On journalists taking their own photos: It is now a matter of when ... not if

Tweet of f/stop chart written on a whiteboard by a student learning depth of field.

  

Screen grab from blog of student Jun Kim.

We are nearly half way through the fall 2015 semester, so it's time for a quick update on how the Wayne State University digital photojournalism course is going.
   The first half of the semester was spent setting up their social media accounts (blogging, Twitter and Instagram), and learning their law, ethics and First Amendment rights as photojournalists. They are also in the middle of learning how to use their DSLR cameras . . . on manual mode, of course. This includes going over camera controls and composition - basic photography training with a 'keep it real' philosophy.
   Next up are lessons on caption writing, the AP Stylebook and cell phone photography.
   They learn all of the above before they even shoot their first assignment, which will be feature hunting.
    There are 17 students in the course, and all but one (economics) are in the journalism program. I told them on the first day of class that if they stay in journalism, it won't be a matter of IF they shoot their own photos, but WHEN.
   Journalism has changed over the past few years. There are far less photojournalists now because of layoffs, streamlining, job cuts, and print newspaper closures and online editions. Remember the cuts at Chicago Sun Times, the Times-Picayune and CNN, just to name a few? Remember what happened with the Ann Arbor News and the Rocky Mountain News? Their demise left many great photojournalists unemployed, including Pulitzer Prize winner Preston Gannaway.
    The demise of hundreds of these staff photojournalism jobs is what drives me to prepare these young journalists for the future. I tell them to take the course seriously; to use their cameras regularly; to shoot their own photo stories now, so they can show their future employer that they can multitask.
   The second half of the course is going to be challenging, to say the least. They will work with the WSU South End student newspaper and WDET to produce real work, not just homework. Assignments include shooting feature, portrait and sports assignments. The final project will be a photo story, which will include natural sound, and produced using Adobe Premiere Pro CS6.
   The power of social media will allow these students to share what they learn and do. To follow their progress, click on the Wayne State Student Blog list at the top of this blog and follow any or all of the 17 students who will one day be out there in the real world with pens, notebook and cameras in hand.

Recapping the first week at Owens CC and Wayne State University

   One week down.  And what a great week it was!

   The first week is always my favorite because I meet new students, and it sets the tone for the rest of the semester.

   Here’s a quick recap:

·      The Digital Photography at Owens has 12 students, and they are already learning the nuts and bolts of their digital cameras. But they won’t get into the specifics of shutter speeds and apertures for another few weeks. But they will be learning how to meter this week.

·      The Owens CRT Digital Video class has 10 students. I’m co-teaching it with a young, bright and recent film graduate from the University of Toledo, Andrew Jex. He brings fresh shooting ideas into the course, which we are designing a bit.

-  They learned the basics of the Final Cut Pro X interface, and went through the first two chapters of the textbook.

-  Throughout the course they will be shooting assignments that include animation and classic storytelling. They will also be shooting an assignment or two for the Owens Outlook student newspaper.  It’s exciting to add video to the online student newspaper. The photo editor, commercial photography major Sean Ferry, will determine what videos will actually make the online newspaper. 

 - The course was also rewarded a $9,000 grant for equipment. We spent that pretty fast. Within a month we should be getting new DSLR camera kits with video capability, Sennheiser mics, tripods and a portable light source.

·      My largest class to teach ever is the Digital Photojournalism course at Wayne State University in Detroit. Nineteen students, mostly journalism majors, showed up Friday morning, eager to use their cameras as another storytelling tool.

Screen grab of Sandra Svoboda's profile on the WDET website.

-       We also had a guest speaker attend the class. WDET radio reporter Sandra Svoboda has given us an offer we can’t refuse. The students will be ‘unofficial’ photographers for the radio station’s website.

-    They will also be doing assignments for the South End student newspaper. Practical experience is the best way to learn, and there is no better way to give them real-world experience.

    Let Week Two begin.

WDET reporter Sandra Svoboda explains shooting opportunities for the digital photography students. (Cell photo by Lori King)