Week 1
The first workshop was a good insight into how we could successfully complete this module. I was actually unable to attend the workshop in person due to illness, however, I caught up on all the work online, reviewing the powerpoints and completing the photo story task. The photo task was fairly straightforward – due to our newsday work last year, this felt relatively easy to source a story. The difficulty was finding the right things to take photos of. I felt that my framing of photos was good and they were relevant to my story.
Week 2
This week we researched photographers similar to what we will aim to emulate for our own photojournalism piece. I used the work of Anne Worthington as she photographed the same area I want to focus on. The research focused on how Worthington displayed the raw reality of Burnley following the race riots of 2001. I found it fascinating how the photographs told a story, with which I am familiar and still see today. Understanding the work of iconic photographers helped me appreciate how photographs are not just technical objects but powerful instruments of artistic expression.
Week 3
This week we were tasked with finding 3 photos – one that was set up, one that affected the story, and one that divided opinion. This was an interesting task as it allowed us to explore photojournalism in more depth, forming our own opinions and drawing our own conclusions from photos. Despite my passion for sport, I opted not to look for sporting photos as I felt it would enhance my knowledge of the topic further. I felt that this paid off as it allowed me to research different photos and the situations in which they were taken.
Week 4
This week’s focus was on F-stop settings and how they impact photos. This was interesting as it allowed us to explore how the aperture of a photo can be used to manipulate the focus and therefore the story behind a photograph. The technical element of this is something that is new to me as previously I have only focused on how a photo looks when I take it, and not how I can manipulate it to look how I want it to. This is definitely something I will consider when creating my piece of photojournalism.
Week 5
This week’s focus was on ISO and shutter speed, or Burst & Live Mode on your phone. This allowed me to explore different settings on my phone that I had never used properly before. It was interesting because it introduced me to a technical element that was far easier than I had anticipated, yet produced some satisfying results. This workshop has cemented my plan to include golf motion pictures in my final piece and these techniques lend themselves to golf very nicely.
Week 6
This week we focussed on editing and photoshop. This was beneficial to me as I had actually taken a photo for my final project and knew it needed editing. Having never really edited photos before, this was a new skill to me but one that I will definitely take forward. This workshop allowed me to remove an unwanted shadow, as well as making choices surrounding the aesthetic of the photo for contextual effect. It also enhanced the ‘spotlight’ on my subject and the contrast between the blue skies and the green trees in the background, making for a much deeper photo.
Week 7
This week’s focus was on image selection. This helped me as it allowed me to identify the images good enough for my final project, and therefore showed me what else needs to be done. I have realised that I maybe need 20-30 more photos in order to narrow them down to the 8-12 that I submit. I am viewing this as a positive thing as I now know how best to assign my time to ensure I work productively. Image selection has also made it clear to me that I need to be more creative with my photography – the majority of my photos looked very similar and so I need to think ‘outside the box’ when it comes to the subjects I capture.
Week 8
Week 8 focussed on changing your point of view when taking photos. This is something I had already done subconsciously when capturing my original shots, changing the perspective and angle to create a different ‘shape’ of the subject as he struck the ball. This also allowed me to capture the picturesque nature of a golf course – something which I feel is important to illustrate as it is a huge feature in the way the game is played. A course can change every single day and that what makes the sport so unique – the architecture of a course is something that I think should be celebrated as much as the golfers who play on it.
Photographic Journalism 