Photo & Video

1. Photo & Video Basic Skills for Documenting Events and Constructing Narratives

2. Common Considerations for Photo and Video Before Shooting • Have a clear idea of your assignment. • Have a developed plan. • For video, create a shot list (wide, medium, close-up). • Use a storyboard if it helps. • Take the right equipment: camera, lenses, tripod, etc. • Be sure your camera battery is charged. Take extra batteries or charger if necessary. • Have enough space on your memory card. Take extra memory if necessary. • Know your rights and responsibilities. But have a backup plan in case your rights are violated by those who are neither moved by law nor ethics. • Take notes. Document enough information to write effective captions.

3. Photography

4. The Essentials • The quality of a photo depends on these essential elements: • Subject: The inherent qualities of what you shoot and how you compose it • Moment: The timing of your shot • Light: Exposure, shadows, etc.

5. Subject • Ask yourself these questions: • Is the subject of the photo relevant to the story? • Is the subject interesting? • Have I composed the shot well? • Use “hotspots” on your camera’s composition grid to guide your shots. • Strategies: • Look in all directions, including up and down, to find interesting subjects. • Patterns are interesting to the eye. • Consider foreground/background. Depth of field is interesting to the eye. • Color can be used to draw attention to a shot or convey meaning. • Focus on people (unless the assignment is on something else). • Get up close. Get faces. • Zoom with your feet.

6. Moment • Ask yourself these questions: • What the most interesting or relevant times for taking shots of the subject? • How do I set up in advance for the shot? • Are there special considerations such as fast movement by the subject? • Strategies: • You have to get over shyness. Take photos of people at events from close range rather than a great distance. • Don’t take staged photos; get people acting naturally. The latter is more interesting. • Look for action and reaction shots. • Captured moments that convey interesting narratives. • Practice! Simulate situations beforehand.

7. Light • Ask yourself these questions: • What camera settings should I use under the available lighting conditions? • Is there a way I can use light to my advantage? • Strategies • To reduce blur, use higher shutter speed and lower aperture. • It’s better to take slightly dark pictures than blurry pictures if you’re forced into a choice. • It’s also better to take slightly dark pictures than pictures that are overexposed. In the editing process, you can increase the exposure to add light.

8. Diversify Presentation Types • Single shot • Gallery • Photo Illustration • Soundslides

9. Videography

10. Video Capture • USE A TRIPOD • Check audio levels. • Check white balance. • Compose the shot well. • Similar considerations as still shots • No poles sticking out of people’s heads • Give appropriate frame spacing for things like displaying lower thirds (person’s name, title, etc.). • Have sufficient space before and after the clip. • Get enough b-roll. • But don’t get so much footage that it overwhelms you in the editing process.

11. Editing • Often, it’s easiest to start with the audio narrative. • Add video footage in step with the audio. • Create effective transitions. • Superimpose graphics. • Music can be obtained for free or at little cost from royalty free sites. • Audiojungle • Incompetech

12. Other Considerations • As with other platforms, the power of the narrative is key. • Start with a strong lead. The viewer will give your video about 10 seconds before deciding to keep watching or move on to something else. • Be creative with editing. • Shinya Kimura

13. Resources • The Knight Digital Media Center is one of the most comprehensive resources multimedia journalists. You can go to it for tutorials and presentations on a wide array of essential skills and issues in journalism as it continues to rapidly evolve in the digital age. • You can learn a lot by following multimedia experts like Richard Koci Hernandez. • Get inspired! • Explore videos on Vimeo.