photojournalism

My name is David

I love baseball… (bit.ly/o1oVNR)

…Burning Man… (bit.ly/oyPXis)

…and Bishop, Calif. (bit.ly/MtVjLj)

Photojournalism

What is it?

What is it?

Using photos to tell a story.

What is it?

Honesty Empathy Objectivity Relevance Timeliness Narrative

What is it?

Honesty Empathy Objectivity Relevance Timeliness Narrative

…Moments

Decisive moment

“Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again.”

■ Henri Cartier-Bresson

(bit.ly/Q04hjm)

Fleeting

Look at light and admire its beauty. Close your eyes, and then look again: what you saw is no longer there; and what you will see later is not yet.

■ Leonardo da Vinci

What makes a good picture?

What makes a good picture?

What makes a good picture?

Technical quality

What makes a good picture?

Technical quality

■ Is it sharp?

■Is it exposed?

■ Is your sensor clean?

What makes a good picture?

Aesthetic value

What makes a good picture?

Aesthetic value ■ Rule of thirds.

■Ooh, that’s a pretty sunset.

■ How’s the

background?

What makes a good picture?

Storytelling ability

What makes a good picture?

Storytelling ability

■ Moments,

moments,

moments.

■ Historic context.

■ Emotional impact.

What makes a good picture?

Technical quality

Aesthetic value

Storytelling ability

Snap Shots

"You've got to push yourself harder. You've got to start looking for pictures nobody else could take. You've got to take the tools you have and probe deeper.”

■ Bill Allard, National Geographic

(bit.ly/gIlJ45)

Terms

Aperture

The adjustable opening in a camera lens used to control the amount of light reaching the “film.” The size of this hole is called the f-stop. The smaller the f-stop, the shallower the depth of field.

Aperture

Aperture

Aperture

Shutter Speed

The length of time during which the camera shutter remains open. Speeds are expressed in seconds or fractions of a second (e.g. 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, 1/4000, 1/8000). Each speed increment halves the amount of light. Along with aperture, it determines the amount of light that reaches the film or sensor.

Shutter Speed

A fast shutter speed freezes the action. This image was captured at 1/5000, F4.

Shutter Speed

A slow shutter speed blurs the action creating a sense of movement. This image was captured at 1/13, F6.3.

Film Speed (ISO)

Film speed is the measure of a photographic film’s sensitivity to light. It is designated by a system developed by the International Organization for Standardization which uses the initials “ISO” before the film-speed number (e.g. ISO 400). High ISO, fast film (e.g. ISO 1600) is more grainy and sensitive to light than slow, low ISO film (e.g. ISO 200).

Film Speed (ISO)

Both of these images were shot at 1600 ISO in dimly lit conditions.

White Balance

White balance refers to the color temperature of the light source and the relative warmth or coolness of white light. Color temperature is measured in degrees Kelvin. A tungsten lamp (3000 K) is cooler/bluer than direct sunlight (5500 K).

White Balance

Pointers

Get closer

Know your light source

Clean backgrounds

Action…

…reaction…

…emotion

Get high

Get low

Details

Repetition(bit.ly/nfi2oW)

Framing(bit.ly/nmXwNg)

Go easy on gimmicks

Keep horizons horizontal

Sense of place

Shoot verticals

Turn around

Be patient

“You have to milk the cow a lot and get lots of milk to make a little piece of cheese.”

■ Henri Cartier-Bresson

Shooting a good headshot

Shooting a good headshot Look for open shade or window light. Avoid shadows on the face/direct sun light. If lit from behind, use a dark background. Separate the subject from the background. Use a long lens, shallow depth of field. If you don’t know the intended usage,

don’t crop too tight.

Prepping files for publication

File size, cropping

For print: 10” @ 300 DPI

For web: pixels, not inches; 72 DPI

File size, cropping

You can’t make a small photo, big.

=

Captions

IPTC Data (Photoshop => File => File info)

Who, what, where, when. AP style.

If there’s a group of people, use: “left to right…” “from left…” “John Smith, left…” Choose one and be consistent.

ColorYou can make minimal toning adjustments with levels or curves. I use levels.

RGB = webCMYK = print

(Photoshop => Image => Adjustments => Levels)

Laws, ethics and links

Legal stuff Anyone in a public place can take pictures of

anything they want. If you are on public property, you can take

pictures of private property. People can be photographed if they are in public. Equipment cannot be confiscated without a

court order. No one can make you delete images. More: bit.ly/o3OdI3

Ethics Don’t lie Empathy More: bit.ly/fnb8ps

Resources Big Picture (boston.com/bigpicture) LENS Blog (lens.blogs.nytimes.com) Photojournalism Links (bit.ly/O2oeDF) A Photo A Day (aphotoaday.org) Ken Rockwell Recommends (bit.ly/O4ilUV) SportsShooter (sportsshooter.com) Photoshelter Blog (blog.photoshelter.com) NPPA (nppa.org)

David Calvert, Visual Storytellerdavid@calvertphotography.com(775) 848-3510

calvertphotography.com blog.calvertphotography.com twitter.com/calvertphoto facebook.com/calvertphotography