Multimedia Reporting

A Walk Around Gramercy  by Kenneth Fremer on Exposure

The New Consumer Culture by Alex-Nicole Edwards on Exposure

• Photo editing workshop 

Using Lightroom to edit photos

Using Exposure to create your photo essays

1. Select “Create your first story.”
2. Give it a title and subtitle.
3. Upload a cover photo.
4. Start adding photos and text. I recommend adding your captions AS text, not with a “caption” option.
5. If you leave “Group Title (Optional)” empty, it will disappear when you publish.
6. Add any links if relevant.

Caption writing

Just because photojournalism is a visual medium, it doesn’t mean you get to be any less thorough when it comes to names, facts, dates, etc. You need to always make sure you get the names, locations, professions, ages (if relevant) to include in your captions. The Who/What/Where/When/Why.

Washington Post guidelines:

Freelance Image Metadata Fields

“A caption should briefly and clearly describe in a complete sentence what is happening in the picture, including an active verb (‘someone does something’). This will allow our internal systems to take sections of the sentence and automatically create keywords. In many cases, a single sentence will suffice. A second sentence is acceptable if it adds additional information, follows the required formula and does not editorialize.”

Caption example:

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – JANUARY 11: Actress Kate Winslet holds her award at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California. Winslet won the Golden Globe for best supporting actress for her role in “The Reader,” as Hollywood set aside labor strife and a recession to honor the year’s best performances. (Photo by Rich Lipski for The Washington Post)

Notice how the first sentence is in present tense, describing what is literally happening in the photo, and the following sentence is in the past tense, giving background and context. 

In a photo essay, the captions play the additional role of shaping a narrative. So while wire photos and breaking news photos might all include similar captions because most likely they’ll only be used one at a time, your captions in a photo essay will need to follow a somewhat more narrative shape. Meaning, the first one will include a lot of that 5W’s stuff, while the additional captions might fill in the blanks some more.

Announcement:

Roz Reporting Day next week (Tuesday, Feb. 18) in the Bronx. Our class will be meeting at 3pm at the Bronx Documentary Center. You have the option of attending the entire day of reporting in the Bronx if your schedule permits. (Includes 9:05 or 10am at location TDB, followed by Bronx Defenders at 11:30 and 1pm lunch at Xochimilco.)

Wrap Up Pitch Workshop:

Finish workshopping last few pitches.

Photo Scavenger Hunt:

We’ll look at photos together from your in-class assignment. You’ll also use these for some practice photo editing and using Exposure.

Reminder:

Photo essays will be due by class time on Tuesday, March 3.

For my photo proposal I would like to cover Drag Queen Story Hour. There is an organization that sets up story times across public libraries in which men who are dressed up in drag read stories to children. The aim of the organization is to remove the stigma that is associated with drag queens while also providing a positive role model. I think it is a unique way to introduce children about different people and teaches them acceptance of others. They read at public schools, public libraries, parks, museums and other venues as well. Most are free to attend. I think it could capture not only the message but also the story of the people who read to the children and teach them to be more accepting of others.

My Idea for a Photo Story is all about the proposed BQX Transit Car that is being developed for Brooklyn-Queens transportation connection.

Reason for Story Idea: I part-time live in the Downtown Brooklyn area to be more specific I live right next door to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which is sometimes referred to as a “city within a city“. I am surprised by how well the neighborhood has changed.  I discovered the downtown Brooklyn neighborhood has its own Instagram account. I notice more and more shops and apartments are being developed. I recently saw an Instagram post on a proposed futuristic redesign of a known street (Fulton Mall) that I walk on almost every day. One day I stumbled upon an Instagram post on a series of town hall meetings that are pushing for a Transit Street Car that would connect Red Hook, Brooklyn to Astoria, Queens.

This particular story would be interesting to readers that are interested in Architect and Technology advancement in NYC.

For my photo essay, I want to capture my friend’s life in order to express the message that we need some policies for the international student’s pregnancy. My friend delivered a baby about 5 months ago, however she could not have a maternity leave due to the student visa policy. Unfortunately, school in the United States cannot provide the short break to any international student unless they have studied for 3 semester straightly in the same educational institution.

By showing her daily life as a mom, and a college student, I want to point out this problem.

For my photo essay, I will be capturing some of the struggles of a few international students. There is a large group of international students at Baruch, yet they go completely unnoticed. They go unnoticed for one of two reasons: their efforts to assimilate are so successful that they seem like one of us or their efforts to go undetected are so successful that no one pays them any attention. Since becoming Vice President of the International Student Organization, I have met many international students at Baruch and I have learned about some of the plights that they go through. Given the hostile immigration climate, I think this is a really relevant story. For many international students, obtaining a degree from the United States is the first step to going after whatever is left of the American Dream. Separated from their family and left to succeed by themselves, these students have stories waiting to be heard. This is relevant even to Americans like myself, whose parents or grandparents had to make this journey in order for me to be here in the first place. I am going to photograph several students at places that they frequent on a daily basis, whether it be school or home or anywhere in between.

I plan on doing my photo essay on the upcoming annual Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden. The theme of the show this year – which has run for 18 years – is “Jeff Leatham’s Kaleidoscope” which promises to have “dazzling floral creations” and “bursts of forms and colors—in purples, reds, oranges, and hot pink,” according to the organization’s website. Exhibits from previous years that I have attended were very colorful, lively, and unique which I believe will be best captured through a photographic medium. For the essay portion I will explain the history of the Orchid Show and the inspirations for this year’s show. I will hopefully also be able to interview staff members and guests for their insight and opinions on the show.

So here are my ideas for the photo essay:

1. My first idea is to profile The Series NY, a start-up sustainable denim brand that creates genderless clothing from “pre-existing materials.” For this series I hope to get some shots of the creator’s studio which hopefully will offer some interesting imagery of textiles and textures. I hope to also get some shots of the artist and creator herself. I think this would make an interesting story because fashion is very visual and her concepts are very bold, and colorful. Also the way she uses recycled materials is important as more pressure is put on fashion companies to be more sustainable. I have access to this story because I already reached out to the creator and they would be interested in working with me for this piece.

2. A second idea I have is profiling queer nightlife and what nightlife represents for the LGBTQ+ community. I have this idea of following a friend around who is a designer and makeup artist, and who is also a part of queer nightlife, on a night out. I would profile the getting ready process, on the way to the party, and the party itself. I feel like this is a strong visual story because of the amazing, incredible looks that are pulled out for these events. I have access to this story because I reached out to them and they said they would be interested in doing this story with me if we can find an event to go to!

If anyone else has any other suggestions or ideas of things I should aim to capture, please let me know!