Week 3 lecture summary: Telling factual stories with pictures

It is an interesting topic as I am also studying visual communication.

Sometimes, pictures are more powerful then words as you can easily feel the emotions expressed by the pictures.
Besides, there is no language barrier in visual communication.

Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story.

To make a great photo, the following is some key factors:

• Framing
• Focus
• Angle & Point of View (POV)
• Light
• Timing (Shutter speed)
• Capturing ‘The moment’

There are two different points of views toward photo journalism.

1.       When human right is greater than the public right, the reporter do not respect to the deceased or his family.

2.      When public right is greater than the human right, the reporter has responsibility to inform the world of the truth.

Here are two examples:

(1) Photo-journalist Bill Eppridge took the iconic photograph of Robert F. Kennedy (the U.S. president) who shot by a Palestinian immigrant lying on the floor of the kitchen pantry at the Ambassador Hotel on June 5, 1968.

(2) It is a famous photo ‘Condor and a girl’ which shot by South African photographer Kevin Carter in northern Sudan.

But controversy also followed out the reporter why not left the camera and gave that starving black child a pot of water or a loaf of bread?

He then committed suicide after winning the Pulitzer Prize.

Like most people, photographer also may be good or despicable; may care for others or self-righteous; may be polite or rude. However, good photographers should be trained, polite and caring.

Photographers’ kindness, courtesy and concern for others should be given full respect and awards.