2019 Division Training

of Secondary School Paper Advisers

Oras National High School

August 27-29, 2019
PHOTOJOURNALISM

Sherwin Peter Balicat

Can-avid NHS
Can-avid, E. Samar

Nenita Cordero – Bagunas

Giporlos National Trade School
Giporlos, E. Samar
Photojournalism

A Primer
 What is it?
• Is it shooting and writing?

• No.

• It is telling a story using photos.

Photojournalism – is the art and
practice of communicating news by
photographs

Therefore, photos must tell a story

Photos must convey emotion to

connect to the viewers and touch the
5 senses
 What are the tools of the trade?
• The main tool is, of course, the camera.

• Camera phone
• Tablet
• DSLR
• Point and shoot
• SLR
• Instamatic or Lomo camera
 THE PARTS
of a
DIGITAL CAMERA
How Do I Hold My
CAMERA?
 The Technical Stuff
• ISO
 What does it give you?
 What are the limitations of each ISO?
 What can your camera/film do?
 What happens with noise?
 The Technical Stuff
• Aperture
– The bigger the number, the smaller the hole.
– The smaller the hole, the less light gets in.
– The bigger the hole, the more light gets in.
– The creative aspect:
• Bigger number: Less in focus (the background
is blurred)
• Smaller number: More in focus (more of the
background is in focus)
 The Technical Stuff
• Shutter Speed
– There are two sets of numbers – on either side
of the number 1.
– Starting from the highest number, list down all
the numbers.
– Most of these numbers are fractions: E.g., “125”
is actually 1/125 of a second.
– The creative aspect
• Faster shutter speeds freeze motion.
• Slower shutter speeds blur motion.
 Types of Photography
1. Still Life – not moving; no life; small thing
2. Macro – subject in a very large scale
3. Wild Life – wild animals
4. Portraiture – artistic representation of a
person
- not always featuring the face; it
could also be a full body; or a
group portraiture
5. Landscape – show different spaces within
the world; vast; sometimes
unending
Must always contain the 3 important elements
a. Main subject
b. Horizon
c. Clouds or Sky
6. Street Photography – candid photo taken in
public places; candid situations
that happen everyday
 Photo Anatomy
1. Frame – rectangular space occupied by the
photo
2. Subject – main focus
3. Background – the subject after the main
subject
4. Foreground – subject before the main subject
5. Clutters – elements that do not belong to the
photo
 What make a picture a good picture?
 it has a story
 it has a good composition

Composition – combining the distinct parts to

form a whole
- consider what to include and what
to leave out
 Elements of Photography
Rule of thirds
Framing
Perspective
Linear
Texture
Selective Focus
Silhouette
Juxtaposition
Reflection
Panning
Moment
Symmetry and Patterns
Lighting as a Device
 Writing a Caption
A caption is the text accompanying
pictures, artworks or illustrations. It
is also called cut line or underline. If
it is placed like a title or explanatory
matter above the picture or
illustrations, it is called an over line.
 Parts of a Caption
The following are parts of a caption:
•Catchline – a brief catchy title of the
caption usually in capital letters and bold
face
•Body – explains or describes the picture or
illustration, in italics with font size bigger
than the text of the news story
•Credit - attributes the source of the picture
PERFECTION. To attain excellence in your job, you
need to sweat it out to master your craftsmanship.
YJAP SUMMIT FEVER. The contestants from Kiamba National
High School as they prepare their award-winning documentary film
entry during the Young Journalist Association of the Philippine
Summit at SM-General Santos City, March 10, 2016.
 Tips for Writing a Caption
1. Learn Caption basics
a. Correct facts – 5 Ws and H
b. Tenses – present in 1st sentence; past in
succeeding
c. Brevity – Avoid unnecessary words like
“the picture above”, “as shown
in the photo”, from left to right”,
do not start with “A”, “An” and
“The”
3. Identify the people in the pictures.
Identify them from the left, followed by
their full names. In case of several
rows, begin with the front row. If the
people are in a circle, have the caption
read from left, clockwise.
4. Check the number of persons against
the number in the caption.
5. Vary your caption type from the body
type to achieve variety. Use italics, bold
face, or a larger size than the body type.
6. A good caption fills nearly every line.
Caption in which the last line is only
one-third complete look less attractive
because they leave a gap of white space.
Factors Affecting the
Quality of Pictures
1. The taking of pictures
a. Be sure to know the workmanship of
your camera, its very parts and
functions
b. There is a need for mind-eyes
coordination when taking pictures.
The photojournalist should make it sure
that the angle he is taking is a newsy
one.
2. Pictures to be set for layout
a. Sharp Pictures. All the details of what
you wish to bring out in a picture are
well-defined and established
b. Message-laden. The picture should tell
a story.
c. Well-cropped. The important detail of
the story is being emphasized or
highlighted by eliminating unnecessary
parts of the pictures
3. The quality of the printing machine
Tips for Aspiring Photojournalist
•Know your camera. A camera needs
not be expensive. You just have to be
well acquainted of what you have by
constant practice.
•Try squatting or kneeling down or
standing on your toes or on a chair
when shooting pictures.
•Take more than one shot of every
scene to be assured of the best
angle.
•In photos of exhibits, it is better to
have someone viewing the exhibits
than to just picture them.
•Be always at the look out to take
unusual pictures.
•Read manuals of photographer to
learn techniques in picture-taking
•Prefer action and more interesting
scenes that shows:
Struggle Action
Emotion Romance
Oddity Beauty
Humor and others
•Avoid the following:
Ribbon cutting picture
Handshaking during awarding
celebration
Posed picture (firing squad picture)
Group picture that say nothing
Speaker whose face is hidden by the
microphone
Thank you for
listening!