Journalism/Advanced Journalism.

Photo Essay Project.

Task

For the rest of the year you will be working on the final project, a Photo Essay. Photo essays present a series of photographs intended to tell a story. They combine carefully chosen photos with writing in the form of captions or full descriptions to evoke a series of emotions in the viewer. Famous journalists use the photo essay to combine the power of essay storytelling techniques with the impact of visual images.

 

Audience

Other Vanden students are the primary audience for this photo essay. I hope to use these essays in The Valhalla as soon as possible since we were not able to finish reporting for the remainder of the school year. Stick to the same standards for writing and reporting that we have used to create stories all year.

 

Purpose

Determine the purpose of your essay as you would with any article: to inform, to entertain, to persuade, or impetus for change. However, the purpose of a photo essay is to capture the visual elements of the subject rather than just describe what happens. In a time of quarantine and social distancing, this is especially important. Most people can’t see or experience themselves what you will capture in the photos.

Process: Follow these steps to create the essay. A checklist of assignments and their due dates is at the bottom of this document (click the link to jump to the table).

A note about safety: Please do NOT go somewhere or engage in activities that will put you in any danger or risk exposure to COVID. This project should not put you or your family in danger.

Step 1: Familiarize yourself with the photo essay genre.

• Choose TWO of the photo essays below to read. Click the title of each essay to read it.
  1. Notes on a starless summer in Barrow, Alaska by Dan Bailey
     • Please note that this essay contains images of animal caracasses which you might find upsetting. Don’t view it if you are sensitive to that kind of content.
  2. New York Was Not Designed for Emptiness by Corina Knoll
  3. Winter Came in Spring by Gianmarco Maraviglia
  4. Don’t Throw Away Your Daughters by Sissie Chang
  5. Photographer removes our smartphones to show our strange and lonely world by Steve Mollman
  6. The beauty of Japan’s lonely vending machines by Jacopo Prisco
• After reading the essay, answer each of the questions below using complete sentences. Be sure to discuss BOTH of the photo essays you read.
  1. Which two essays did you read?
  2. What is the main focus of each essay? What is the most interesting thing you learned?
  3. Copy one line or short passage from each essay that you think is really effective, well-written, or interesting. Explain what the writer does to make it interesting. What writing strategies could you borrow when you go to write your own captions/descriptions?
  4. Which image is the best one in your opinion? Why? What strategies for taking a photograph like this could you borrow when you go to create your own photo essay?
  5. How is each essay similar to or different from the journalistic writing you’ve read?
• Post your answers to the questions on the discussion board in turnitin.com! Then, respond to one student’s answers.
  1. Log into turnitin.com.
  2. Click on Journalism.
  3. At the top of the page, click “Discussion.”
  4. Click on Photo Essay Analysis questions.
  5. Click on the yellow button that says, “Reply to this topic.”
  6. Copy and paste your answers.

Step 2: Plan your photo essay.

• Click here and read this entire slideshow.
• Click here to open the Background Draft. Fill it out. You can either do it by hand on a sheet of paper or in a digital document. Either way, fill out the entire thing.
• Conduct research/interviews:
  • Interview or research THREE separate sources (you can do any combination: all research, all interview, or a mix).
  • It is extremely important to get information about your subject for this project.
  • For each source, fill out the table below. You may do it by hand on a sheet of paper or in a digital document. Either way, write three bullet points for each source.

Source title and link OR name of interview subject
Information from the source (copy and paste is okay) OR your interview questions → Write at least three!	Strong response notes (see questions below) OR interview subject’s answers → Write down your thoughts, questions, and reactions to the information in the left column. Basically, how will this help your story?

 

Step 3: Take photos and create the first draft of your photo essay.

• Watch the videos below to prepare for taking your photos (click the title to watch the video):
  • National Geographic-What makes a great picture?
  • 5 tips to INSTANTLY up your PHOTO GAME
    • There are two bad words in this one. Watch with headphones or when you’re not around young audiences (it’s at 3:06 if you want to skip to Lighting).
  • Take the photos! Use whatever you have: a smartphone, an iPod, a digital camera, or a fancy photography DSLR. Take WAY more photos than you will need. You are required to have 5-15 for your story, so I suggest taking AT LEAST 30 so you have lots to choose from.
  • Write the first draft and submit it to turnitin.com..
    • Put a document in Journalism format: name, position, & graduation year.
    • Write a headline.
    • Arrange the photos creatively.
    • Write paragraphs/captions that connect the dots between the photos and help tell the story. What will help the audience understand the photos?

Step 4: Review feedback and revise.

• Read Ms. Negin’s feedback on your first draft in turnitin.com.
• Revise your writing by taking into account Ms. Negin’s feedback and submit a second draft to turnitin.com.

Due Dates: Submit all work to turnitin.com. Click on each assignment to go to the instructions for the activity.