Photojournalism: Behind the Viewfinder

Photojournalism is a type of photography meant to convey information about an event or events, combined with text; it is a form of journalism that utilizes images in order to tell a news story

The Typical Life of a Photojournalist

Faces in the ferris wheel

By: Lara Hartley

The Nutcracker

By: Tom Burton

Columbine Diaries

By: James Keivom

A mitzvah is a good deed...

By: Susan Markisz

How many ways can you spell G-R-A-D-U-A-T-I-O-N?

By: Susan Markisz

I don't do weddings.

By: Lara Hartley

A Day in the Bronx

By: Dick Kraus

Does Color Matter?

By: Susan Markisz

Pulitzer Prize for Photography

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award established by Joseph Pulitzer and given annually for accomplishment in various fields of newspaper journalism, literature, and musical composition, photography is one of the many categories.

Nathaniel Fein, 1949

Steve Ludlum, 2002

Sal Veder, 1974

The photograph taken by Kevin Carter of the Sudan child was very disturbing and meaningful. Could I take this photo without helping the child in any way? No. Definitely not. I probably wouldn't even be able to take the picture at all because I would not be able to look at the picture every again. I can't even look at the picture now. I guess it's just because of who I am and what I've been through that I could never do something like that, no matter how important it is for those suffering. I think this picture needed to be captured, but I could not see myself taking it. I don't understand why Carter didn't go to help the child, I know I would have picked her up and taken her to get food, so that she wasn't crawling there herself. Helping her would be the first thing I did, not take a picture and then leave her be. What would you have done?

Commonly Used Angles

Shots With Different Shot Sizes

• Extreme Wide Shot- shows a broad view of the surroundings around the character and coveys scale, distance, and geographic location 

• Wide Shot- shows the entire character from head to toe

• Medium Wide Shot- shows character (usually cut off across the legs above or below the knees) and is wide enough to tell the physical setting in which the action is taking place, yet close enough to see the facial expression

• Medium Shot- shows a character's upper-body, arms, and head

• Close-Up Shot- shows character's face and shoulders, and is close enough to show subtle facial expressions clearly

• Extreme Close-Up Shot- shows only a part of the character's face and it fills the screen with the details of a subject

Horizontal Camera Angles

• Frontal

• Three-quarter front

• Profile

• Three-quarter rear

• Rear

Vertical Camera Angles

• High Angle- makes the person look smaller, younger, weak, confused, or more childlike

• Eye Level

• Low Angle- makes the person look bigger, stonger, and more noble. It give the impression of height.

• Two Shot
  

• Over-the-Shoulder Shot

• Reverse Over-the-Shoulder Shot