Mastering News Photography Techniques

1. Journalism 2300: Week Two February 4, 2013

3. Announcements • Today is the end of the 2nd week of the semester. The following take effect today: 1. Last day to add courses. 2. Last day to use permission numbers. 3. Last day to withdraw from a course with a W appearing on the transcript. 4. Last day to change a grading option. 5. Last day to apply for a degree.

4. Just call me Lucy! • An instructor, not professor • OK to just use Lucy!

5. Let’s turn in textbook quizzes • What surprised you?

6. To be a better photographer…

7. …you need to take a lot of photos!

8. Chapter 1: Assignment • Where to find spot news? • Scanner • Local news radio • Local television news • Cell phones • Websites • Contacts: officials, firefighters, police officers, friends, acquaintances • News tips

9. Message alerts • Duluth News-Tribune • Minneapolis Star Tribune

10. Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News

11. Where to find more information • Beat reporters • Public Relations offices

12. Best time to shoot • Not always when reporter conducting interview • What did you learn with your photos of the DTA bus stop?

13. Visual variety • Overall shot • Sets scene • Medium shot • Tells the story in one photograph • Close-up: • Adds drama

14. High/low angles • New perspective • Going wide • Above, below

15. Persistence • Pros stay until they have the best shot • Plot out best time of day for photo • Might take 100 to 1,000 shots to get the best photograph

16. Catching candids • Preset your camera • Aperture priority/shutter priority • Watch your subject • Anticipation and timing

17. Approaches to candid photography • Out in the open • Click and run • Big game hunter • Introduce yourself • Marketing spot news story: • San Francisco earthquake

18. The week in pictures • MSNBC: • http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3842331/

19. Chapter 2: News • Contacts: • Police • Train derailment • Sunshine • Hostage situation: page 29 • Crime scene in progress • Staying alive!

20. Why shoot fires? • Church fire • Forest fire • Billings Gazette Pulitzer • Sawmill fire • Drove film to the newspaper

21. Accidents/disasters • Grim but necessary • Williston stalker • Airplane crash • Accidents • Don’t get in the way! • Weather affects everyone

22. Chapter 3: General news • Covering elections • Get to know candidates • Meetings generate news • Avoid lines of speakers! • Shoot from side • Look for props! • Photograph the issues • Steer clear of the pack!

23. Let’s go find news photos online • Work in groups of 4 • Newseum: Today’s Front Pages • http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/

24. Photojournalist defined • What is a photojournalist? • http://markhancock.blogspot.com/1996/01/what-is-photojournalist.html • What to remember? Photojournalists capture verbs!

25. What’s a caption?See pages 147-153 • Who: • Need names or detailed description • Need last names • What: • What’s happening in photo • When: • Time element important • Day of week, time of day • Where: • Location • Why: • Importance of shot • How: • Explanations as needed

26. Let’s practice writing captions • Go to Duluth News Tribune Website

27. Understanding exposure • ISO: Film speed • Higher the number, faster shutter speed • Sacrifice quality for reproduction • Aperture: Lens opening • Amount of light that the camera allows in • Shutter • How fast the lens captures action • Page 156 in textbook • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdotfhMGfTk&feature=related • http://photodoto.com/understanding-exposure-shutter-speed-aperture-and-iso/

28. Understanding Depth of Field • Depth of Field: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzedefUXARE Using a histogram • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3yiz1sBKLc

33. Assignment tips… • Need to bracket! • Backlighting • Underexposes foreground • Become friends with the Associated Press Stylebook • Remember that you are telling a story with the photograph • Captions fill in the blanks

34. How to use AP Stylebook • Stylebook Key • Addresses: • Is this correct? 25 East Silver St. • Spellings: • Adviser/advisor; Legislative titles • Sports Guidelines and Style • Business Guidelines and Style • A Guide to Punctuation • Editing Marks

35. Don’t memorize, familiarize!

36. Photography lingo • Shoot: take photos • Sharp photo: in focus • Soft: out of focus; not sharp • Flat light: Even, with no highlights • Bracket: Take several shots of same scene at different exposures • Shoot a lot of frames! • Take a lot of photos – memory cards are cheap!

37. Major Assignment I:Feature Photograph • Let’s review the assignment • We will go over features next week, but can start to think now about where to find a feature photograph Also handout Winter Outdoor Event, Sports, Portrait/Personality

38. Let’s practice editing with Picasa • Go to this website: • http://www.d.umn.edu/~lkragnes/11Jour2300Spring/IcyStairs.JPG

39. Picasa 3: Editing, selecting photos • Set up Google Account: google.com • Go to: http://picasa.google.com/ • Download Picasa 3 • Upload photographs • Under File menu, select New Album • Type in Date/name of assignment • Select photos, drag to the album you created • Edit photos, put the final photo selection first in album • Select the final photo, and write cutline where it says: Write a caption!

40. Sharing album with me • Select the album you want to share • Click on the Share button on upper right side of the album screen • Sign in to your Google account • In the Share Photos screen, in the To: box type lkragnes@d.umn.edu

41. Carry your camera with you!

42. Assignment for 2/11: • General news assignment • Get more comfortable with your camera • Popularity of UMD food service areas • Shoot from a variety of angles: above, down low Using Picasa, send a link with your best photos to: lkragnes@d.umn.edu

43. Let’s practice …depth of field/shutter speed • Jumping Bulldog/props! • Shutter speed • Depth of Field • Long exposure • Get in groups of similar type cameras