things like running water.
As mentioned last week, aperture determines how much light enters the camera, adjusting the size of the lens opening. A wider aperture/lower f-stop lets more light in, creating a shallow depth of field which blurs the background, whereas a smaller aperture/higher f-stop decreases the amount of light, producing a sharper image.
When taking photos, you have to find the right balance between aperture, shutter speed and ISO. You can’t change one without changing the others.
Week 6 – 03/03/25
Today we explored some of the post-production techniques you can use in Adobe Photoshop to improve the overall finish of your images.
The adjustment layer on Photoshop ensures that any changes you make are non-destructive which keeps the integrity of the original image and allows you to go back to the unaltered version if you wish. We played around with different settings such as exposure, saturation, vibrance, etc. to see how they changed our images.
We also practised cropping using a standard ratio grid as this ensures your images are consistent each time. I chose to go with the ‘rule of thirds’ gird because this is something I am familiar with from broadcasting. For one image, I used a 16:9 ratio grid and, for the other, I used 5:7.
Using the cropping tool also gives you power over where you position your subject. I was able to zoom in on my subject to prevent him from being drowned out by the background. However, it’s important to note that any cropping should be done in an ethical way that doesn’t manipulate the story the image is telling, i.e. by cropping out something relevant.
We also discussed the practice of exporting images for online use. It’s important to ensure the image is exported in a JPEG format with the correct dimensions (1920 width) as these are optimised for online viewing. The JPEG format is a small file sizes which allows for quick transfer and fast access for viewing online. When exporting the edited image, it’s important to give it a very descriptive name as the aids SEO and also makes it easier for you to locate the edited version on your desktop.
Post-production and the use of Photoshop was something I was dreading a little bit at the beginning of this module as these are skills I am unfamiliar with. However, this workshop has made me realise it isn’t actually as complicated as it seems. My issue seems to be that I don’t really have an eye for what looks good and what needs changing. When an original image and an edited image are put side-by-side, I can recognise that improvements have been made but I wouldn’t necessarily know what they did to change it, or what I would need to change in order to improve my own images, so this is a skill I would like to improve for my project. Perhaps I could start by analysing edited and unedited images so I can have a more critical eye when it comes to my own images.
Week 7 – 10/03/25
This week we learned about shooting in RAW. RAW files are able to collect all the information from the camera’s sensor without reducing the quality, storing more information about colour and tonal range. This means we have more control when it comes to adjusting aspects like exposure, shadow, highlights, etc. in Photoshop during the post-production process.
A JPEG, on the other hand, compresses the file up to five times so it has up to five times less image data than a RAW file does.
However, because RAW files are much larger than JPEGs, they take up more memory card space so this is something to bear in mind when shooting. Another important note is that RAW files are not ready for publication and, although we can work on them in software like Photoshop, they must be converted to a JPEG format for publication.
When taking photos it’s good to get a mix of both RAW shots and JPEG shots because, having JPEGs means you can view them quickly during the selection process, but, having RAW shots means you’ll have more detailed shots that you can edit in post-production which will improve the overall quality of your work.
I’m keen to test out shooting in RAW to see how this improves the clarity of my photos.
Week 8 – 17/03/25
This week we discussed how close-up photography can be used to tell stories. Journalism is all about finding out and sharing information that people don’t already know and this is no different in photojournalism.
It’s our job as photojournalists to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Seemingly small elements can reveal information so, by choosing to focus on the details that may otherwise be overlooked, we can capture photos that inform but also cause an emotional response for the viewer. This is what I like about photojournalism; we have more leeway to get creative with our storytelling.
Today we looked at a number of techniques that can be used to create effective close-up shots. The use of different lenses plays an important part in this. Macro lenses, for example, can be used to capture fine details, whereas telescopic lenses are better for capturing distant subjects in close detail (these are often used by paparazzi). Standard ‘zoom’ lenses operate somewhere in the middle of these two lens ranges.
Tilt-shift lenses manipulate the depth of field of an image to make distant subjects seem close yet tiny. This technique is often used to create a toy-like effect, making a real-life scene appear miniature and model-like.
We also spoke about how context, camera angle and composition can affect the narrative of close-up shots. Lighting, has a significant impact in terms of emphasising textures, almost bringing an extra dimension to the image that we wouldn’t otherwise experience in standard photography.
We can also play around with reflections and light to tell the story in a more interesting, or unexpected way, adding layers of meaning that encourage the viewer to question what they’re looking at. Karl referred to this as a “visual subterfuge”, almost creating an illusion and inviting the viewer to consider multiple perspectives.
This week’s session has made me realise just how much power photographers have in changing the narrative of a photo, thus changing the viewer’s perspective.
Photographic Journalism 