In this week’s lecture we followed the theme of “Vision”,
looking into picture stories, photo journalism, digital manipulation, digital
publishing and what makes a great photo or video.
Picture stories are all around us, constantly, every single
day. They can be anything from something on TV or a video game to Aboriginal
artworks on a cave wall or stained glass windows in historical buildings and
churches. These picture stories are an integral part of journalism today, they can
be the images associated with stories in a newspaper or magazine to the film
used in a documentary. Since the Web 2.0 revolution and wave of social
networking sites, anyone can be a part of photo journalism, documenting their
lives on Flickr, Instagram, Facebook, DeviantArt etc. for the rest of the
world to see. This makes photo journalism something universal and so simple to
share globally, a big change from something like the newspapers that were
illustrated with line drawings in the 1860s.
A major advancement in photo journalism that I really felt
necessary to discuss is digital manipulation. It is something that is debated
about constantly, is it good or evil? It can certainly allow photographers and
photo editors to create their ideal image, whether it is of a person or a
landscape that really doesn’t matter. However, I can think of a lot of
situations where a digital manipulation of a photograph can cause more harm
than good. It doesn’t take any special education or training to know that the
airbrushing and thinning techniques used on modals and celebrities, especially
in gossip and fashion magazines, is causing harm to a lot of people worldwide.
This digitally created perfection is now what people strive for, thin, flawless
physiques causing low self-esteem, depression or eating disorders in some.
Really we have to ask ourselves whether this digital manipulation is doing more
harm than good to the world’s population. Has this advancement in photo
journalism caused more problems than solutions?
I think the Dove ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’ is really onto
something here. It shows that people, no matter what age, skin colour or body
shape, are beautiful. I think it’s a really important message that the world
needs to see. Digital perfection is digital,
not realistic. It isn’t real beauty.
Another development in photo journalism is digital
publishing. Digital photography now allows us to gain access to photos
instantly. Every day we find ourselves using digital technology combined with
social networking to share photos from our lives. Because everyone can access
this now, journalists are expected to be one step ahead, bringing us the news
through live streaming and instant updates through sites such as Twitter. This
also means that just general members of the public can have their “15 minutes
of fame” as some of the biggest news stories have been captured and posted
online by civilians who happen to be on scene.
In photography people need to consider several things to take
a picture that really “captures the moment”.
Some of the things to consider
are:
- Framing - How is the subject is enclosed in the shot?
- Timing (shutter speed) – Do you want the subject frozen in time? Blurred with movement?
- Focus - What is in and what is blurred?
- Angle and Point of View - From what angle is the subject being viewed?
- Framing
- Focus
- Angle and Point of View
- Exposure (light)
However
one needs to consider these points as well:
- Timing
- Editing
- The scene the camera man wants to capture
I found this week’s lecture really interesting, I have a
friend with a hobby in photography and have heard her discussing things like
framing and focus when she talks about her own photos, I find it is great that
I now have a further understanding of what she means and why people can be so
passionate about photography, videos or vlogs (video blogs).
-Laura
25/08/12
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