Create a narrative photo essay with 8-12 original photos.
Learning goal: After successfully completing the project, you will be able to plan and tell a story effectively with high-quality original photographs and captions.
Deliverables
- Treatment
- Shot List
- Contact Sheet
- Published Product
You will be graded using this rubric.
Project files are on Google Drive.
This page describes a very similar project in detail.
Pre-Production
Choose a theme. It can be a current news issue, a day in the life of a person or place, how something is made or done, a special event, a cultural tradition or historical perspective. Consider these questions:
- Who is featured? – hero, client, villain, family, etc.
- What objects are involved? – vehicles, technology, nature, clothing, food, tools, etc.
- Where does it take place? – buildings, rooms, outdoor spaces, etc.
- Why do they do this? – cause or motivation.
- How do things happen? – activities and interactions.
Angle: How will your essay stand out? It could be your point of view or a facet of an issue that you choose to emphasize. Read about the topic. Spend time with your subject.
Categories: You must include several of the following categories: establishing, action, hook, signature, close-up, portrait, interaction, or clincher. One photo can fall under more than one category:
Production
Take at least 50 shots at your device’s highest resolution. Preview the results at the location. Upload a copy of each image to Google Drive as soon as you can.
Camera: It is fine to use a smartphone that can shoot at 8 megapixels (MP) or better. We encourage you to use a DSLR camera, like the Nikon you can check out through OIT.
Privacy: where privacy is expected, obtain signed releases. If you can’t use photos of faces take close-ups of hands or feet, shoot from behind, or use software to blur faces.
Log: We encourage you to keep track of your shots. Note a date, location, and subject for each group of photos. Note the names of key people. Jot down ideas to help you write captions.
Post-Production
Edit your raw images in Photoshop. Always keep a copy of each unedited original photo!
Choose the 6-8 images that best tell a story. Include a variety of categories and shot types.
Captions: For each photo, write 25-75 words that tell the viewer what they can’t see. Use them to help tell your story. Instead of, “Joe Smith uses a drill,” you might say, “Joe Smith’s wife saved two dollars every week for a year to buy him a new drill.”
Publish your images with captions as an Adobe Spark Page document.
Image credit :Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels