How to Write a Photo Essay

1. How to Write a Photo Essay Grade 9 St. Paul’s Jr. High

2. What is a Photo Essay? • A photo essay compiles several pictures around one topic.  • A photo essay could have a theme such as the “agony of defeat,” “the thrill of victory,” or be centered on a certain topic such as a family reunion, after school activities or friends.

3. Picture Choices • When shooting or choosing the pictures, shoot frames that set the scene, show small details, show people interacting with one another.  • If you shoot a subject with no people in the pictures, you will have a difficult time writing the captions and the story.

4. Students will: • Search for or create 15-20 images. • Select ten to twelve pictures for the photo essay. • The student will then create a digital presentation using the selected pictures to complete this assignment.

5. Simply right? • Your photo essay should be able to run in a newspaper or slideshow without a written article. • The audience should be able to tell what your book was about just by looking at your photos.

6. When choosing pictures: • Take a wide range of photos • Consider using these types of photos in your photo essay: • Establishing Photo (wide angle) – This photo will show where your topic is taking place. Show a large area. • Medium Emotion Photo (medium portrait, faces) – Every photo essay needs some emotion. Find some and use it. • Detail Photos (close up) – Hand, eyes, tiny objects. They all make nice details for your photo essay.

7. You have to write a little. • You will need to write captions for each photo you select for your final project. • These captions will describe what is happening in your photos. You will need to include the 5 Ws and H in these captions. (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How) • Write briefly, to highlight your pictures and help the photos tell your story. Experiment with colour, fonts and sizes.

8. It is an essay… Consider a photo essay the same way you would craft a multi-paragraph, written essay. • The establishing shot equals the written introduction. It is usually a wide angle shot. Like a story or essay, it should introduce things like the setting, characters/subjects, or theme

9. Essay Body • Like body paragraphs the next pictures should show the main ideas you want to share. • The subject(s) or character(s) in action, • A detail shot • A portrait These equate to the body paragraphs. • Don’t forget to decide what order to put these in- sequentially, randomly, or some other way. Your theme or story may influence your organization

10. The Essay’s Conclusion How would you end a written essay about your book? Consider how you could end your photo essay in a similar way. Maybe a recommendation or the feeling the book left you with would work. Maybe you have a better idea. Remember to leave the audience with something to consider.

11. Finally • Your photo essays is expected to be completed using a computer program like this one (PowerPoint). • There are slide layouts in PowerPoint made specifically for photos and captions. This may be the most efficient choice. • Like you would for all good essays, make sure you edit your work. • You will be expected to present your photo essay to the class during the week of April 14-16th. • Good Luck!!