The Language of

Photojournalism

Regional Campus Journalism Training

Gapan, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Rupert Roniel T. Laxamana III

 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.

Photojournalism: the art and technique

of reporting timely events to inform and
entertain by use of pictures and words.
 Photojournalism
Photojournalism is distinguished from
other close branches of photography such
as documentary photography, news
photography, street photography or
celebrity photography) (because of the
following the qualities:
 
A. Timeliness — the images have
meaning in the context of a recently
published record of events.
 Photojournalism

B. Objectivity — the situation implied by

the images is a fair and accurate
representation of the events they depict
in both content and tone.
 
C. Narrative — the images combine with
other news elements to make facts
relatable to the viewer or reader on a
cultural level.
 Photojournalism

Like a writer, a photojournalist is a

reporter but he or she must often make
decisions instantly and carry photographic
equipment, often while exposed to
significant obstacles (physical danger,
weather, crowds).
 What is a 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
- Photojournalists capture "verbs." This sounds
simple, but a room of professional photographers
was dumbfounded by this realization. Even after
a full-length lecture with documentation and
visual evidence, half of the photographers still
had no clue what the difference was.
 What is a photojournalist?
At the end of the presentation. One man said
(he really did), "So, what's the difference
between photography and photojournalism?"
Luckily, two people (only two) turned to him
and yelled, "Verbs!"

Although photojournalists can take properly

exposed and well composed photographs all
day long, they hunt verbs. They hunt them,
shoot them and show them to their readers.
Then, they hunt more.
What is a photojournalist?
A photojournalist has thousands of pairs of eyes
looking over his shoulder constantly. The
readers are insistent: "What are they doing?"
"What did you see?" and "What happened?".
 
A photojournalist is a visual reporter of facts.
The public places trust in its reporters to tell the
truth. The same trust is extended to
photojournalists as visual reporters.
What makes a photojournalist different
from a photographer?

Photographers take pictures of nouns (people,

places and things). Photojournalists shoot
action verbs ("kicks," "explodes," "cries," etc.).
Photojournalists do shoot some nouns. These
nouns can be standard photos of people, places
(proposed zoning areas or construction sites)
and things (name it). However, the nouns we
seek still must tell a story.
What Pictures Bring to
Newspapers and Magazines
They bring us closer to an event by
enabling us to see what a reporter has
seen.
They somehow seem more truthful than
the printed word, although pictures can
be faked just was well as news stories.
They help us to feel that those about
whom we read are real persons
What Pictures Bring to
Newspapers and Magazines

They help to point up or increase the

human interest in feature stories.
They help to enhance the makeup of a
publication by giving it variety and
vitality.
Criteria for Good Pictures

Technical
Consideration

Composition
Consideration
Technical Consideration

Proper Focus
Adequate Exposure
Correct Development
Effective lighting and contrast
Effective Printing
Proper Reproduction
Composition Consideration

Balance
Eye Movement
Effective Contrast
Proportion
Grouping
Cropping
Will the Picture Communicate?
Will it interest the viewer; will he
take a second look?
Will it convey the information
better than words? How much
space would be needed to
explain the same thing in the
text?
Will it affect the viewer
emotionally?
Will it be easy to read? Will it be
clustered with distracting detail?
Three Major Processes

COVERAGE

INTERPRETATION

PLAY
Three Views

WORM’S EYE VIEW

MAN’S EYE VIEW

BIRD’S EYE VIEW

 CUTLINES

Ten suggestions for good cutlines

Is it complete? Is there anything

unusual in the picture that is not
explained in the cutline?

Does it identify? Identifications is the

basic purpose of the cutline
 CUTLINES

Does it tell when and where the picture

was taken?

Does it tell what is in the picture and

what ii is in the story?

Is it easy to read?
 CUTLINES
Does it have the names right?

It is specific?

Does it have adjectives?

Does the picture suggest another

picture?
 Photojournalism
Taking a photograph is one way to tell
a story. Some photographs tell about
specific moments in time, places, or
events. Other photographs tell stories
of a sequence of events.
To create good photo,
photojournalist must conduct
a plan.
 Photojournalism

Photojournalist must decide what to

photograph (subject) and how to frame the
subject(s) (composition). To give a broader
view of a topic, a photographer might take a
series of photographs (the story).
 PREPARATION
STEP 1: The Camera
Before you begin, become familiar with how
your camera works. You should make sure
that you do the following:
Make sure that your camera has fresh
batteries and film.
Become familiar with the available features of
your camera such as the flash and zoom.
 PREPARATION
Learn and practice the art of taking pictures.

STEP 2: The Location

The location you choose is one of the most
important considerations to make before you
start taking pictures.
Do prep work, plan you route, know the area
Show an overview of the neighborhood from
a high vantage point (top floor of a building)
 PREPARATION
Notice details. Take notes. Write down
“cultural markers” you see.

In capturing the subject, put a “face” on the

story. Find a person who can make a good
photographic subject.
 THE COMPOSITION
Capture a Moment (Look for an expression or
gesture or quality of light that elevates an
image beyond the ordinary.)

Try Different Angles (Think about how would

you normally photograph a scene. Then shoot it
in an entirely different way.

Get closer (Many photojournalists make the

mistake of not getting close enough to their
subjects. There are many advantages.
 THE COMPOSITION
Frame the picture (As you photograph, be
aware of how much of the subject appears in
the photograph. You don’t need to take
picture of the entire object or person.

(Sometimes taking picture of a door instead

of the entire building, or a face instead of a
whole body, will tell a different story.)
 THE COMPOSITION
Include foreground subjects and background
subjects – Objects that are closer to the
camera are in the foreground and those that
are further from the camera are in the
background.
Show the importance of a subject by placing
it either in the foreground or background. If
you want to show that something is
important, take a photograph of it in the
background. If you want to show that
something is less important, take a
photograph with it in the background.
 THE COMPOSITION
Show context in the photograph by
photographing more than one subject.
Placing a flower in the foreground with a
factory in the background can tell a more
powerful story than just the factory alone.

Contrast in the photograph = showing two

objects, or people, which are different from
each other (old vs. new, happy vs. sad, active
vs. still) can help to create interest and
movement in the picture.
 Cardinal Rule in
Photojournalism

THE RULE OF THIRD

 APPEAL OF PICTURES
(Human Interest Angles)
STRUGGLE
FEAR
SYMPATHY
CHILDREN
ANIMALS
BEAUTY
SEX
PLAY
HUMOR
ODDITY
 THE PHOTO ESSAY

Is a set or series of photographs that are

intended to tell a story or evoke a series of
emotions in the viewer. A photo essay will often
show pictures in deep emotional stages. Photo
essays range from purely photographic works to
photographs with captions or small notes to full
text essays with a few or many accompanying
photographs.
 THE PHOTO ESSAY
Photo essays can be sequential in nature,
intended to be viewed in a particular order, or
they may consist of non-ordered photographs
which may be viewed all at once or in an order
chosen by the viewer. All photo essays are
collections of photographs, but not all
collections of photographs are photo essays.
Photo essays often address a certain issue or
attempt to capture the character of places and
events.
What advice would you give to
the student photographer?
EXPLORE THE NET!

The danger I think for young people is to

become passive and to be just the consumer or
just the viewer. They don’ t have to just surf
the Web or look at the magazines. They can
also have their own critical way of appreciating
or analyzing what they’re looking at.
 REFERENCES

Wikipedia.org

The Varsitarian

National Geographic

Scholastic Journalism
“Thank you for Listening.”